Francesco Rota, a Milanese designer born in 1966, works with Oluce and Paola Lenti, among others, and admits to having always been quite curious or even passionate about copper as a design material ("It is an expensive but splendid material that is hugely satisfying. I find its warm pinkish colour really innovative", he explains). What fascinates him most, however, is its changing colour, the fact that it this material oxidises and changes its character, colour and appearance.
Do people want to buy an object for the home that changes colour after a while? "I do a lot of research into materials: cinder blocks and sail sheets used for seating", explains Francesco, "I think it would be great to get used to having materials that change with time." Beryl, designed for KME, is a modular set of trays based on the idea of having different finishes and combination options, like a game that produces symmetric compositions. Rota explains the genesis of the design, "I love the roofs on Northern European buildings that turn green so I started researching the oxidisation process and discovered beryllium, a chemical molecule that aggregates in a hexagonal form and turns green. That prompted me to design a hexagonal object."
Showroom KME
Via Francesco Sforza 2, Milan
