Rialto chest of drawers by Riva 1920

Thank you, Maurizio and Davide Riva. With their initiative they gave us a chance to create common use items out of salvaged materials such as the venetian posts, briccole; significant reminders, unique and one-off works. Simplicity of forms and natural materials are peculiar elements of design, they are based on the deep relationship between nature and man, on its balance and harmony. For this reasons I decided to use two natural, though very different, materials that perfectly marry in the search for the ideal balance: briccole wood and cor-ten steel. Briccole are subject to many alterations throughout their lifetime in the water, they are shap ed, worn out and smoothly caressed by the sea of the Venetian lagoon and by its inhabitants that leave behind visible traces of their presence.  

On the other hand, the cor-ten protects itself from atmospheric corrosion thanks to a superficial passive coat that prevents further damage. This is where Rialto stems from, a container that, thanks to its structure that is thin yet strong, realized in cor-ten, preserves and frames the beauty of briccole’s “fragility”. Briccole, the unchallenged protagonists of Venice,  are here shaped and transformed, giving birth to the solid drawers of the container.