Barilla Headquarters: a new home for Echinoidea, the installation created for FuoriSalone 2022

The repositioning is part of a process aimed at limiting the end-of-life phase of the projects: in 2022 another of the installations presented at the FuoriSalone was already being relocated. The work Bamboo Ring by Kengo Kuma, in fact, which was originally created for the London Design Festival 2019, and then brought to the Milan Design Week in 2021, is located today immersed in the greenery of Val di Sella, in Trentino, within the 'Arte Sella circuit.

Echinoidea: inspired by the archetype of shelter

With the conception of Echinoidea, Giacomo Graziano wanted to give life to a natural, organic space, whose function is the archaic one of shelter. Precisely for this reason, from the very first impact, Echinoidea presents itself as a place where it is natural to think of oneself as 'sheltered'.

The artistic installation refers to the concept of 'Primitive Capanna', introduced by Vitruvius, which explores the origins of architecture and the anthropological relationship between man and the natural environment.

Physically, it is a versatile modular shell composed of 503 wooden slats for a footprint of 6x6x6m, which offers visitors a contemplative, enveloping experience of refuge in their own cocoon.

The design of the work was conceived as a parametric system composed of 1.5km of wooden beams which makes the pavilion flexible, easy to assemble and highly sustainable and recyclable. Echinoidea aims to be the manifesto of a form of living that seeks the canons of zero-emission architecture in harmony with nature.

The concept of protection, of shell, is further explored in the installation design process and finds inspiration in the aquatic animal species of sea urchins or, precisely, Echinoidea.

Inside the shell-installation, the light source by Artemide was designed to highlight the profile of the structure, which with a play of 'see-through' and an interweaving of concealed shapes further enhances the protective and enveloping dimension of the work, without neglecting its accent dynamic of the underlying project.

To these lights are added the Gople Outdoor by BIG, large white, light and resistant diffusers, which fit freely and flexibly into spaces.