Ambassador for Italian design

Tay Suan Chiang meets up with the scion and design collaborator of luxury brand Giorgetti, which earlier this week opened an atelier in SingaporeCARLO Colombo wants to make a shout-out to property developers: he is interested in designing a building or fitting out an interior space in Singapore.迷你倉價錢 The Italian architect/designer says: "We Italians see Singapore as the Monte Carlo of the East, so it is my dream to be able to have a project here."On the architecture front, the 44-year-old designed several private villas in Italy; the Donna Towers in Dubai, one an office tower and the other for luxury apartments, the Torch Tower; a hotel in Doha; and he is currently working on a residential project in Albania, the Teqja Towers, which will be 100 per cent green.The architecture graduate from the Politecnico di Milano, however, is more known for his furniture designs. Upon graduation in 1993, he immediately started work with Cappellini, designing the Achimede bed and Zigo Zago carpet, and has not looked back since.Today, the list of manufacturers that he designs are all renowned names, and from nearly every letter in the alphabet including Arflex, Flexform, Poltrona Frau, Serralunga and Zanotta. And that is just on the furniture side. Mr Colombo is also equally prolific in smaller items, such as lights for Artemide, kitchenware for Guzzini, bathware for Teuco, and shoes for Levi's.The luxury Italian furniture brand Giorgetti is his latest client. Mr Colombo had met Giorgetti's owner, Carlo, when they were on the same plane back to Italy from Kuala Lumpur. "Mr Giorgetti asked if it was possible to collaborate. I felt Giorgetti was a little too classic for me, as my design is modern," says Mr Colombo.Between 2005 and 2011 he received the International Design Award four times from Elle D?mcor and in 2009 he was one of the winners of the Good Design Award presented by the European Center for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies and The Chicago Athenaeum.And when critics hail you as the ambassador for Italian design, you don't say no to a collaboration proposal. "So I studied the catalogue and the mood of the br迷你倉庫nd," says Mr Colombo. "And then I started to sketch."For his first collection, he designed five pieces: the Altea bed frame, Diana armchair, Minerva chair, Morfeo bedside cabinet and the Vittoria sofa, armchair and stool. "These were introduced at this year's Milan Furniture Fair and were all well-received," he says.Despite designing for well over 20 brands, he finds it amusing when asked if he ever confuses the different brands. "No, no. Why should I be confused." Regardless of which manufacturer he designs for, he follows the same process - understanding the brand's philosophy but yet still injecting his style into the pieces. "I follow my language but with a strong respect for the brand," he says.Just what is his language? "It is elegant, with a focus on detailing and material. It is not minimalist, but yet it is simple, and very timeless."Because he designs for so many brands, he does not consider the idea of having the Carlo Colombo brand in the future. "That would be a big mistake, and in competition with the other manufacturers," he says. What he will do instead, is to produce limited edition pieces of furniture under his name, which will be exhibited in museums. "This will be more of a cultural project than a business one," he says.He is one busy man, sharing that he could be working on a new furniture in the morning, on an interior project in the afternoon, and designing a building in the evening. "My job is my passion, so I don't feel tired," he says. He even finds time to lecture on design, which he has been doing since 2011 at the De Tao Masters Academy in Beijing.Of the three disciplines, design is still his favourite. "It is what I started with," he says. He comes from a family of artisans and shares that his father and brother often produce prototypes for him.Yet despite the many items that he has designed in his 20-year-long career, there is one thing that he hopes to design for. "Car interiors," he says. He currently designs for Bentley Home Collection but wants to do more. The Audi and Range Rover car owner says: "I like cars, and I have plenty of ideas of how I want to do the interiors."儲存