paola navone for riva 1920

paola navone created a sculpture out of reclaimed ‘briccole’

italian designer paola navone has created a sculpture that uses up-cycled wooden oak poles.the wood was sunken into the venice lagoon seabed to provide navigation information to boats.in water, these posts last an average of 5-10 years, after which they are replaced and during their submersion in the sea, they are exposedto microorganisms and marine flora and fauna causing them to disintegrate.

the finished pieces place emphasis on the history of change of the material: wear and tear, wood worms, all are still visible in the transformativenature of the designs. the wood is unsealed- it will continue to change, stain and patina as it used and ages in its new environment.due to the nature of the material all items are unique.

since 2010, in honor of their 90’s anniversary, riva 1920 introduced a new collection based on re-claimed oak poles, also called ‘briccole di venezia’. this initiative has brought together numerous designers’ and architects’, among them antonio citterio, piero lissoni, alessandro mendini, karim rashid, philippe starck, and matteo thun that have experimented with a series of furniture items — folding screens, bookcases, tables, benches and stools.the briccole, rather than ending their lives rotting in some depressing, filthy dump, can be reborn and conjure up memories of their past now in the context of an elegant home, a hotel or fashionable meeting place… it might perhaps be defined as a kind of romantic and poetic recycling.

riva 1920 is an italian manufacturer founded in, you guessed it, 1920.  
what is so remarkable about the company is that they have remained a quality artisan woodwork company after 90 years. unchanged.  
long known for their quality, solid woodwork, the rivas realized that their final product was only as good as their materials. 
these woods needed to be protected as a resource, are from a well-managed forest and have been approved by the forest stewardship council, 
an internationally recognized non-governmental organization dedicated to the control of woodland products.