Bonaldo, a company specialized in the production of furniture and interior design items, is pleased to announce that the architect Carlo Bartoli, who has been working with the company for years, has been awarded the prestigious ADI Compasso d’Oro, the most renowned prize in the world of design.
The Compasso d’Oro ADI award, created in 1954 by Giò Ponti, is assigned on the basis of a pre-selection made by the ADI Permanent Observatory of Design, consisting of a commission of experts, designers, critics, historians and specialized journalists, all constantly committed to collecting information, year after year, and to evaluating and selecting the best products, which are then published in the ADI Design Index.
The Compasso d’Oro Career Award is granted to people, companies and institutions that have made a particularly significant contribution in the fields of design, research, production or distribution. These include architect Carlo Bartoli, who has been awarded “for being able, in his professional experience, to combine the constant focus on the quest for the essence of creativity with a unique ability to empathize with the growth and development needs of many furnishing companies. He provides the companies he meets with ideas that are always original and innovative, hence contributing to their success. A rigorous design process, split into the different thematic areas, with sobriety and balance, constantly contributing to the enrichment of the Italian design culture”. Carlo Bartoli has designed many bestsellers for Bonaldo, including the Octa table collection, which won the Good Design Award in 2014, and the Ketch chair, presented at the Salone del Mobile 2016.
Order in disorder and lightness characterize Octa, which is decisively unusual and elegant, characterized by legs built out of metal rods that have been bent and welded. The name, Octa, is derived from the Greek octo which means eight, and it refers to the number of legs that equip this table designed by Bartoli Design for Bonaldo.
The idea of a table with legs made of metal rods came from playing the game of Mikado pick-up sticks. Order in disorder, lightness, a filigree pattern – these are some of the characteristics that come to mind when thinking about this product, which is designed to be unusual and elegant. (Carlo Bartoli)
The Ketch chair draws its inspiration from the world of sailing, both in its name – a Ketch is a type of sailing craft – and in its design, recalling the shape the sail takes when filled with wind: these shapes are at the same time curved, taut and seamless. The metal frame and comfortable padding are upholstered with leather, eco-leather or fabric covers, which are fully removable.
In Ketch, there is a synthesis which in some way also exists in the world of sailing, where the shapes are first and foremost imposed by functional requirements: you only have what’s needed with no extras. This approach has also been implemented to design this chair: we got rid of all the fancy frills to keep only what was strictly necessary to provide a comfortable seat with an identifiable shape that was simple and far from ordinary. (Carlo Bartoli)
