
For a new ecology of living
Ada Bursi’s legacy is transformed into an exam project of the two-year Interior Design specialist program at IED Turin, unfolding a narrative on contemporary living, between ecology, spatial flexibility, and social awareness.
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That's an abbreviated list of what the following designers are planning to give some lucky children this year: Cristina Celestino (Attico); Luciana Di Virgilio and Gianni Veneziano (Veneziano Team); Francesco Faccin; Laura Fiaschi and Gabriele Pardi (Gumdesign); Odo Fioravanti; Katharina Lorenz and Steffen Kaz (Lorenz+Kaz); Giacomo Moor, Luca Nichetto and Matteo Ragni.


01 / 09

Cristina Celestino (Bianca, three and a half) – The ideal gift for a child is Enzo Mari's Sedici Animali. I love the materiality of wooden toys, and children love these animals. They can set them up, compose them and play with these free wooden figures. Another great gift is Scimmietta Zizì by Bruno Mari (1953), a bendable plastic monkey. I got one last year for Bianca and she uses it constantly, wrapping it around her favourite stuffed animals.

Luciana Di Virgilio, Gianni Veneziano (Virginia, one) –
If you’re talking about creativity and imagination in design, the best gift is surely a series of drawings that Gianni started to make when I was still pregnant with Virginia. Soon they will decorate her new bedroom. Second is the Eames Elephant, full of creativity, passion, fantasy and history, which are values that we include in our work and want to transmit to Virginia. The elephant is an iconic, symbolic object by an iconic couple. The nicest projects are always made by two people, by a couple.

Francesco Faccin (Giulio, five and Pietro, three) – I am not very creative when it comes to giving gifts, but for a few years now I have been buying a box of Kapla construction blocks for my children. It’s a wonderful set, because it requires concentration, balance and delicate gestures. A single brusque movement makes the whole thing collapse. In addition, you can start with a “project”, a vague idea, or just let the object grow randomly to surprise yourself, following your imagination and balance. They are just simple wooden blocks, but few other toys keep the little ones enticed so enthusiastically.

Laura Fiaschi, Gabriele Pardi, Gumdesign (Alice, three and a half) – The perfect gift for Alice is a children’s design classic: Enzo Mari’s Sedici Animali. It’s a world in movement that activates a child’s creativity, an intelligent toy designed by an adult able to see things through the eyes of a child.

Odo Fioravanti (Elettra, four and Ettore, two) – This year, there are sure to be two gifts under the tree that I find intelligent for different reasons. One is the balance bicycle Mercredi (2014) by the French company Moustache Bikes, which I bought for Ettore. It is a beautiful object with 12-inch tyres and a single-sided fork for both wheels, respectful of children’s proportions. It’s comfortable and made of lightweight (3.4 kilos) aluminium alloy. My daughter Elettra is in her tattoo phase, so I was thinking to get her Animal Hands designed by my friend Héctor Serrano; it costs less then ten euros. It's a set of temporary tattoos that turn your hand into an animal.

Katharina Lorenz, Steffen Kaz (Lorenz+Kaz) (Leon, eleven and Stella, seven) – Our children are getting big, but they still play a lot. Lego is Leon's great favourite, especially the Technic series. When Stella plays with Lego she uses her imagination a lot. When they were younger, we gave them objects from the Elements Optimal collection, a Danish company we discovered at the Maison&Objet trade show in Paris. The Bambi chair is terrific. The German publishing house Beltz makes a nice colouring book. Last but not least, for Leon this year there will be the fantastic Genuino/Arduino starter kit.

Giacomo Moor (Viola, eight, Costanza, five and Tom, three) – I leave the house very early in the morning, so in the evening I try to get home on time to read a book with my children. I'd like to suggest three books that I have given them this year and that they never tire of reading. D.E.S.I.G.N. by Ewa Solarz, Alexandra and Daniel Mizielinski, Mila Editions, which I gifted to Viola, who sometimes comes to the workshop on the weekend to play with pieces of wood. It's a small encyclopaedia of the history of design, full of anecdotes and fun facts about the birth of the most important historical and contemporary products. The second is Raccontare gli alberi by Pia Valentinis and Mauro Evangelista, Rizzoli, which I bought for Costanza, the most reflective and precise of the three. I can recognise wood by looking at it, from the colour, the veins and the smell, but I don't know what the trees where it comes from look like, so the book is useful to me, too. The last is Mappe by Aleksandra Mizielinska and Daniel Mizielinski, ElectaKids, which we gave to Tom, the explorer in the family. They are marvellous illustrations of maps of 42 countries, with the foods, customs and plants that are found there.

Luca Nichetto (Jack, one and a half) – At the moment, the gift I like best for my son are illustrated books with some interaction, such as pop-up pages. I especially like to browse for them during my travels abroad. Museum bookshops always have an exceptional variety. Then there are wax crayons. I love drawing with my son; we both have a lot of fun doing that. It's a simple way to stimulate his creativity and develop mental connections between colours and shapes.

Matteo Ragni (Elio, twelve, Tobia nine, Lea, six) – I choose a combination of analogue and digital at Christmas time, because it's good to not always practice what you preach in contemporary times. So there are collectible wooden cars by the Italian company TobeUs, an Xbox to play with Steep, an extreme-sports video game that has skiing, snowboarding and wing-suit flying through breathtaking mountain landscapes. It's good for people like me this year who are unable to go to the mountains at Christmas time. Then of course there will be books, both printed and ebooks. I still need to decide which, but one is definitely going to be Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl (1964).

Natural stone is an eternal material
Now in its 59th edition, Marmomac returns to Verona from September 23 to 26 to showcase the role of stone in contemporary design.
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