Alcarol

alcarol is conceived by Andrea Forti & Eleonora Dal Farra, an experimental design duo that researches and focuses on the story and intrinsic features of the environment and physical substances, combining handed-down experience of raw materials processing with avant-garde and innovative techniques. All environmental traces on the materials are thoroughly studied to discover a specific Genius Loci. In classical mythology, the Latin term Genius Loci refers to a protective spirit attached to a place, a guardian who watches over its part of the world and imbues it with a special character. In a modern context, alcarol seek to identify the spirit and the essence of a place to obtain an unordinary understanding. alcarol is located halfway between the Venice Lagoon and the nearby Dolomite Unesco World Heritage mountains, and its pieces aim to capture some unusual atmospheres of these unique lands, often by freezing time at the end of the material’s life cycle, thereby giving it a new life. To this end, alcarol employs experimental processes using invisible or transparent substances to preserve natural materials exactly as they appear in their original habitat, and making them functional as unique design pieces. The subsequent sectioning of the physical substances allows for an appreciation of their intimate and profound natures, introducing the fundamental idea of environmental cross-section. The section planes – through touch, sight and olfaction of different materials – allow to transcend the ordinary perception of a place.