AQUASYMPHONY: A Design That Promotes The Environmental Culture

DESIGN AND SUSTAINABILITY: THE PROJECT SHARED BETWEEN PARTNERS

Aquasymphony’s collaborators were selected from many fields to effectively express the relationship between sustainability, design, and craftsmanship.

The meeting of two individuals, each with distinct personalities and aesthetic tastes but drawn together by the need to express their own design ideas, is where the event started.

Gianluca Cristoni, president of Latifoglia and Fondazione BioHabitat, is on one side. As stated in his mission statement, this organisation is “a green construction site where it is possible to develop and to improve innovative projects, able to connect urban development and respect for the environment, in an environmentally-friendly point of view.”

Davide Vercelli, an innovative designer and passionate art director for FIMA, is on the opposing side, and we have consistently highlighted his commitment to being GREEN in his work (GREEN DESIGN: DESIGNING SUSTAINABILITY FOR PRODUCTS & SPACES).

The goal was to create a tropical forest in the centre of Superstudio. In this charming and enigmatic location, visitors were guided through a sensory journey by the sound of water among Strelitzias, century-old banana trees that stood six meters tall, enormous Juccas, and Cica Revolutas. The magical Battoloro’s Handpans—handmade items with various sonorous zones and touch-sensitive technology—was selected as the event’s musical accompaniment. They were accompanied by water drops that produced tunes that were never identical but were entirely in tune with the natural environment.

The FIMA Melograno head shower, designed by Davide Vercelli in collaboration with Melogranoblu, produced torrential rain falling on the handpans (discover more on Melograno).

Melograno’s spheres, suspended at various heights and flawlessly incorporated with the surrounding plants, which engulfed or concealed them along the expositive route, resembled blown-glass sculptures of water and light. The water flow of each FIMA’s head shower was also meticulously planned: a maze of overlapping water lines generated by the unique Mikado aerators for a huge and generous water supply with a radius of action of over 1 meter.

Melograno is one of the Wellness Attitude catalogue’s concepts that combines the most beautiful design elements with consideration for the environment. Maintaining a high level of comfort requires reducing water usage to no more than 15 litres per minute.

The choice of Serralunga, which “furnished”/decorated” Aquasymphony woodland with oversized vases designed by renowned authors, such as Zara Hadid, Rodolfo Dordoni, Jean Marie Massaud, and Philippe Starck, is also influenced by the harmony between design and sustainability. Rotationally moulded polyethene (LLDPE), a second-hand material, is the plastic used to create items that are resistant to thermal shocks, atmospheric agents, collisions, and UV radiation.

In the context of an exemplary circular economy, these vases can be recycled again into plastic dust to create brand-new items.

A FUORISALONE DESIGN AWARD-WINNING INSTALLATION THAT BLENDS ENTERTAINMENT AND DIVULGATION

Aquasymphony is the ideal illustration of a design event that can engage the visitor right away while leaving a message to revise, turning into a projection into the future.

The immersive experience of entering a rainforest while surrounded by the sound of water is undoubtedly alienating compared to daily life. However, the encounter with unusual tropical trees, which is surprising given our latitude, naturally prompts reflection on nature’s extraordinariness and, from a broader perspective, on the world surrounding us. An appeal to consider biodiversity and the need to protect our planet’s delicate ecosystem as much as possible. The sounds made by the water further emphasise this distinction because no sound sequence is identical to those that have come before it or those that will follow. Each is unique in terms of its features, dimensions, and life, just like the trees.

As in nature, there is no single main character in the installation; each element is balanced with its surroundings to leave plenty of room for communication.

From an experiential point of view, Aquasymphony has been, without a doubt, a cutting project, as evidenced by the number of visitors and the received sharings. Still, it hopes to be even more so in terms of disclosure.

For this reason, we especially appreciate the award from the Fuorisalone community, which named it one of the 20 most important events of Milan Design Week and awarded Aqasymphony a Special Mention for Communication.

To emphasise that the design mission cannot be limited to the product alone is a further step for FIMA. It is essential to design with a broader perspective and carefully favour conscious usage and habits focused on greater environmental sustainability. And one of the cornerstones of the business’s green philosophy is this.