Silver Furniture Design · 2022
Panca Rivola Seat
- A' Design Award 2022 Silver Winner in Furniture Design
- Awarded April 15, 2022
- CLIENT: Rivola
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 24,826
- Verification code C3E961F289 · Verify this award
About Panca Rivola Seat
Panca Rivola is an outdoor bench designed for parks, gardens and other public spaces. The bench is a single monolithic block with an organic shape that recalls stone smoothed by time and weather. Panca Rivola is made of reassembled marble powder, so several colors can be produced. The block weighs 650 kilograms, resists vandalism and can be washed. The curved base allows safe placement on ground that is not level. A matching backless seat in the same material is available, and a polished steel version is produced to order.
Andrea Brunazzi's Panca Rivola Seat exemplifies a distinguished contribution to the tradition of sculptural public furniture that seeks to reconcile functional utility with expressive formal invention, positioning itself within a lineage extending from the organic modernism of mid-twentieth century masters through contemporary investigations into the poetic potential of cast materials in civic spaces, the work demonstrates considerable technical accomplishment in its realization of continuously flowing profiles that appear to have emerged through natural geological processes rather than human fabrication yet clearly serve the practical requirements of outdoor seating with surfaces shaped to accommodate the human form in comfortable repose, the chromatic restraint evident in the anthracite gray material selection reflects sophisticated design thinking that allows the sculptural presence to assert itself without competing with its environmental context while simultaneously ensuring visual continuity with the mineral character of classical stonework visible in the background statuary, thematically the piece appears to meditate upon the dialogue between permanence and fluidity between the enduring materiality of stone and the ephemeral quality of wave motion suggesting perhaps that moments of rest within urban life participate in larger rhythms connecting human activity to natural phenomena, the placement within a setting featuring classical sculpture and mature Mediterranean vegetation creates a temporal layering wherein ancient commemorative traditions meet contemporary design sensibilities in productive conversation, one might observe how the work invites viewers to consider the evolution of public gathering spaces and the ongoing human need for places that facilitate both individual contemplation and communal encounter, what possibilities for connection and reflection might such thoughtfully designed civic furniture invite in our daily passages through shared space.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- Rivola: Monolithic seat, organic design. It was designed to be positioned outdoors (parks, gardens, etc.). It has no problems if the ground on which it rests is not level.
A seat designed to integrate with the natural landscape, a shape that seems shaped by time and atmospheric agents, a monolith, a sculpture.
There is also the version in polished steel which is produced to order. - Dimensions & Packaging
- Length 180 cm
High 43 cm
Depth 60 cm - Tags
- Bench, seat, nature, marble, stone, natural shape
- Production Technology
- Rivola is made of reassembled marble powder (in PDM) and therefore can be produced in various colors.
The bench was also designed to resist vandalism; it is a full block of 650 kg, it can be washed. It is possible to combine the coordinated pouf of the same material. - Design Challenge
- An object that is easy to make was studied, which had a low production cost, which used natural materials, which met the criteria of comfort, easy positioning, which integrated well into the environment by being able to decide on the color and the stone used. A project that might seem simple and intuitive but that has solved a number of technical difficulties. The success of the object can be seen from the sales numbers that continue with enthusiasm over the years.
- Project Duration
- The project started in 2010 in Torino, the cooperation with Metalco (the producer) is still alive. Rivola was exhibited in London on 2011 at Design 100% London. The bench continues to be sold all over the world, Europe, Asia, the Americas etc.
- Operation Flow
- A seat designed to integrate with the natural landscape, a shape that seems shaped by time and atmospheric agents, a monolith, a sculpture.
- Research
- The Italian landscape inspires creativity to create an object in recycled stone, granite, marble; shapes smoothed by time and atmospheric agents, wrinkled, rough surfaces, polished by water. Rivola was created to integrate into the environment and become part of it. The project had to be easily reproducible in series possibly with various colors and have a low production cost.
- Inspiration
- The Italian landscape inspires the creation of artifacts that rework the sensations transmitted by the most varied rocks, from granite to marble, smooth or rough surfaces that can be reproduced on the seat, also obviating functional problems. A natural shape but reproduced in a serial way with the possibility of coloring it "in paste".
- Image Credits
- Main Image Image #1 : Andrea Voltolina
Image #3 : Andrea Voltolina
Image #1 : Ada Brunazzi
Image #2 : Ada Brunazzi
Image #4 : Ada Brunazzi
Colors of Panca Rivola Seat
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