Design Stories speaks with architect Massimiliano Mornati who, along with Karboxx, has designed the suspension lamp Blonde, an aluminum extrusion that is enhanced by an adjustable length up to 5 meters and by extraordinary finishes such as bronze and concrete. The definitions and the story are precisely defined, just like the lines of the pieces and products created. Massimiliano lives through his projects with feelings and inclinations, and then starts the fine labor limae, a cleaning process by subtraction to take away the superfluous and to minimize the impact of the material. Blonde seems like a simple functional piece, but it hides within it the life of the architect.
Blonde was designed with a trapezoidal shape like a roof archetype, where meetings and words flow underneath, ideas are exchanged between people in a comfortable space, in a home environment, at sunset, with a fireplace lit and the music of Bob Dylan on a scratched vinyl record. Blonde is caressed by textural finishes that enrich and give life, outlining the depth of the object, a movement that is both modern and industrial with the cement and corten colors and that are decorative with the bronze brass and polished chrome. It becomes a customizable piece of furniture and can be integrated in the space in an intrinsic and peculiar way Blonde began as a shape and an evoked color, not as a lamp.
It is a project of lines and materials, two characteristics on which the Italian designer bases his work and project planning on. Massimiliano marks every angle and every depth, studies every detail, and outlines the sensations of light. It is his visceral connection with the design, in the details and the planning, that is present even before the studies teach the theory or the history of the composition. “I follow projects that range from architecture to packaging, from environments to products.
Designing a lamp is more complex and more intuitive, it is an exciting challenge because there is no repertoire, the technical aspect must be dealt with right away”. Massimiliano combines a balanced economic and humanistic synthesis, a flow that goes beyond the edge of the graphic gesture. The lamp would like to be among personal relationships that become real everyday connections with its subtle light and its discreet shapes. You can feel his experiences from how he talks and his travels help to open your eyes to the cultures of the world: Massimiliano is looking for diversity, something different from the Mediterranean tradition, however he always returns to his beloved Italian way. He is a designer who appears to be insidious and rough who turns out to be like a mountain that needs to be climbed, with a natural path leading to an isolated peak with a view of endless domestic tranquility.
