Domesticated Brutalism

A new table by Lucidi Pevere offers an insight into concrete-based furniture, highlighting challenges and opportunities of an imperfect and poetic material.

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The designers themselves—Luca Pevere and Paolo Lucidi—dubbed their table for Kristalia "an artisanindustrial product". To start with, its name— Boiacca—allies the fascination and limitations of an "art gallery" type of poetic object with the design and technical features of a complex manufactured article. As Lucidi and Pevere point out, it may sound "uncouth and not terribly chic". But the name can also be misleading, because in reality this is a very stylish product, with the images of its presentation inspired by the best tradition of sophisticated and experimental design (which holds the record in the galleries). Boiacca comes from the Roman dialect word bujacca (which roughly translates as "thin broth") and is the technical term used in building to indicate a fluid cement paste for filling and finishing, similar to grout. An astute christening therefore, but a philological one too. Technically, in the Boiacca production process, the cement is moulded precisely as if it were plastic, with a clearly industrial approach that produces an almost architectural result.

With this artisan-industrial connotation, the two designers forestalled and countered those who might turn their noses up at the hybrid nature of this table, which piques and surprises both fronts: the artisan front by not explaining that any manufacturing defects and traces of manual work are actually an advantage; and the industrial one, subdued and subjugated by the processes, volumes and times involved in a "living" and uncontrollable material like cement.

Lucidi and Pevere hail here from their experience with the Aplomb cement lamp, developed in 2010 with the company Foscarini, after a few years of exercises and experimentation.

Fascinated by that monolithic power and by their acquired command of cement, they naturally began from the foundations: the legs. In the early sketches done in 2010, the leg prototype at first weighed a rather awkward ten kilograms, with its somewhat rigid and ponderous development. Today it has been whittled down to a more sculpturally slender 3.5 kilograms.

The connection to the sidemember
that supports the
tabletop is integrated into the
leg. Concrete is combined
with a metal core in order
to reduce the weight of the
table. Each leg weighs about
3.5 kg. The monolithic top is
13 mm thick. Photo by Lucidi Pevere Design Studio — The connection to the sidemember that supports the tabletop is integrated into the leg. Concrete is combined with a metal core in order to reduce the weight of the table. Each leg weighs about 3.5 kg. The monolithic top is 13 mm thick. Photo by Lucidi Pevere Design Studio

This was the semi-finished product they took to Kristalia, who confidently embraced their goal. Spurred by the same curiosity towards technology, materials and processing, Kristalia put their faith in these designers and in the happy ending which this complex (though relatively short) process promised to achieve: a long table resistant to bending stress but light enough for two people to lift. The price, too, seems reasonable, though that remains to be seen from market reactions at the Paris and Cologne furniture fairs.

Spurred by the same curiosity towards technology, materials and processing, Kristalia put their faith in these designers and in the happy ending which this complex (though relatively short) process promised to achieve

Lucidi Pevere Design Studio, <em>Boiacca</em> for Kristalia — Lucidi Pevere Design Studio, *Boiacca* for Kristalia

The story of Boiacca reads like a positive episode to revive a disillusioned and discontented Italian design. It tells of a young company, run by young people with courage and professional farsightedness. But it also describes two firmly focused designers who espoused the whole process, devotedly tending it and departing from it only for the inevitable and due compromises with the other sides of the business and the market. Chiara Alessi (@chiaralessi)

Concrete takes a long
time to dry and is difficult
to control. Since each piece
is not quite the same as
the next, the table allies
imperfection with the rigour
of an industrial product — Concrete takes a long time to dry and is difficult to control. Since each piece is not quite the same as the next, the table allies imperfection with the rigour of an industrial product

Paolo Lucidi (1974) and
Luca Pevere (1977) founded
Lucidi Pevere Design Studio
in Milan after studying at
the Industrial Design Faculty
of Milan Polytechnich.
As they were both born in
Friuli, in Northeast Italy,
when they decided to leave
Milan they set up their studio
in Udine, returning to their
native region — Paolo Lucidi (1974) and Luca Pevere (1977) founded Lucidi Pevere Design Studio in Milan after studying at the Industrial Design Faculty of Milan Polytechnich. As they were both born in Friuli, in Northeast Italy, when they decided to leave Milan they set up their studio in Udine, returning to their native region

Lucidi Pevere Design Studio, <em>Boiacca</em> for Kristalia, detail — Lucidi Pevere Design Studio, *Boiacca* for Kristalia, detail

A sequence of prototypes
for the leg design.
The progressive lightening
resulted from the structural
development of grafting the
metal core into the cement
agglomerate — A sequence of prototypes for the leg design. The progressive lightening resulted from the structural development of grafting the metal core into the cement agglomerate

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Domesticated Brutalism

A new table by Lucidi Pevere offers an insight into concrete-based furniture, highlighting challenges and opportunities of an imperfect and poetic material.

The New Brevo House by Pedrali

Stitching Wood: Lissoni’s Latest Creation

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