Bologna Water Design 2014

From 22nd to 27th September, at the same time as Cersaie, the International Exhibition of

Ceramic Tiles and Bathroom Furnishings, the historic centre of Bologna will be filled with life,

to present a new and exciting edition of the event that celebrates the combination of water

and design with originality and sensitivity.

The showcase of Bologna Water Design 2014 will be, once again, one of the most

atmospheric in the heart of the city: the Ex Ospedale dei Bastardini, a marvellous 16th

century palace in via D’Azeglio.

After the exceptional success of the 2012 and 2013 editions, visited with enthusiasm by over

15,000 visitors, involving not only sector professionals but also a public of curious and

interested fans, the spotlight turns once again to a date not to be missed after the trade fair,

and which is a complementary part of Cersaie’s activity.

Bologna Water Design, whose previous editions involved some of the most important

international designers, like Mario Bellini, Aldo Cibic, Mario Cucinella, Michele De

Lucchi and Kengo Kuma, will focus once again this year on exciting installations and

original projects created by Francesco Binfarè, Diego Grandi, Daniel Libeskind, Piero

Lissoni and, as always, a large group of young talents, like Alhambretto and Padiglione

Italia.

BWD’s dedication to the designers of the future increases every year. In 2014 there will be a

particularly important space dedicated to young people, with an exhibition of works by the

best Italian University and Design Schools and a NEW PROPOSALS section, featuring a

selection of up and coming designers chosen by BWD (écru architetti, Gaetano Gianclaudio

Caponio + Partner architect, GVultaggio Architecture Design, MIRO architetti, Paolo

Domenico Didonè and Devvy Comacchio + Make that studio: Nicola Russo and Dea Sgarboss

and Youtool) and the ‘Fare Design’ event, by Open Design Italia, with

competitions, workshops and hubs for young talents.

All the designs interpret the theme of water, with a through line that ranges from bathroom

furnishings to the kitchen, decorations for surfaces and some of the most atmospheric

installations, created by leading companies like ANTRAX IT, BOFFI, CASONE, CIICAI,

GEBERIT, LEA CERAMICHE, VOLVO CAR ITALIA and ZUCCHETTI.KOS.

These are companies that are able to capture the true sense of the event and that share a

common aim of promoting design and Italian creativity, as unmistakable values in the

production of objects and works linked to the world of water. This year, for the first time,

there will be an international project coordinated by a group promoting ceramics from Turkey

– TURKISHCERAMICS. The exhibition, entitled KIOSK and organised by the well-known

‘Architects' Journal’ magazine, will present designs for drinking water fountains inspired by

internationally famous architects, including ADAM Architecture, Eric Parry Architects, Hopkins

Architects, Zaha Hadid Architects, Studio Weave and Allford Hall Monaghan Morris.

Water will thus take shape, in an event full of installations and designs and will be the focus

of exceptional events and meetings of great cultural interest, which will enliven the spaces of

the Ex Ospedale dei Bastardini for a whole week.

In the packed day-by-day programme, the 22nd September, in the palace courtyard, will see

the opening with Enrico Crippa, a Michelin-starred chef from Ristorante Piazza Duomo in

Alba, interviewed by the famous journalist Andrea Petrini. In front of Open, BOFFI’s first

outdoor kitchen, the chef will talk about food to prepare outdoors and will present his first

book, entitled ‘100% Alba’. The evening will be sponsored by the Ceretto winery.

Then, on Tuesday 23rd September, there will be a talk with Philippe Daverio, Mario Botta

and Mario Cucinella, with the intriguing title ‘Stalin didn’t wash much and Marat was killed

in the bathtub ’, a discussion about changing habits and the desire for freedom for the body.

Wednesday 24th September will see an event with Rory Olcayto, Acting Editor of the

‘Architects’ Journal’, together with British architects who took part in the Kiosk project.

The most important dates in the calendar include Thursday 25th September, ‘L’Italia si alza’,

a discussion on a changing Italy, with Manfredi Catella, CEO of Hines Italia, and Roberto

Gavazzi, CEO of Boffi. Then finally, Friday 26th September sees ‘Expo 2015: designing the

future with food’, a broad contemporary theme, focussing on initiatives in Bologna for EXPO

2015, presented by Alessandro Bonfiglioli, General Manager of the CAAB who will host the

F.I.Co ‘Eataly World’ project.

For the first time this year, a nautical theme is a part of BWD: the space dedicated to the

Volvo Ocean Race installation will show spectacular images from the famous round the

world yacht race and Friday 26th and Saturday 27th will see the VELE E SCAFI conferences,

organised by the Bologna Order of Architects – Modern Architecture Dialogues 2014,

on designing and DIY competition sailing boats building.

To make Bologna Water Design more special, exhibitions, performances, concerts and video

projections will enliven the event in the courtyard and under the unique porticoes of the

palace. These include the video screening of ‘Omaggio a Carosello’ by the Face Creative

Link network and artist Francesca Zerbetto, a montage of sketches inspired by the theme of

water will present the history of the unusual and innovative phenomenon of the Carosello TV

show. There will be a video projection on the facade of San Procolo Church by Nicola

Evangelisti and Fabio Bozzetto in partnership with Giacomo Deriu, ‘Speculum Solis’ and

‘Watermark’ a film documentary by Jennifer Baichwal and Edward Burtynsky, curated by

the Milano Design Film Festival.

The 2014 edition of Bologna Water Design will end on Saturday 27th September in the

courtyard of the Ex Ospedale dei Bastardini with a preview of the roBOt Festival (Bologna

1st-5th October 2014), an international event dedicated to digital arts and electronic music

by Shape, with a performance by Matchweo, live mapping by Carlotta Piccinini and the roBOt

DJ set (with Toni Unzip and Anderedo).

As in previous years, the Bologna Water Design circuit has expanded across the local area,

through exhibitions and events in some showrooms in the city, like the prestigious

Visionnaire store in via Farini 13, which presents ‘The Alchemist’ a selection of kinetic

sculptures by Alessandro Brighetti, and Mascagni Soluzione Casa in Villanova di

Castenaso, which will host a conference and a Cooking Show with NEFF. Casamorandi, a

new exhibition space in via dello Sterlino 4, curated by Gianluca Gottardi and Francesca

Ventura, dedicated to design and professionals, will be inaugurated for the occasion and can

be visited every day from 3 pm to 9 pm from 23rd to 26th September. Lacasacontinua, a

long-standing, famous design store, will work in partnership with Boffi on the installation in

the courtyard of Palazzo dei Bastardini.

This is not the only way in which the local area is involved. This year, for the first time, the

city will host a special ‘Water Night’. In partnership with Confcommercio Ascom

Bologna, Friday 26th September will see a long night of water in via D’Azeglio, with cultural

events, DJ sets, live music, cocktails and a photographic exhibition in the shop windows of

the street, as well as the special opening of stores in Galleria Cavour on Sunday 21st

September.

Bologna Water Design confirms once again that it is an extraordinary event for the city and

for the professional public of Cersaie, dedicated to making water spectacular, through the

endless interpretations that communication, architecture and design are able to offer.

COMPANIES FEATURED AT BOLOGNA WATER DESIGN 2014

Ex Ospedale dei Bastardini, via D’Azeglio 41

• ANTRAX IT radiators and fireplaces

• BOFFI with LACASACONTINUA kitchen, furnishings

• CASAMORANDI surfaces, furnishings, wellness, bathroom and lighting

• CASONE stoneware

• CIICAI plumbing and sanitary components, furnishings and wellness

• DRIADE with FRASSINAGODICIOTTO outdoor furnishings

• GEBERIT plumbing and sanitary technology

• IMMAGINI e SUONI+LOOP multimedia services, interaction design and 3D

animation

• LEA CERAMICHE ceramic materials

• MASCAGNI SOLUZIONE CASA furnishings

• PLATEK LIGHT lighting

• TURKISHCERAMICS Turkish ceramics promotional group

• VISIONNAIRE furnishings

• VOLVO CAR ITALIA automobiles

• ZUCCHETTI.KOS bathroom & wellness

INSTALLATIONS:

Alhambretto with CIICAI, Once Upon a Water

‘A lot of stories come alive from water,

CIICAI story starts in 1964 when plumbers

craftsmanship managed water inside the

houses.

Today from the same expertise and with the

same materials, an installation was born to

celebrate CIICAI evolution: hydraulic pipes

receive the visitors and brings them to

uncover the bathroom and the entire home

besides.’

Daniel Libeskind with Antrax IT, Geometric Fragment

‘Geometric Fragment”, a sculpture designed by

Daniel Libeskind and produced by Antrax for Bologna

Water Design, inside the chapel of the ex-Bastardini

Hospital in Bologna, gestures towards the Baroque

by erecting a broken fragment of a sphere. The

installation consists of two elements which dialogue

in tension with each other: the spherical fragment, in

contrast with the chapel’s interior, and the sheet of

black oil from which it emerges, reflecting light and

absorbing color, thereby highlighting its dynamic

plasticity. The complex relationship between the

context and the installation offers a reflection on the

transformation of architecture through history; from the Baroque to the contemporary and

beyond.’

Diego Grandi with Zucchetti.Kos and Lea Ceramiche, Closer

‘Within progressive frames, Closer is told through a sequence shot in which the kinematics of

the object is temporarily suspended. Three animated strips will feature the complexity of the

shower head evoking the function, versatility and dynamism in a light and ironic note.’

Francesco Binfarè con Casone, Africa, farfalla, vola!

‘The central feature of the installation is a

large symbolic stone table whose shape

evokes the qualities, values and strength of

the African continent. Immersed in a pool of

water in which the carcasses of our modern

civilisation emerge, the siliceous shape of

Africa is an image that invites us to reflect on

current difficulties related to the great themes

of world balance. A large butterfly of light

obtained by the same shape frees itself above

and fills the scene with hope. It is an

exhortation: Africa, farfalla, vola!’

Turkishceramics - Kiosk

Designed by ©Eric Parry Architects, one of the 6 architects of KIOSK, organized by

Architectural Journal for Turkishceramics.

‘The Kiosk exhibition, organised by eminent

architecture magazine the Architects’ Journal

and Turkishceramics promotion group, features

Ottoman inspired designs by some of the world’s

most talented architects including Zaha Hadid

Architects and Hopkins Architects, Eric Parry

Architects, ADAM Architecture, Studio Weave

and Google HQ architect Allford Hall Monaghan

Morris. The architects were challenged to design

a drinking water dispensing structure that

incorporates ceramics and considers the architectural history of the kiosk.’

Padiglioneitalia with Geberit, Black&Water

‘The relax and innovation, the transparent glass

and the water features are combined in a black

and white installation, settled up in one of the

fascinating rooms of the acient Ospedale dei

Bastardini.

A pleasant and gentle water spray invites you to

plunge between the black & white graphics of

PadiglioneItalia designers and to find out the

Geberit AquaClean product range.

Discovering the Geberit AquaClean shower toilets could not be more fun and catchy.

A shower toilet that looks just like a normal WC.

The Geberit AquaClean Sela impresses with its streamlined design and is guaranteed to fit

discreetly in your bathroom. At the touch of a button, it washes you clean with a gentle, airy

water spray at body temperature.’

Piero Lissoni with Boffi and Lacasacontinua, Open

‘The Open kitchen is the answer to a

specific market demand. Boffi has two

indoor kitchens that can be adapted for

the outdoors through a careful selection

of suitable materials, but Open is a

monobloc stainless steel kitchen,

specifically engineered for external use.’

NEW PROPOSALS:

écru architetti, Nec Plvs Vltra

with the support of Florim Ceramiche S.p.a. and FloorDeco S.r.l

‘According to the legend, The Pillars of

Hercules represented the extreme limits of

the known world. The legendary Hercules

reached the slopes of two mountains, Calpe

and Abila, beyond which no mere mortal

could continue. He then decided to split the

mountain into two parts, thus creating the

two pillars, and he impressed the following

inscription: ‘NEC PLUS ULTRA’.

Despite the human fear of the unknown, the

instinct to know the truth had always

prevailed, which led the ships to go beyond the borders of the impossible, driven by the

constant desire to discover and learn.

Beyond the Pillars and the known world, Plato placed Atlantis, a mythical island rich in

precious metals and inhabited by great navigators, which after the failed invasion of Athens,

sank in a single day and night.

The aim of the installation is to describe this subtle yet powerful limit, while at the same time

describing the will and possibility to overcome it.

The architecture is composed of a few essential iconic elements and tone colours: the gold

surface represents the preciousness of desire, the dark surface represents the safe

circumstances of the known sea. Both surfaces are covered in water, which is a vehicle and

an obstacle at the same time. The diving line between the surfaces is signalled by the two

white cylindrical monoliths that symbolize the monumental gate to the new world.

The goal of the project is to stimulate the viewer’s desire for the (im)possible. The public will

be able to reach the entrance between the two pillars without actually being able to cross it,

thus denouncing the inability of modern men, paralysed by the “spleep of reason”, to dare.’

GGC+P A – Gaetano Gianclaudio Caponio + Partner architect, Impronte

Curated by the artist Alessandro Marangon

‘Access to water in large areas of the planet is

always more at risk. Its misuse, in urban and

industrial processes, disasters and environmental

emergencies, cause heavy imbalances. Planet’s

thirst is one of the biggest challenges of us.’

GVultaggio Architecture&Design, Water House

With the support of Consuledile, MIT2B, Tekto Studio ing. Vultaggio

‘Rainwater recovery and

groundwater pollution have long

been central themes of the

architectural debate: today

Architects and thinkers are

focusing their research on new

housing models, inspired by the

responsible use of environmental resources. By contrast, Water House is a house prototype

designed as a response to apocalyptic scenarios: it originates from the hypothetical failure of

any landscape preservation strategy and of any conscious use of natural resources.

In this future catastrophic scenario humanity will be forced to totally re-think the housing

typology, and dwellings will become large containers of the most precious natural resource:

water! In the Water House prototype rooms will be tanks to collect water, and the walls will

be re-interpreted as living spaces: walls, traditionally used as partitions or structure, here

become interstitial spaces containing all living systems.

The installation proposal for Bologna Water Design 2014 is a model of this housing

prototype: the wall-space becomes a path winding through the water pools. The water in the

three tanks will be simulated by a video-projection, so that the visitor along the red path will

experience a walk through an environment surrounded by water.’

MIROarchitetti, Abissi Inossidabili

Project: MIRO architetti

Sculptures: Chizu Kobayashi

Sponsor: Dornbracht, Kaldewei, duka

Technical Partner: Viabizzuno

‘A tall translucent pavilion

glows in the darkness of the

big hall.

Approaching and looking

through the draperies of its

fabric walls the visitor

discovers a myriad of marine

creatures in metal floating in

the air.

It’s a temple celebrating the magic of aquatic life. Or a fantastic transfiguration of the

sensations that everyone feels while living the peaceful ritual of the daily shower.’

Paolo Domenico Didonè e Devvy Comacchio

Make that studio (Nicola Russo e Dea Sgarbossa), Metamorphosis

With the support of Linea Light e Giovanni Casellato

‘The research begun with the project Subgeometry, a photographic research by Make that

studio about the geometries of the Southeast Asia underwater world. Four organic patterns,

to be used in the architectural field and especially in the interior design field, were obtained.

The project was exhibited for the first time at Serra dei

Giardini in Venice during the XIV Biennale of Architecture.

The exhibition included a series of big artisanal screenprinted

fabric scrolls in order to show the result of repeated patterns

on large areas.

Metamorphosis, which is the object of the collaboration of

the two studios, foresees the application on ceramic

substrates of the revisited and adapted patterns.

The intimate and cozy environment in the former ospedale

dei Bastardini hosts the installation that is inspired by the

Japanese Tea House mood. The underwater patterns become

the top of supporting structures where the tea bowls will

place.

The water and the metamorphosis generated by it, are the

theme of the experimentation.

The interaction between the elements is the reason of a continuous metamorphosis that sees

water as the common denominator, being able to confer different shades to materials.’

Youtool, Little by Little

‘Steel is a living material.

Water is a transformational element.

Drops of water reflect like a metaphor of the inexorable

passing of time.

Corten and stainless steel are like human alchemies in a

vain attempt to stop time.

Studio YOUTOOL presents an exhibition entitled LITTLE

BY LITTLE to reflect on the natural transformation of

material that interacts with water.

LITTLE BY LITTLE represents by extension the concept of

continual research and planning that each design process needs to develop, from its creative

phase to the finished product.

In partnership with Incredibol! and Curti Metallo, the exhibition will saturate the space with

drops of water in mirrored stainless steel - created by turning - and furnishing elements in

Corten steel.’

Part of Urbact-Creative SpIN in partnership with Incredibol! and Curti Metall

UNIVERSITIES AND DESIGN SCHOOLS:

MEDIA PARTNER 2014:

OFFICIAL CAR:

SPONSORS:

CULTURAL PARTNERS:

TECHNICAL PARTNERS:

FOOD & BEVERAGE PARTNER:

Bologna Water Design is open every day from 22nd to 27th September, from 12 pm

to midnight in via D’Azeglio 41, Bologna

To discover the designs, protagonists and a day by day programme of events, visit:

www.bolognawaterdesign.it

Press releases and images can be downloaded from

www.bolognawaterdesign.it/2014/press

Bologna Water Design is a project created and coordinated by MoscaPartners