An Interior Designer overcomes the concept of architecture to approach a new territory that looks like technology combined with art and project culture. In designing new spaces he is able to express the relations among people living in a same space, shaping places in order to improve their life quality and according to their housing needs.
Being aware of the latest market’s requests, an Interior Designer knows that building or reorganising a residential space means to work with a heap of emotions, need of comfort, and modern ergonomic necessities.
CIVICO ROSSO
In order to understand the living-space needs of z generation, Airbnb asked for the collaboration of IED Firenze students. Together with artisans and artist, they worked at a project called Civico Rosso, a hybrid working space gathering different professionals who can use the space to make themselves known by providing furniture, exposing their creations and organizing workshop and special events.
IED FOR MINIFORMS
Miniforms, Italian design company that interprets elegance with a vibrant and colourful approach, asked IED Firenze students in Interior and Forniture Design to present their concepts for a wooden stacking chair, with a flexible design, easy to customise and addressing to a wide target. The keywords that the students had to focus on: wood, lightness, flexibility, Made in Italy, elegance, and expressivity.
IRIS CERAMICA
IED Firenze students of the Undergraduate course in Interior and Furniture Design had the opportunity to collaborate with Iris Ceramica, world leading company in ceramic’s production. They where asked to develop furnishing projects made with innovative ceramic slabs, characterised by the peculiarity of being large in size and extremely thin. The best projects have been prototyped and displayed by the company in its showroom.
IED Alumni: Wendi Zhao
Wendi Zhao, from China, believed that to become a great designer she needed to get immersed in a special creative atmosphere, therefore she chose to study in Milan, world capital of design, attending the Undergraduate course in Interior Design at IED Milano. Then she decided to go back to Shanghai, where she immediately started to work at Studio Doho, an architecture and interior design studio.
Among the most interesting projects she developed, there is Bistro 2555, a Scandinavian café located in the Shanghai Art District West Bund, in an industrial space that first served as an airport, then as a runway, and now is marked as architectural heritage.
VACANZE ROMANE
These renderings are part of the IED Roma students’ project aimed at transforming some houses into innovative hospitality structures. The creative process included an intense research phase dedicated to the analysis of the new marketing platforms for hospitality and tourism and the smart adaptation of very different interiors to different renting needs.
PROJECT AGORA
Agorà is a hospitality design project developed by IED Firenze students of the third year in Interior and Furniture Design to create new interiors for a peculiar hostel. A cloister decide to open its dors to artists to renovate its experience of community and sharing. From being an oratory, the space has been changed into a shared accommodation facility.
Project for the co-working space Mind Base
Mind Base is a co-working space, where different minds meet and give birth to innovative ideas. Following how the brain connects its nerves by synapsis, the space connects environments and co-workers through furniture, layout, technology and the exchange of ideas. Converting the structure of human brain, the space is separated into a focused “hemisphere” for the rational work and creative open environment. The connection between different areas accomplishes the mission of co-working to stimulate the interaction between people with different personalities or backgrounds. The concept of a Co-working space is predominantly defined by its flexibility in time and space. Mind Base aims at creating a pleasant place of work, where people can connect, learn and have fun. This project has been realised by a group of IED Milano students: Alexandra Shirokova and Natalia Yavis, Interior Design, and Andris Arnold, Product Design.
fior di sale
Fior di sale is a project by IED Cagliari students who followed a brief from FAI: design a renovation plan for Saline Conti Vecchi, an enourmous natural area containing also a still active factory. The building has antique settings inside, natural pools, piles of salt, wild fauna.
The project presents some interventions on unused spaces, the enhancement of client services, a relax area.
Together with the chef Davide Bonu, students designed also a kitchen where the visitors experience culminates in tasting some food inspired by the precious Sardinian salt.
Check the gallery to have some insights of the design process.
IED Alumni: Alicja Kotlarek
IED has been the springboard to a brilliant career for Alicja Kotlarek, from Poland, teaching her how to manage every stage of a design project: from concept, through CAD drawings and realising 3D models, to the final presentation.
After graduating in Interior Design at IED Milano she started an internship in the New York studio of the world famous Designer Karim Rashid, who has been for her an important source of inspiration. Then she started working in London at H2 Yacht Design as Interior Designer and 3D Artist, where she is now involved in the creation of the largest yacht in the world. Every year she goes with her colleagues to Monaco Yacht Show and she is feeling great for being there not just as a tourist, but as a Designer.
ALMAYER INN - 9 inner space for 9 characters
In occasion of the Outdoor Festival, Interior Design students at IED Roma presented a project-installation inspired by the book Oceano mare, written by Alessandro Baricco. They realised a scenographic space inside the ex-barracks Guido Reni, readapting the furniture they found in there. They recreated the inn and the sea, metaphor of facing a wave made of memories and suggestions.
IED FOR BEST WESTERN
Best Western asked our students attending the 2nd year at IED Milano to develop a new lobby concept, as a space to be used not just to transit but also to stop and take a break. An exclusive space where Best Western cardholders, who are loyal users of the brand, have the chance to relax, work, and take a break, and that can also be used by cardholders not staying in a room at the moment. That’s how designing a space becomes designing experiences indeed.
IED Alumni: Alena Statsenko
Alena Statsenko came to IED in order to switch from being a linguist-psychologist to a creative field and to boost her career as Interior Designer, choosing a Year Abroad in Interior Design. Studying at IED she learnt watching at design not only as a profession, but also as a hobby and lifestyle. She had the chance to get an overview of yacht design and to take part to several contests, developing interior and product design projects for Russian and Italian companies, such as Riva1920, Porada, Antonio Lupi, and Elica. She established a deep connection with Milan and the Italian design system and every year she loves to come back to visit the Milan Design Week and The Venice Biennale.
Now she is temporary living in the United States, enriching her portfolio while working on her own projects and for Russian companies.
DIGITAL DETOX WORKSHOP
SET Architect, an architecture, city planning and design studio in Rome, planned and curated a special workshop dedicated to our students that took place in IED Roma. The main topic was the digital detox, with the aim of designing 10 small architectures dedicated to 10 different steps of the detox process. Here you see 5 of them: Energy, Silence, Dream, Slowing Down and Listening.
Energy is an open space to recharge with sun light and nature thanks to mirrored walls and sitting spots.
Silence is made of pleated paper and it uses this geometry to isolate sounds.
Dream uses pink as the color of emotions, peace and beauty and hosts a floating rock in the middle that leads to meditation.
Slowing Down is inspired by the ECG geometry and invites to take a break from the daily stress.
The concept behind Listening is to use a communication channel that goes through a natural element instead of a technology device.
IED Alumni: Lorenzo Montefiore
Lorenzo Montefiore graduated in Interior Design at IED Roma presenting a Final Project, in collaboration with Luxottica, for the designing of a fair at Villa Erba, in Cernobbio. Now, he is collaborating with PLS Design studio, located in Florence, for the designing of commercial spaces, flagship stores of international brands, and private residences.
INSIDE OUT
In occasion of her Final Project, Livia Cuniolo, Interior Design student at IED Roma, collaborated with Fondazione Montessori in order to design a new space that could be suitable for hosting this peculiar educational method. The project started with a research on how the didactic environment can have a positive influence on cognitive potential. It analysed how Montessori principle could be applied at existing buildings, transforming traditional schools into spaces that allow to assimilate and elaborate information and contents in a proactive way.
DESIGN METHODS WORKSHOP
During the course “Design Methods”, the students of the first year in Interior and Furniture were are introduced to design methodology by working on objects through different steps. In the first exercise they had to simplify an object by taking off some of its components, up to defining a new object that doesn’t change its primary function. Then, they were asked to observe the object without preconception, to find a new function. Finally, they analysed the 5 senses, thinking on how could they interact with objects and creating tools able to emphasise, modify or undo senses.
The project you see in the gallery above has been developed by a multicultura group of students in Interior and Furniture Design at IED Firenze, composed by: Caterina Bianciardi, Jonathan Bocca, Dorian Degruben, Nisha Dhar, Sungwook Min, Giorgio Nizzero, Francesca Pesucci, Calla Swales, Deniz Turegun, Asia Valente, Carlo Zini.
Zero Zero - Project in collaboration with Teatro 7
00 is the in-class project developed by a multinational group of students attending the third year in Interior Design at IED Milano, in collaboration with Teatro 7, an innovative cooking school in Milan. Simone D’Onofrio, Steven Luisotto, Filippo Maitan and Monika Petraityte designed a space divided into restaurant, factory, and vegetables garden. This place gathers and make visible production and consumption processes, assuming also a didactic function and giving food a new immaterial value.
Golden Hive – Project in collaboration with Pernigotti
Erika Cucchi, Federica Herzig, and Carlotta Zanicotti, Interior Design students at IED Milano, designed the project for the store “Golden Hive” in collaboration with Pernigotti. The concept for inner and outer spaces takes inspiration from the bee-flight metaphor. Experiential areas connect the users to the brand, enabling the creation of a Pernigotti community.
IED FOR COOP
In occasion of the Final Project, Mattia Nella, Chiara Pifferi, and Francesca Boffelli, students of the Three-Year course in Interior Design at IED Firenze, collaborated with Coop to develop a new concept for the store located in Castel Fiorentino. They thought at new solutions for the roof, lightning, floor, colours, and materials, all in continuity with Coop’s philosophy but oriented to new generations. They also redesigned the showroom’s layout, emphasising the concept of piazza, the façade, and the inner spaces.
RE-FACTORY DENIM
The concept behind Re-Factory project is reproducing the image of a factory: students redesigned the new flagship Replay store showing the company’s production processes, in order to get customers closer to the brand and its products.
This is a retail design project by Elena Beri, Emanuela Giacobone, and Luca Santoro from IED Milano, having the aim of creating a dynamic shopping experience for the brand. The language, the materials, the use of space immerse customers in an industrial high-tech context that makes them feel part of the factory’s everyday life…with a beverage hub too!