Bologna Water Design 2013: the ‘great water show’

The suggestive installations dedicated to water theme

by Valentina Ieva
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In the occasion of Bologna Water Design 2013, the event which was held from 23rd – to 28th September in the heart of Bologna, together with Cersaie. The surprising spaces of the Ospedale dei Bastardini and the ex-Maternity Hospital were the setting for installation by international designers and architects, with famous names in the design world joining young talents chosen by Bologna Water Design.

Photo credits: Valeria Portinari

They include Alhambretto, Benaglia+Orefice Studio, Sergio Brioschi, Cibicworkshop, Philippe Daverio and Jacopo Muzio, Michele De Lucchi, Simona Marta Favrin and Nicola Moretti, Mario Ferrarini, Garbo, Daniel Libeskind, Ludovico Lombardi, Susanna Mandelli, Nuove Proposte (Miroarchitetti, Urge Design Gian Piero Giovannini, Lucia Cavagnino and Barbara Gilardetti), Open Project, Padiglione Italia and Victor Vasilev.

Photo Credits: Valerio Castelli

All the Projects showcased by Bologna Water Design are dedicated to water design theme.

The Pinnacle, designed by Daniel Libeskind in partnership with Casalgrande Padana, was the result of his desire to celebrate the history and tradition of the ceramics industry in Emilia Romagna. Inside the marvellous Prior’s Courtyard of the Ex-Maternity Hospital an 8-metre high sculpture made of two imposing facades covered in metallised porcelain stoneware, which converge to form a pinnacle, reaches towards the sky. It was a tribute to Medieval Bologna’s radical verticality.

Photo Credits: Valeria Portinari

Alhambretto created Tailor Made Bathroom in partnership with CIICAI, which was a suggestive scenario where the central characters were not yarns and fabrics, but bathtubs, shower trays, sinks and taps.

Photo Credits: Valerio Castelli

Fontane inconsapevoli was the project by Bennaglia+Orefice Studio in collaboration with Geberit. The designers said: "In a dialectic between nature and artifice, use and waste, a drop highlights the unique and precious nature of its fall from the bottle, a symbol of the plastic world of consumption. It seems to return to the natural world but also to weep for its own waste".

Photo Credits: Valeria Portinari

Cibic Workshop designed Elephountain, in partnership with Lea Ceramiche and Luceplan: a large fountain-sculpture made up of a large pool containing a vertical wall with 10 coloured ceramic elephant heads on both sides.

 

Photo Credits: Valeria Portinari

Victor Vasilev, in partnership with Living Divani, presented Urban Caos, a project which “recreate the apparent chaos of the urban centre by exploiting the potential of a company that has for years tried to go beyond the mere function of its product”.

Photo Credits: Valerio Castelli

Watch the video-interview:

Matrice Liquida was the project by Garbo: “A visual journey that reflects on the scarcity and absence of water, on its relationship with the city and its inhabitants, on the desire and need to (re)discover it. A strongly symbolic installation that becomes an opportunity for a practical, participatory debate on water and public space within the city”.

Photo Credits: Valeria Portinari

Philippe Daverio and Jacopo Muzio, created Il Bagno Immaginato with Henraux, a suggestive installation inspired by the suggestive setting of a deconsecrated 18th century chapel, decorated with stuccos and sculptures by Gabriele Chilini.

Photo Credits: Valeria Portinari

Watch the video-interview:

 

Narciso in partnership with Wall&Decò created by Padiglioneitalia: it was a wallpaper collection inspired by underwater Worlds. The project was inspired from Greek mythology, named Narciso, famous for his beauty that he saw constantly reflected in a pool.

Photo Credits: Valeria Portinari

“A suggestive and involving installation in which the theme of water as a source of life is once again explored in its sociological and behavioural aspects, focusing on relationships and conflicts linked to its management and exploitation, with inevitable and often unknown economic and geopolitical effects on a global scale” Open Project described their workt called NO Water.

Photo Credits: Valeria Portinari

Sergio Brioschi designed Jewel Light in partnership with Pozzi-Ginori. Special Rimfree vases stored in a cave of light, luminous space that saw them displayed on 6 totems, like fine jewels to exhibit and protect at the same time.

Photo Credits: Valerio Castelli

Watch the video-interview:

In Difesa dell’Immaginazione was the installation presented by Michele De Lucchi with HI-MACS®. Made up of a single modular element, placed next to each other, staggered and repeated three times, the majestic landscape is made of HI-MACS®, Natural Acrilic Stone by LG Hausys with exceptional thermoforming properties and, thanks to its extraordinary flexibility, it allows maximum creative freedom.

Photo Credits: Valeria Portinari

www.bolognawaterdesign.it

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    • Valentina Ieva

      Valentina Ieva

      Architect

      Bari / Italy

      Laureata in Ingegneria edile-architettura, giornalista per professione, web writer per diletto. Amante di architettura, design, fotografia e libri di carta. Dipendente dai social, Instagram e InstaStories su tutti. Affamata di vita, viaggi e storie da scoprire. Qualunque forma d'arte mi affascina da sempre e non posso pensare una vita senza: emozioni forti, immaginazione, buona musica, cucina pugliese, sole e gatti. Per dirla con le parole di Battiato, non potrei vivere senza: ‘un soffio al)

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