Stories Focus on Fala Atelier Text by Elisabetta Donati de Conti Add to bookmarks Courtesy Fala Atelier This Portuguese studio has skilfully revived a naïve aesthetic rich in pastel colours, expressed through designs as simple as they are rich in personality, their conceptual superstructures revealed via meticulous detail. In this interview, practice members share how, behind a clear, contemporary visual narrative, their work is pure dedication and commitment. Name: Fala Atelier. Place where you work: Porto. Your Instagram account: @fala.atelier What is your job about? Miscellaneous elements of architecture, coming together. Where did you study? In Porto, Zurich, Moscow, and currently (all of us) at the Faculty of Architecture in Porto. Courtesy Fala Atelier Projects you are currently working on: Many, many houses, including our own. The project you dream of doing one day: A school or a kindergarten. The design (by others) that has influenced you the most: Toyo Ito, House in Kamiwada, 1976. Also Lieb House by Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown, 1969. An element/detail that cannot be missing from any of your projects: Most probably a column. Courtesy Fala Atelier City centre or remote geographies? Remote city centre, not-so-remote geographies, because that might mean almost suburbia. Something you have at home designed by you: We’ve designed our own homes. What do you like to collect during a walk? Facades that look like faces. If you could build a secret passage in a house, where would it lead? To a big library. What do you usually do on Sundays? Work on our PhDs. Your favourite place in Milan: Streets that have Asnago Vender buildings. Elisa Ossino asks: Greeks or Etruscans? No question, Greeks. Would you like to ask the next interviewee a question? Yes: what is your favourite column? Courtesy Fala Atelier Courtesy Fala Atelier Courtesy Fala Atelier Courtesy Fala Atelier Courtesy Fala Atelier Courtesy Fala Atelier Courtesy Fala Atelier
Exhibitions Vases, carpets, plates, screens: the barometer of decoration The latest edition of the Salone del Mobile.Milano confirmed the trend towards ornamentation, marking out contemporary living spaces. Celebrating its buzz in the name of expressive freedom. Giulia Zappa
Salone Selection The holiday library. 5 important books to savor tranquilly From Robert Wilson’s chairs to fables about the Castiglioni brothers. From the Compasso d’Oro to Beatrice Leanza’s thoughts and a bookazine on luxury. Essential reading for all those with a passion for the topic. Patrizia Malfatti
Exhibitions The latest outdoor furnishing, championing sustainability, material and colour Comfortable and sustainable, outdoor furnishing lends itself to many different interpretations, channelling innovation and constantly evolving aesthetics Marilena Pitino