Francesco Forcellini: When Architecture Becomes Furniture

2 June 2026

With Dorica, Francesco Forcellini reinterprets one of the most emblematic symbols of classical architecture, transforming it into a contemporary furniture system. The collection for De Castelli stems from a simple gesture: isolating the fluting of the Doric column and translating it into rhythm, material, and volume. The result is objects that combine cultural memory, formal research, and a strong sculptural dimension.

Interview conducted in Italian – English translation and editorial adaptation.

The Dorica collection is going to be launched by De Castelli at the Salone del Mobile 2026, it stems from a reinterpretation of the Doric column: how did you translate such an iconic element of classical architecture into a contemporary language?

My work always stems from the idea of a symbol that can be recognizable and communicate an emotion. The study of archetypes, of culturally internalized and iconic symbols, is crucial to me because it creates a foundation upon which to build, through reinterpretation, something formally and communicatively strong. In the case of Dorica, the new furniture collection born from the Dorico cladding system presented in 2025, the project was precisely to reduce a Doric column to its bare minimum, taking only that distinctive fluting, its rhythm of seamless repetition, so elegant and essential, stripping away every other element and allowing it to move through space. This, combined with the change in material, creates, in my opinion, new objects, but with a strong formal force because it leverages cultural and formal values linked to the very history of architecture and sculpture.

The surfaces are punctuated by concave slats that create a very marked vertical rhythm: How central was the theme of architectural rhythm in the development of the project?

The theme of rhythm was fundamental, arising from a system that must develop in space, repeating itself: the module or modules create the sensation of space itself. The visual simplicity of the repeated element creates sober, light decorative surfaces.

Dorica combines a strong sculptural presence with the function of storage. How did you work to maintain a balance between aesthetics and functionality?

For me, the cabinet, sideboard, and side table from the Dorica collection are, first and foremost,, volumes of material, whose sculptural presence is fundamental even before the function, which is obviously present, but totally integrated into the form. There are no visible functional details that are not an integral part of the product’s form and surface. I really like the fact that everything is coherent and consistent. I believe the absence of handles or other additional elements makes the product very pure from a formal point of view. I designed the products in this collection as small sculptures, which inhabit the space with us so that we can interact with them not only by looking at them and touching them, but also by using them.

The burgundy-red lacquered interior adds a more intimate and surprising layer: how important is the relationship between the outside and inside of an object in your projects?

I think the inside-outside relationship is fundamental in a product, because it concerns the care with which it is made, on multiple levels, and how it communicates with its user; this gives consistency and completeness to the project. I really like the idea that storage furniture should protect something rather than contain it. There’s an emotional connection during use; the inside and outside of an object are two different but complementary parts. One is more intimate, for the user, the other more aesthetic, for those who simply look at it. The inside adds a dimension that is revealed in the use of the product, which is not only functional, but above all emotional, just like the decorative aspect of the object. If these objects are, in a certain sense, domestic sculptures, they are functional sculptures, and the emotion they should evoke therefore also concerns their use.

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