The pragmatic design by Paolo Lucidi and Luca Pevere

19 July 2022

Down to earth, and projects that go beyond the archetype to add an extra detail or function. To bring furniture to evolution not only from a formal point of view but above all from a design point of view with the aim of improving the user experience and making it more intelligent and complete. Paolo Lucidi and Luca Pevere are two designers of great concreteness and at the same time identify themselves in a style of essential elegance. Which works perfectly both in domestic interiors and in the most sophisticated contract spaces. At the latest edition of the Salone del Mobile they presented, among other projects, the new collections of Carinzia chairs for Wittmann and Fondina for Arrmet. In the past they have been appreciated for far-sighted and long-lived projects such as the iconic Païpaï sofa for Ligne Roset, the Chignon chair for Gebrüder Thonet Vienna and the Aplomb lamp for Foscarini, to name just a few.

Why did you decide to found a studio together?

We met at the Milan Polytechnic where we both studied and after various professional experiences, we returned to Friuli in 2006 and in 2012 we decided to found the studio. It is a small studio where we personally manage every aspect of the collections. When we come into contact with a company, we each present a proposal based on requests and then the proposal that is chosen is carried out in collaboration, even if the “authorship” remains of one of the two.

How did the collaboration with Wittmann and in particular the new Carinzia collection born?

Our collaboration began about three years ago and continues today, with the new artistic director Luca Nichetto. The idea of ​​the company was to re-establish the dining seating sector and in particular they asked us for a wooden seat. After reviewing the historical pieces of the company, visiting the factories, the company museum in Vienna with the various Biedermeier and Viennese secession furnishings, we tried to summarize the history of Austrian design and the company’s production processes.

The Carinzia seat has a wooden part that is not assembled with the classic grafts but with a system whereby the backrest seems to be almost resting on the legs and a high seat but worn on the edges that makes use of the company’s experience in comfort. The goal is to carry on the historical tradition of the brand but also to speak to a younger audience with a contemporary taste.

Where does the inspiration for the Fondina chair for Arrmet come from?

It is the first wooden seat by Arrmet which until now had focused on the metal structure with a padded component. We thought of the classic bistro chair but with something different. The formal inspiration is the Scandinavian-style seat characterized by a top and a padded panel: we started with this model but we made it more comfortable. The seat is in carved wood and therefore houses half the thickness of the cushion which is therefore more comfortable. And it is equipped with a magnet system that keeps it hooked to the chair which is therefore easy to move.

What kind of evolution is designing for the contract sector having?

There is certainly an overlap between the two areas also because with this approach a company is able to reach two different markets with the same product. There is an osmosis between the two sectors, as indeed there is also between indoor and outdoor, between home and office and so on: there are no more barriers between the various sectors and everyone talks in a linear way.

In this edition of the Salone del mobile, sustainability was the recurring theme: what is your vision regarding this problem?

There is a lot of talk about it but the really convincing solutions are few. At the Salone del Mobile perhaps that moment of break with the past that was expected in this field was missing. There is certainly greater attention, and the application of the principle of sustainability to some aspects of the design, but rarely to the project as a whole.

How do you imagine your work in ten years?

What we observe is a reduction in the number of projects. And we think it’s the right direction. Fewer projects but perhaps more thought out in the range, in sustainability. Longer-lived, less risky products, a more concrete and down-to-earth design.

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