Velasca Design Project - 'Ideas under the Tower': the winner is Bruta, project by the Scuola Politecnica di Design

In first place BRUTA (Scuola Politecnica di Design), in second place PANNA, (IED – Istituto Europeo di Design), in third place LIGHT SCAPE (NABA) and in fourth place PANDOREA (Politecnico di Milano).

These are the results of the first edition of the Velasca Design Project – Ideas under the Tower, the contest organised by UnipolSai Assicurazioni as part of the Urban Up project, in collaboration with Lissoni Architettura S.p.A. The aim was to value and promote the creativity of young designers in line with what the Velasca Tower represents, a symbol of innovation for over 50 years. Young talents from the best design schools were invited to participate (Politecnico di Milano, Scuola Politecnica di Design, IED and NABA).

The awards ceremony was held on the ground floor of the Velasca Tower in the presence of the Unipol Group’s top management, directors and representatives from the most important Italian design schools as well as many students. For the event, UnipolSai created 1:1 scale prototypes of the projects presented by each school. The prototypes, together with the selected projects and those out of competition, will be on display in the Aquarium Space (set up in collaboration with Kerakoll Design House) on the ground floor of the Tower for the entire summer period, starting 30 June. The Jury deemed BRUTA “a project that interpreted the contemporary use scenarios excellently, while expressing effective continuity with the tradition of Italian design.

In Bruta – as stated in the comments – an element drawn from industrial processing, the extruded profile, becomes the main body of a lamp with a strong visual impact and bold personality, whose style is attributable, in its forms and expressive simplicity, to the architecture of the Velasca Tower.”

In PANNA, the Jury saw “a simple, effective and ecological project. The choice of material reflects a particular sensitivity to the important issue – now more relevant and urgent than ever – of environmental sustainability, which has always been a founding value of the Unipol Group.”

The third place finisher, LIGHT SCAPE “is a project – as stated in the Jury comments – permeated by strong symbolic and evocative value. Inspired by the dialogue between light and shadow that in nature draws countless constantly changing landscapes, this lamp also generates infinite emotions for those who use it.”

Finally, for the Jury, PANDOREA “stood out for its ability to combine the functional aspect of a lamp with the technological factor of voice recognition. Its modularity and possibility for customisation make the lamp a versatile object, young and undoubtedly appealing.”

The assessment of the projects took into account their ability to define and anticipate innovative and contemporary use scenarios in continuity and/or rupture with the historical tradition of Italian design (Creativity, Functionality, Innovation, Originality, Quality, Production Cost, Reproducibility, Production Simplicity). All projects submitted were examined by a Jury of experts, formed by important figures and representatives from the industrial and design world (Gilda Bojardi, Director of the Magazine INTERNI; Luciano Galimberti, Architect and President of ADI, Associazione per il Design Industriale (Association for the Industrial Design); Fulvio Irace, Architecture Historian and Professor of Architectural History at the Politecnico di Milano; Piero Lissoni, Architect, Designer and Art Director for prestigious companies; Antonella Ranaldi, Architect, Superintendent of Fine Arts and Landscape for the provinces of Milan, Bergamo, Como, Lecco, Lodi, Monza, Pavia, Sondrio and Varese; and Massimiliano Morrone, UnipolSai Assicurazioni SpA – Head of Asset & Investment Management, Real Estate and Real Estate AMC.

THE PRIZES

The 3 winners selected will receive the following prizes from UnipolSai:

• 1st place project: prize worth €10,000.00 
• 2 nd place project: prize worth €8,000.00 
• 3 rd place project: prize worth €5,000.00