He is a designer ready to reveal the new chapter of his story at Milan Design Week 2024, where he will show his new projects, the latest evolution of a long and fruitful professional path. Giuseppe Arezzi will, in fact, present two products dedicated to the sleeping area: the transformable bed Brando, born from the collaboration with Campeggi – historic Italian company that has involved big names in Italian and international design – e Velario, a canopy bed inspired by the covers used in Roman amphitheaters to shelter from the sun, designed for the company Lispi.
Why did you decide to focus on the sleeping area for these new projects?
The choice was not directly mine, it depends on the nature of the brands with which I collaborated for these projects: in fact it is the companies themselves who contact me and ask me to develop a certain product, it is not me who proposes it myself. For me, design must be “shape-shifting”, adaptable, a practical and intelligent solution to a given situation, in this case the company’s request. Brando, in fact, is a transformable bed because Campeggi is historically a company that deals with sofas and sofa beds, with a strong focus on movement. Lispi, for which I designed Velario, specializes in canopy beds and the use of wrought metal, and I have brought these characteristics into the final product.
Obviously this does not make me a mere intermediary, a machine that “takes data” and processes it: my task is to collect the company’s needs, the production means, the final utility that the product will have once it enters the homes of whoever buys it and give it a shape, but also an identity, a purpose.
The Brando bed by Campeggi in two possible configurations: camp bed and padded bench.
The Velario bed designed for Lispi. Photo ©Francesca Ferrari
Why this interest in transformable and multifunctional design, as can be seen in your latest collaboration with Campeggi for the Brando bed?
In summary, we could say that my motivation has a sociological and anthropological basis: design must respond to the needs of reality, so it is first and foremost essential to reflect on reality. In today’s world, for me, design must always be multifunctional, adaptable and transformable because this is the reality in which we live, and objects must be able to adapt to the domestic space in which they are located and to the changing needs of those who use them.
Looking at the Brando bed, the shape is essential, clean, because it is pure transformation: thanks to the accordion structure and the light materials I wanted to design a flexible bed capable of adapting to modern needs, capable of transforming itself, when necessary , in a padded bench with a simple gesture. Function exists thanks to form, but without being its slave: it becomes its master.
Left: transformation of the Brando bed by Campeggi into a seat; on the right, detail of Velario by Lipsi workmanship.
Velario is characterized by clean and elegant lines, like your other works. Why did you opt for this style?
Actually, I don’t like the concept of “having a style”, I find it almost limiting: I don’t want my works to be recognized in the same style that binds them all. I not only apply the idea of transformation and adaptation to the function of my projects, but also to my attitude as a designer. I want to be free to adapt from time to time to the project, the client and the materials used, I don’t want to bend them to my fixed and unique vision.
Obviously there is always a common thread in the aesthetics of my works, above all because I want to lighten the form in favor of the function, as is evident in Velario. But Velario is different from my other works, especially for the use of wrought iron, precisely because I responded to the needs of Lispi, who for generations has specialized in this type of workmanship, making it however light and capable of bringing a sensation of en plein air even inside the home. Transformation therefore remains the key: if Brando is a reinterpretation of the camp bed, essential and functional, Velario is instead a symbol of comfort and relaxation. Design is an idea, a project, a free solution. Why trap its infinite potential in a single style?
Portrait Giuseppe Arezzi. Photo ©Natale Leontini.
On the cover, the Velario bed designed for Lispi. Photo ©Francesca Ferrari
