Professionals and companies meet color trends

"Color can contribute to the success and value of industrial products". This is the message that Mattia Bardelotto of Colori Millennium, a Lechler retailer of Cessalto (TV), delivered to the participants of the event "The Color Experience 2018". A learning experience and an occasion to build synergies between entrepreneurs and architects, designers and engineers, organised by the Venetian company in January thanks to the support of Lechler and the international project "Color Design", the concept that unites the development of chemistry and coatings with the evolution of the color language.

More than 150 participants hosted in the beautiful Polvaro estate in Annone Veneto, in the heart of one of the most important wine-making areas, participated to an exposition on color trends for architecture, furniture and design, with an introduction on the use of color in indoor spaces by Francesca Valan, industrial designer, expert and university professor on "Color Design".

 

Subsequently, a round table moderated by Mattia Bardelotto himself was organized, and the present entrepreneurs explained that the color project launched in 2017 thanks to Colori Millennium and Lechler resulted in successful projects. In particular Forme d'Acqua, a company that creates unique works with water, presented their industrial products which set up a project of industrialization of furniture elements that combine design, water, light and special materials ( stones, marbles, hand-made glass); Oikos Venezia ("Architetture d’ingresso"), a well-known company that produces designer armored doors; Rotaliana, which produces iconic lamps combining tradition and innovation, ancient roots and contemporary thought.

Decoration workshop

The decoration workshops were born in 2012 to meet the need to achieve finished product with in­creasingly high level in order to guarantee our customers an always higher quality. Decoration process in Sice Pre­vit Company goes from classical finish of the furnishings up to innovative wall finishes which follow contemporary trends, as well as the customers’ stylistic needs. The team consists of seven decorators, each one with his specific and highly professional skills. This close-knit team is the real resource of this department. The passion that cha­racterizes our decorators and their different backgrounds allow having a greater creative capacity thus giving an ad­ded value to the entire productive process… 

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The Tyranny of the Time by Patricia Malavolti

Let us resume a critical topic for coatings in architecture (and also in industrial design): which materials, how to use them, the relationship between the real material and its mimicry.

Architecture and design – that means the project - must always deal with time: in fact time is the variable that requires control. The main purpose of the coatings consists of  protecting materials with a"waterproofing" layer in order to not let deteriorate them, not only in terms of appearance but, and above all, in terms of  mechanical and functional characteristics. So we do not coat the materials just to give sensations but also to find the right balance between the naturalness of the material and the requirements connected to maintenance, cleaning, durability.

Everything is linked to time (and money): to prevent  materials’ deterioration the designer has to find the right coating that enhances the idea and allows its appropriate use. A choice that makes the difference.

Anyway coating is the last step of a process that involves more products and more players: the choice of the treatment and of the surface finishing cycle is essential to achieve the desired appearance. So it is not right to talk only about coating, but you need to know the whole process. The right process will lead to the best finish for the enhancement of the surface. Some "risky" design choices about finish reduce manufactured pieces’ lasting and caused an increase of costs for the maintenance of an adequate appearance over time, for the cleaning and for the functionality.

What does  time have ti do with the relationship between the "real" material and its mimicry? The link is due to the necessity to find the right compromise between the appearance of the material - especially when it is required in its natural appearance, for example by using  wood, or natural aluminium or oxidized iron - and the problems that these materials have without any protective coat: they get dirty, change the appearance and lose structural features - for example wood; they release on other materials their own residuals and they can not be cleaned - like Corten; they do not keep an acceptable appearance, or may be it is inherent in the production technology the difficulty of keeping  the same appearance, or in the process steps performed  in different times- as the anodized aluminium.

For this reason coating products which “imitate” materials or some finishing, in terms of aesthetical appearance, have been developed.

How can you deal with the problem without incurring the copy? The debate is open