Designing for food

Designers and manufacturers around the world  focused on “Design for Food and Nutrition”: here the projects selected by ADI for the first Compasso d’Oro International Award.

Michele Cuomo, Canna di fucile 2011, trafila per la produzione di pasta. Produttore: Pastificio F.lli Setaro
For the first time ever the selection criteria for the best in design perfected over the sixty year history of the Compasso d’Oro are being applied worldwide: ADI has invited designers and manufacturers around the world to present their products relating to the world of food.
Among the 91 selected products the jury made up of designer Ron Arad, Denis Santachiara (Chairman), Daniela Piscitelli, the journalist Aurelio Magistà and professors Livia Pomodoro and Paolo Sorcinelli chose the winners.
Michele Cuomo, Canna di fucile 2011, trafila per la produzione di pasta. Produttore: Pastificio F.lli Setaro
Top and above: Michele Cuomo, Canna di fucile 2011, drawplate for the pasta production. Client: Pastificio F.lli Setaro

With Canna di Fucile 2011 Michele Cuomo pays a tribute to the precision mechanics of the Real Fabbrica d’Armi di Torre Annunziata. The shape and the processing of the pasta dough, as well as harking back to an old industrial tradition (a process that it is hoped will also be applied to urban renewal and the social redevelopment of workplaces), presents a powerful piece of gastronomic innovation. In fact, the helical rifling of gun barrels is presented here as a specific theme intended to give structure to the pasta and to better retain and preserve the flavours of sauces. In the “canna di fucile – gun barrel” pasta there is a balanced blend of form and function, design and taste.

The award for the Design for Quality Food Process category goes equally to the Double Door-in-Door Refrigerator by LG and the Shy mezzaluna chopper designed by Paolo Metaldi for Viceversa: the fridge with its double door in which food can be stored in different ways according to their frequency of use provides a solution of great practicality which reduces energy consumption and environmental impact in this particular context; the Shy mezzaluna chopper by Viceversa improves an everyday object that initially appears so simple as to be impossible to improve. The articulated handles facilitate the movement carried out for cutting and they can also be combined for use with one hand only. Once the task is completed, they fold back making the object more compact and at the same time acting as protection shielding the blade from anyone using the tool.

Paolo Metaldi, Shy, mezzaluna multiuso. Produttore: Viceversa
Paolo Metaldi, Shy, multipurpose chopping knife. Client: Viceversa

The jury selected these three project relying on the belief that contemporary design should not be reduced to  functional effectiveness, to “fine design” or technical merits; rather it implies more complex questions regarding social impact resulting from usage, sustainability, technological and commercial production chains, the influence of the web, new production methods such as digital fabrication or mass customization and last but not least, the ability to communicate and express itself as an increasingly determining quality.

This is precisely the significance of the Targa Giovani, where the proposals analyzed further widen this vision, helping to restore meaning to the concept of design culture in new production, technological, social and environmental scenarios.

The winning project is Solari, designed by Bodin Hon from IED. A good alternative to barbecues since it ensures the preparation of dishes for four to six people in a practical, sustainable and healthy way. Inspired by the traditional technology of solar-powered ovens, it has been updated in terms of shape, functional solutions, technologies and materials in order to make the experience of outdoor cooking simple, attractive, fun and affordable. The oven is equipped with a temperature sensor that allows the cooking procedure to be closely followed by transmitting real-time data via Bluetooth. The social aspect of the project is also innovative: through a mobile that connects a number of solar-powered cookers, it is possible to get information on cooking methods and times, and share recipes and tips with other users.

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