It is from this image, and therefore from the design strength of the decoration, that Rahm starts to define his Anthropocene Style, that is an approach to architecture that looks to the past for the planning of the future. Or, rather, of the present, given that, according to Rahm, interior design can be a formidable ally of the environment.

To follow Rahm's thread, we need to go back to the fracture between architecture and decoration caused by minimalism in the last century. “The decoration, made of drapes, curtains, veils, boiserie and tapestries, parquet or inlays, carpets, wallpapers, screens, baseboards and moldings, chandeliers and mirrors, was disqualified at the beginning of the twentieth century, branded as overloaded and superfluous in favor of minimal, neutral and white furnishings, reduced to the essentials. The word decoration itself has taken on a superficial connotation, if not downright pejorative and frivolous, gratuitous and futile”. 

After some time – a long time – we have finally discovered that decoration is also a function, and can even be so in terms of energy efficiency and sustainability. Explains Rahm, who illustrated his vision in a recent lecture for the students of the Quasar Institute For Advanced Design in Rome: “Worldwide, 39 percent of emissions are generated by construction. Fighting against global warming means countering these inefficiencies, therefore designing buildings that are thermally insulated and sealed”. And this is where interior design can become a strategic ally. From the targeted palette of the walls to the use of traditional insulating materials, the range of choices available to the designer is wide, provided that he wants to start again from the neglected universe of decoration that the era of functionalism ended up banning.

Here the choice of a color, red or blue, becomes strategic depending on whether or not you want to absorb heat in a house. Even a tapestry in a traditional material such as wool or an aluminum rug represent strategic choices. “There is a wide range of targeted solutions available to the designer, provided that he can heal that wound with the decoration opened last century”, explains architect and Quasar professor Cecilia Anselmi, who wanted Rahm for his first lecture Italian.