Italcementi and Acerbis with XPLANE by Pizzigoni

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8th-13th April 2014

During the International furniture exhibition Italcementi and Acerbis presents XPLANE designed by Attilio and Giuseppe Pizzigoni, the table consists of four legs whose particular “interlocking” is produced by a geometric interrelation providing mutual structural support.

pizzigoniThe result is a real architecture: it is a geometry, it is a structure, it is a synthesis of form and matter. The first prototype was made of marble in the late 30s by Pino Pizzigoni, and forgotten for many years. Accidentally brought back to light, it has been studied by his son Attilio and finally re-engineered for mass production with the help of the latest materials and technologies available today. The choice fell on high-strength cement mortars patented by Italcementi and branded as i.design EFFIX®. These mortars consist of a mixture of fine aggregates, glass fibers and additives, offering high structural performance, stability, and durability, as well as high-quality finish thanks to the mineral admixture and the use of colored pigments.

The base is available in white matt or black semi-gloss finish, the tabletop in 15mm clear glass or 12mm gray tempered glass.

What makes this product―designed for both indoor and outdoor―really special is that it is easy to assemble (No glue required.)anddisassemble by using simple joints just like those used by Carlo Mollino in some of his works. The most interesting result is the recent prototype made of high-strength mortars produced by Italcementi. It is precisely for this reason that the concrete weight is not an issue here, but rather a value since it ensures stability, while the tabletop/legs total disassembly ensures easy transportation, shipping and marketing thanks to the easy handling packaging. Even the tabletop panels are made of a special concrete mixture providing maximum strength with a minimum of weight: i.designEffix © is a aesthetic mortar with high mechanical performance developed for the manufacturing of non-structural concrete elements of refined aesthetic value.

This table’s aesthetic is ancient and innovative at the same time, combining a system of beams mutually supporting each other, which evokes Leonardo da Vinci’s reciprocal structures, with a highly sophisticated material resulting from advanced ttechnological research.

Attilio Pizzigoni was born in 1947 in Bergamo, where he lives and where he teaches Architectural Design at the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Bergamo. Among his most celebrated architectural works : the Margiotta House (1982/86) , the western flank of the Donizetti Theater (1990), the Bergamo Transportation Company office (1995) and the Tomb of the Baker (Carrara Marmble Award 2010). His publications include: Engineers Archistar (Milan 2011) and Aldo Rossi and the primacy of Reality (Bergamo 2009).

 

Xplane brochure

Xplane: The history of a table

 

Photos

 

PERFORMANCE
AW_Marchi Famiglia_BROCHURE

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