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PRESS - Chat with Davide Oppizzi

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MRRM Design Chat with Davide Oppizzi

Q: In your perspec.ve, what does it mean by ‘good design’?

Design is good when it comes from emo.on, when it doesn’t follow trends but it creates them, when it takes risks and it’s completely respondent to the needs of a specific era. It’s the design that strikes a perfect balance between technology (of materials), ergonomics and dream.

Q: How did you get into the design industry?

DCUBE started with an interna.onal local market (interna.onal Swiss companies that allowed us to open up to the global market). Here in Switzerland the culture of luxury businesses is very important and ac.ve. Being in the centre of Europe, with a natural interna.onal exposure, the industrial design based in Geneva offers a good mix of topics (luxury, green-tech, contemporary furniture). Design is before anything a story of encounters, and the obvious acquisi.on of the all the knowledge necessary to meet the technical requirements of the market. Each project pushes you to the borders of the next one. This is, above all, a ques.on of pleasure, associated with an undoubted openness, which is mo.vated by the curiosity for everything created on this planet.

Q: Can you recall your first crea.ve/design memory?

It certainly started early, according to my parents! When I was about 7, I remember the first design car in...Lego, which I already didn’t consider just a toy: I was discovering the elegance, the clean lines, the comfort and propor.ons that seemed perfect to me. These experiences have always been part of my life; the capacity of observa.on and the childlike curiosity are s.ll in me today.

Q: Can you share your design philosophy with us?

My favourite quota.on is from Albert Einstein: “Create is thinking beside.” I think the design is fundamentally a shared experience. It’s through others that we vibrate; it’s the others who give us the strength of con.nually recrea.ng the wonder of crea.vity. This is a very important role for us to convey the "beau.ful" and the "func.onal" into a form of "ecology of the senses."
In a recent lecture at Vitra, joined by Zaha Hadid architecture studio, I began my presenta.on sta.ng this: "being a designer is like injec.ng love into ma`er." I talk about love because it really is an uncondi.onal dedica.on to give life, through incredible efforts, to an innova.ve and forward thinking approach. Be avant- garde doesn’t mean having the arrogance to impose aesthe.c codes in society; it’s about opening and remaining sensi.ve to all the probabili.es that we gather in the present and transfer into the vision of the future.

!Q: Can you introduce the AMETIS collec.on to us?

Ametis is a collection of high-end faucets and showers projecting contemporary forms and func.ons to the bathroom world of tomorrow. Our mission for GRAFF has been to develop an iconic product, highly recognizable, revealing the exper.se of the brand. It has been about breaking the classic codes with simple dynamic shapes, like the one created by flowing water. We have not hesitated to incorporate technologies such as LED and water-saving aerators, making the collec.on Ametis an innovative product that provides real added value in very compact volumes.
We wanted to provide the best knowledge of GRAFF in a small space. The wall column, with a profile thickness of just 2cm, is able to sa.sfy all needs: indirect light in the upper ring, waterfall, rainfall, ver.cal massaging jets. A challenge for the engineers who have been capable to respect what creates the real miracle of the Ame.s collec.on: perfect technological integra.on, unique and dynamic organic forms, excellent finishes.

Q: Where does the inspira.on of the AMETIS collec.on come from?

The collec.on was born from the desire to tell the story of the con.nuity of water, of the endless cycle that this liquid follows un.l it reaches the oceans. It was also inspired by Japanese and Chinese calligraphy, which I prac.ced for a few years. Inside the gesture of a brush loaded with ink, is a dynamic of liquids that creates a true dance on paper. This dance describes the movement through an immutable form: once the gesture of the brush is completed, the ink dries and freezes on the paper. It was by trying to express movement in these organic and solid shapes that the Ame.s collec.on was born. Inject life to the ma`er by giving dynamic movement to a sta.c material.

Q: Which 3 adjec.ves would you like to use to describe the AMETIS collec.on?

Endless, dynamic, elegant.

Q: If you could save one thing from your home during a fire, it would be...?

A li`le Moleskine notebook in which I write all my ideas and crea.ve thoughts.

!Q: Where do you usually buy home products from?

I love geing some unique elements that adapt perfectly to spaces. To be truthful, I have a weakness for Konstan.n Grcic’s crea.ons.

!Q: What does a bathroom mean to you?

It’s the place where you can find yourself naked in your body and mind; therefor it’s a protec.ve place, dedicated to the rituals of the body.

Q: How do you define sanitary products in modern home? What are the significances of sanitary products in the interior design?
Contemporary architectural spaces have the poten.al to get rid of the superfluous while increasing ergonomic capacity and comfort. This is made possible by the evolu.on of materials and by the intelligence of all architects that have been listening to the real needs of consumers.

Q: What is the must-have item in your bathroom?

The most important accessory in my bathroom is the ligh.ng system. Candle lights create a relaxed atmosphere and a system for regula.ng light intensity that adapts to any movement of my daily life, from early morning to late night.


!Q: Which part of home do you stay most of the .me?
My favourite place is the kitchen. It’s a place always kept alive by colours and smells. There is always something happening in a kitchen; more than anything, it’s a place for sharing.

Q: Have you been to a bou.que hotel which design impresses you a lot?

Yes, I have been to so many on this planet! If I have to men.on the first that comes to my mind, close to where I live, it would definitely be the thermal centre in Vals, a place that mixes warmth and rigor (h`p://www.therme- vals.ch/en). A unique place to relax and chill out! 


Client ∙ Graff
Designer ∙ Davide Oppizzi
Year ∙ 2013