Luca Boscardin’s Urban Animals for Magis

24 October 2025

Design and play are two extremely close worlds: in both, the ability to imagine plays a fundamental role, as does the relationship with the object. Luca Boscardin knows this well: after studying architecture, his professional career led him to toy design, and in the Animal Factory collection for Magis, his background is fully expressed.

Animal Factory, presented at Edit Napoli, a curatorial design fair, is a collection of street furniture designed for both public and private spaces. It comprises a series of stylized animals, crafted from almost life-size steel tubing. They are designed to encourage spontaneous and creative play among adults and children, and thanks to their formal quality, they are also appreciated as informal sculptures. Boscardin also works as a graphic designer, and this attitude is evident in his animals, which seem to be drawn in mid-air with a bright, colorful marker.

How did the Animal Factory collection come about?

I’m proud that Magis chose to produce something so “crazy” and unconventional. The collection was born very simply and spontaneously, with a double-sided crayon on paper, which I used to draw these stylized animals. And in the transition from the two-dimensional paper to the three-dimensional product, there’s almost no difference because the prototype remained very faithful to the graphic design. And of course, they’re certified as children’s toys because the company then developed the project in collaboration with an expert in industry regulations.

What kind of toy are they?

You can sit, swing, climb: it’s a toy that doesn’t require instructions because children instinctively know how to use it, and the same goes for adults. Depending on their location, they can be sculptures, toys, or furniture, demonstrating particular attention to design, whereas traditional outdoor toys like slides and swings are typically overlooked.

How did you become a toy designer?

In a certain sense, I’ve always been one, just waiting for the right moment to put it into practice. After graduation, I proposed a thesis project on toys, even though my degree was in architecture. Then I went to Holland, where there were studios dedicated to this field, and from there, I took off. In my approach to toy design, I always try not to prescribe a “right way” to design an object; it’s always something that arises spontaneously: the magic of play creates the toy. In the case of Animal Factory, the magic comes from the free interaction with the toy.

Are they intended as urban furniture but also as private furnishings?

Absolutely, and Magis has managed to make it a product that is not only perfectly compliant as a toy but also democratic and therefore accessible to a large number of people.

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