January 27, 2014

 La FondazioneNY and Pirelli have announced the winners of the Top Young Italian Industrial Designers Prize, which was supervised by architect Massimo Vignelli of Vignelli Associates.



The contest called for graduates from Italian academic institutions to submit a design proposal that merged innovation and functionality. Displayed at the Italian Cultural Institute of New York, the 10 most interesting industrial design projects presented the talents of design graduates from Milan, Politecnico of Turin, European Design Institute and IAAD.


The third-place prize went to Paolo Cappello and second place to Davide Angeli, followed by Matteo Beraldi, Tommaso Caldera, 4P1B – De Marco/Fanciullacci, Paolo Iannetti, Alessandro Stabile, Eleonora Trevisanutto and Designsumisura /Alberto Villa. First place went to Simone Spalvieri and Valentina Del Ciotto, who designed the Slim handle for COLOMBO DESIGN.

The Slim handle acts as a door-as-obstacle motif that represents a border between two worlds. As part of the submission, the designers captured the essence of the product on their recent trip to Beijing. By removing the handle from its traditional setting and photographing it in front of architectural and historical landmarks, such as the 600-year-old Forbidden City, a new relationship was established with an otherwise static object. Beijing was chosen because of its range of landscapes and urban environments, which reflect onto the handle’s shiny surface.


During their 10-day visit to New York, the winners were introduced to curators, graduates and deans of architecture and design departments of museums and related academic institutions to favor a cultural exchange and expose their talents to the attention of the American public.