To Francesca Lanzavecchia and Hunn Wai, being designers means being researchers, engineers, craftsmen and story-tellers all at the same time. Wai hails from the south-east Asian island state of Singapore, educated as an industrial designer at the National University while Lanzavecchia received her BA in Product Design from Politecnico di Milano, Italy.

Lanzavecchia + Wai began their creative collaboration at the Design Academy Eindhoven in the Netherlands, where both graduated with Masters in Design under the direction of Gijs Bakker, co-founder of Droog Design. Both of their interests lie in the relationships objects have and can have with the human body and soul as well as having a fervent eye for future trends. As the 3d printing jewellery for the project Metamorfosi Percettive – conceived for the “Triennale Design Museum: Storie” in collaboration with Maison203 (available at the Contemporary Design section curated by Chiara Alessi and purchasable in the Click&Collect area for one year). Legends narrate that Mankind once lived intimately connected to the Earth and its creatures, feeling naturally an integral part of it. While this bond cannot be regenerated in our present days, we can, however, dream of synthesizing technological peripherals that let us regain some of that symbiotic relationship. For their future technological prosthesis, they take the iconic symbols of a dish and antenna arrays, not pointed at the stars, but at ourselves and each other for the reception of empathic intra-terrestrial signals; the energies, vibrations and emotions that every human being experiences. By feeling and understanding the emotions and energies that surround us we can reconnect with each other, thus becoming part of a whole, a non-self-centred but truly connected humanity.

Francesca Lanzavecchia and Hunn Wai as well as being fascinated by the collisions and fusions of materials, meanings and forms, cooperate having hailed from two very different countries and cultures, attempting to feed each other’s backgrounds, knowledge and skill-sets to fuel lateral thinking and agile tangible application.

Their design projects, as those presented during the Milan Design Week 2018, are research journeys characterized by the pursuit and selective employment of different design disciplines and professional competences, to be curated, cross-bred and nurtured into concepts and products that propose possibilities and inspire new perspectives and ways of thinking.

The meeting and the comparison between the different cultures of the designers have generated Pinch for Fiam Italia, a surreal family of four mirrors “fleeing” from their frame, in which the reflecting crystal is no longer seen as a rigid slab but turns into a drapery suspended in time, which challenges the confines of form and create unexpected movements and dynamism. Subtle bolts delicately pinch the mirror and immobilize it within the various geometric shapes, where the resulting elastic tension is reflected – physically and metaphorically, in the action of the person standing in front of them.

Lanzavecchia and Wai designed for Living Divani Pebble, a desk/vanity table inspired by the materiality and organic form of stones. A structure characterized by the graphism of forms supports the bevelled surface, surmounted by an irregularly shaped mirror. It is an object simple in design but complex in its rendering, with sophisticated details such as the leather covering of the lower surface available with or without the rotating mirror.

Clockwork designed for Exto is a family of sideboards that celebrates some of the functional elements that are used to build and open container furniture and that are usually invisible because they are hidden on purpose. We have enlarged hinges and locks, emphasizing and enhancing them to the status of jewels which further decorate and embellish the container. The impeccable perfection of the handcrafted making of these ‘small components’, the attention to detail and the precious metals used for the finishes (like copper and brass) make these elements – usually synonymous with ‘great series’ – unique and precious pieces. Clockwork’s handle is inspired by the mechanism of a clock and makes the opening and closing movement almost playful. Even the hinges are exhibited as external piercings that accompany with their shape the rotation of the doors. In this project that celebrates mechanics, the aesthetic and functional aspects blend harmoniously. As an alternative to the refined surface of the natural American walnut, a semi-gloss handmade patinated coating was chosen – perfected especially for the project – which recalls a fine Chinese lacquer. The internal LED lighting enhances the shelves covered in leather with elegant visible stitching. Sideboard in Canaletto walnut, with structural elements and a decorative handle that can be in brass with gold finish, in polished nickel or in bronze. The interiors, with integrated LED lighting, can be in leather or finished with opaque lacquers. On the outside, the solid wood can be natural or finished with a semi-gloss handmade patina coating.

The design studio based both in Italy and Singapore was officially established in 2009 and their work spans from limited editions to mass products for brand like Fiam Italia, Living Divani, Cappellini, De Castelli, Gallotti&Radice, Bosa, Nodus, Mirage to special commissions for major brands and museums like Hermès La Triennale di Milano, MAXXI, Alcantara, Antolini, Tod’s, AgustaWestland.

Their accomplishments include being awarded the “Land Rover BORN Award 2018 – International Home Category” , “Red Dot Award Product Design 2016” for the Transition tiles collection designed for MIRAGE®; the “Innovation in Inclusive Design Practice Award” by the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design, Royal College of Art, London in 2015 for their work “No Country for Old Men” and “ProAesthetics”, “Young Design Talent of the Year” by Elle Decor International Design Prize 2014, selected by the 25 editors worldwide, winners of the AgustaWestland Helicopter VIP Interior Competition which was judged by luminaries like Chris Bangle, Daniel Libeskind & Piero Lissoni and shortlisted for Wallpaper* Design Awards 2013 – “Life-enhancer of the Year” for their MonoLight table lamp, alongside Gardens by the Bay by Wilkinson Eyre Architects.