Formest at the University with Students for a Sustainability Project
25 students, 2 designers, 1 tutor, 1 week of work: these are the figures behind the design workshop organized by the University Iuav of Venice, which we supported by focusing, for the 2024 edition, on sustainable design projects.
The sheet metal offcut as a new design opportunity: the workshop’s brief aimed at reusing scraps from metalworking – following the “nesting” process (an operation for optimizing cut-out shapes) – to transform them through upcycling processes within the framework of a circular economy.
This shared experience aimed to enrich the Magnetica collection through the contributions of Iuav design students.
Throughout the educational journey, participants were guided by LucidiPevere, a design studio founded by Paolo Lucidi and Luca Pevere, renowned for blending aesthetic languageswith innovative technologies, and supported by tutor Maria Manfroni, a PhD candidate at Iuav.
Before the week of classroom work at the university, participants visited Formest’s headquarters, accompanied by Emanuele Salmaso, to observe the processes and understand the different production phases. The goal was to develop a product that adhered to the following characteristics:
– is entirely made of metal of various thicknesses and types
– is created using laser cutting, bending, and welding
– is designed to fit within the assigned space, a medium format of 40×40 cm
Divided into eight groups, the students designed an object primarily for outdoor use in the home. Eight simple, functional proposals were born, meant to enhance living spaces, integrating nature into daily life or supporting moments of conviviality and outdoor relaxation:
– a tray
– a centerpiece
– a children’s toy incorporating natural elements
– an incense holder
– a candle holder
– a balcony planter
– a lantern
– a modular system for climbing plants
Respecting compact dimensions and considering space and disassembly were crucial design parameters to ensure compatibility with the Magnetica catalog, as the products are planned for entirely in-house production, resource and material optimization, postal shipping, and easy assembly.
For the third consecutive year, Formest was a partner of the WDW-Welcome Design Workshop, organized annually by the Iuav Product and Visual Communication Design course with the support of the Fondazione di Venezia and the Fondazione Universitaria Iuav. The workshop took place in Venice, at the Iuav headquarters in the S. Marta Cotton Mill, from September 12th to 20th.
