Gallery

Description

The Plasticamente Pavilion was designed to host the premiere of the Walt Disney Corporation movie Trilli, an eco-friendly cartoon. An exhibition dedicated to the world of children’s was also presented inside, exploring the qualities of plastic and its potential for recycling. This project was an exercise in balance, combining the architectural transparency, the external visibility of the exhibition and the sense of intimacy required for this kind of interior.

The 130 m2 proposal was comprised by a large concave roof made with white plastic discs, reminiscent of molecular polymers structures. The exterior was enveloped in a skin made up of hundreds of white plastic discs, creating a fine molecular structure. The shining surfaces remained a constant across the whole pavilion, reinforcing the unity of the structure and giving it the quality of a vast and sensorial architecture.

Although the large size of the pavilion it gave out a sensation of weightlessness, appearing almost animate and breathing. Under the sunlight the shimmer and reflection effects changed with the weather conditions absorbing the colours, light and shapes of people and things passing by. Reflective materials allowed the exterior skin to be illuminated with varying colours, tailored to the different programmes and events.

The interior space was conceived as a covered precinct for visitors to rest and live the film experience. Its architectural expression was generated by the repetition of structural monochrome elements, creating the ambience of a modern wonder room. The dichotomy between the powerful sculptural mass of the pavilion’s structure and the lightness of its envelope resulted in a flexible, bold and enigmatic element with a rich variety of interior point of view, maximizing its potential for reuse and rethink.

The Pavilion was first erected in November 2008, during the Italian fair Ecomondo, held in Rimini. It was commissioned by IPPR, the Italian Institute of Plastic Recycled to feature a touring exhibition that traveled across several cities.

Biography

Riccardo Giovanetti was born in Milan in 1967. Attended the Faculty of Architecture at the Politecnico di Milano and graduated in Industrial Design in 1992. From 1993 to 1996, he collaborated with several brands in the product design panorama, working for Alarossa and Atlante up until 1998. During this period he also designed furniture and steel accessories.

Alongside these first experiences he was deeply involved in design research, materialized in a cycle of exhibitions events held in Italy and Japan: Oggetti Risorti, Milan, 1996; Oggetti Discreti, Fondazione Mudima, 1997; Oggetti Onesti, Milan, 1998 and in the same year, Objects at the Living Design Center, Tokyo. The year of 1998 signalled the start of a phase of growing activity in the world of industrial design, testified by Riccardo Giovanetti collaboration with companies and brands such as Adele C., Cassina, Pallucco, Montina, Felicerossi, Flou, Schopenhauer, Interdecor, Fontana Arte, Candle, Firme di Vetro, Whirlpool and Recovered.

Besides his collaborations, Riccardo Giovanetti also worked as design director for several international companies as Armstrong, Forbo, Takett, Omnidecor, Frati and Bayer Sheets. In the role of design consultant, he worked with ECVM European Council of Vinyl Manufactures in Brussels, Associazione Italiana Stampaggio Rotazionale, Istituto Italiano per le Plastiche da Riciclo, Replastic and Istituto Italiano Rame.

Riccardo Giovanetti is visiting professor at ISAD - Istituto Superiore di Architettura e Design and SCP - Scuola Politecnica di Design in Milan.