History and Method of Design
by Federico Galluzzi
Speaking of furnishing accessories, furniture and lamps in our magazines, we have always given space and visibility to the usual suspects, i.e. the manufacturing companies and those who design them.
In this regard, last September at MUDEC Milan, during the award ceremony of a well-known competition aimed at young design students and established professionals, I had a pleasant chat with Graziella and Renzo Fauciglietti, owners of Fauciglietti Engineering, seated in Cantù. The president, Renzo, explained to me how the success of any product or company – especially on international markets – goes through quality design, based on careful planning and laborious development. He exalted the fundamental role that product engineering plays in this project. That is the work carried out by Fauciglietti Engineering, an activity that has more than 1000 projects, consultancy, research and products created for important names in Italian design.
After that meeting and after reading the book Fauciglietti Engineering – Design History and Method, written by Giampiero Bosoni, published by Silvana Editoriale, which I jealously keep on my desk, this Special was born. The book goes through and analyses in detail, starting from 1989, almost 40 years of engineering projects. Thus, this Engineering Special aims to be a brief summary of the main projects published, to reveal this essential design step. An aspect that is often overlooked in telling how the product, be it a piece of furniture or a lamp, was conceived, designed and finally conceived and produced.
In March 1986, after Renzo Fauciglietti left his managerial position at Skipper, the new business, under the name of Studio OK, immediately understood that in the Brianza district and in several leading companies throughout Italy and Europe, the time was ripe to produce and market high-quality furniture and design objects. However, many of these small companies were not organizationally or culturally ready to achieve accurate product and process innovation. Thus, the Studio aimed to offer its support to these realities by creating qualified services purpose-suited for that, helping them to grow and become significant design-product industries. In 1989, after three years of positive tests with some Lombard companies, Fauciglietti Engineering was established.
Over time, the company was adequately structured, and it became the first independent Italian research centre in the furniture field. The first well thought-out intuition at Fauciglietti was to invent a working methodology that would allow for proceeding with safety, creativity and rationality in carrying out the various tasks assumed by customers, through a flexible and suitable method for the concept, design, engineering and development of quality design objects. In all these years, Fauciglietti Engineering has operated in different design sectors, always aiming at being one step ahead, and having in its DNA an overall vision of the different issues that a new product must face before successfully entering the market.
Thanks to a holistic vision in design products and development, he has been able to collaborate with many established design studios, both Italian and international, to discuss ideas, concepts, design methodologies and approaches to problems, as well as the analysis of results. That exchange has made it possible to broaden horizons and enrich skills. The expectation is that, in the future, the Fauciglietti Engineering experience and lead can be an inspirational source for the new generations, academics, entrepreneurs and the wider public.
Graziella and Renzo Fauciglietti
Production: Making Glass 1987-1989
Fauciglietti’s cooperation with Making Glass, a company skilled in producing flat glass, is an opportunity to kick off a project for the German Interprofil, and from that, a collection of tables was born.
From the beginning of your career, among several projects, there is a table that you still use in your Studio and you are very fond of. How did this project come about?
It was born from a series of relationships and knowledge acquired over time. We already knew Luigi Vago, Making Glass’ owner, who was our reference supplier for flat glass. In the same period, we also met the owners of Interprofil, a German company well established on the European market that was interested in the marketing of well-designed tables.
Which products were born from this cooperation, and how did you follow the project?
We took care of concept and prototyping. Referring to our reference craftsmen, we presented the prototypes, and after a short time, the Trivello and Trilite tables went into production. Trilite takes its name from the “trilithic” shape of the structure obtained by machining a sturdy T-shaped steel profile. The innovation lies in applying some cuts and bends to this structure, allowing it to maintain its shape without any expensive welding process required. The trilithon glass top is fixed to the structure by using structural glues on stainless steel backing pads. On the other hand, Trivello has tops in fine solid wood, where the legs are fitted and obtained from steel T-profiles. Both designs were developed so that different components could be easily assembled and disassembled, ensuring low-volume flat packaging.
Critics and the press highly appreciated these projects, which were presented in Cologne, in Interprofil’s attractive showroom, and selected for the ADI Compasso d’Oro. They had a short life as industrial products, because Interprofil’s partners separated, thus ending the production. But as tailor-made products, these projects have had a longer life. Unlike many Italian design projects that started as custom-made pieces and then became industrially produced, they have made the opposite journey, later becoming pieces made ad hoc for many of the interiors we have designed.
