Angelo Bucci founded the “deZign Studio” in 2000, working in Interior Design, Product Design, and Advanced Design with the aim to mend the tear between companies and designers produced in the last years. Since 2009, He is the Head of the Interior Design Department and a teacher at UED-Università Europea del Design of Pescara. In this interview, the BLT Design Awards jury member is sharing with us his professional journey and his passion for teaching.
Could you tell us a little about yourself?
Well, it’s always hard for me to talk about myself… When I was 10 years old, I decided I would become an architect, therefore, I studied Architecture – one of my best characteristics is perseverance! Other important traits about myself are my curiosity and my empathy, which helped me a lot in my career. Since a young age, I loved teaching and this, somehow, shaped my today’s job.
Why have you chosen to be working in the Design field?
At the age of 10, I decided to study to become an Architect, it started after meeting an Architect (the father of a friend of mine), and I was so fascinated by him. During my studies, I realized that the job I would like to do in the future was in the fields of interior and product design. Maybe because I’ve always been attracted to finding solutions in small spaces and working on details. This consciousness helped me to choose my specialization in the last year of my educational path. Now I can say that I’ve been so lucky to meet people who were able to stimulate my creativity and my sensitivity, making me, become the person I am.
Which company did you work with prior to founding the deZign Studio?
I founded the deZign Studio when I still was a student! It was a bet, I can say now. What I mean is that I was so young, but this condition of unconsciousness about what could happen helped me to start something new and an important step in my life. In a couple of years, the deZign Studio became an important studio in the centre of Italy thanks to my unconsciousness. It was quite tough but I would do it again!
Prior to founding the deZign Studio, I had some collaborations with several firms that taught me a lot about how companies work.
In your entire career, if you have to choose only one project you have been involved in, which one would it be and why?
If I can, I’ll talk about two projects, one in the Interior Design field, and the other one in the Product Design.
The one in Interior design was a Hair Salon, in Pescara, called HairLab. It was an interesting project to work on because it was a place where sustainable products were used and so, the objective was to make the space the more sustainable as possible. When thinking about the concept, we find out that the only way to reach our aim was to reduce the number of furniture and use sustainable materials. The result was a beautiful space, light and fresh, a place where to relax and enjoy the moment.
The other project is a product called Wall Chair. Wall Chair was born after several brainstorming about a folding chair. Every brainstorming stopped at the moment of understanding how the customer could hide the folding chair, which is used for guests, in our current houses that are becoming smaller every day. The idea has been to transform these minus points into a plus point and, so, we decided that the folded chair wouldn’t be hidden, but shown! From that moment, we started designing a chair that, when not in use, can become a painting. This is how we designed Wall Chair, a folding chair/painting that we patented in January 2009.
You are also the Head of the Interior Design Department at the Università Europea del Design in Pescara, Italy. What has brought you to an Academic Career?
Well, first of all, I think it was my personality. My empathy and natural inclination toward teaching somehow were recognizable from when I was a teenager. I used to help my brother and my friends with their studies and it was a great satisfaction for me to see their results.
There’s something between egoism and altruism in teaching because there’s a part of personal satisfaction that arrives from the results of other people and from their satisfaction too. Working with the students is always something that makes me feel richer, even when it’s tough. To see their smiles when they reach their goals… or years later to hear about their accomplishments, are the best things! I knew that it could have been my career and now I can say that I was right.
What professional advice do you give to your students when graduating?
Of being modest, listening and learning from everybody they will meet in their lives. To stay side by side with artisans and carpenters, especially at the beginning of their working experience, watch and ask them all the questions you can. To learn to listen and understand what clients really want for their projects and share ideas with them. Never impose your ideas, if there’s something wrong with the client’s requests, try to give them the space to understand what’s wrong and let them understand why you deserve their trust.
Lastly, have you noticed any particular recent trends in Interior Design?
I think we are facing a lot of changes in architecture and interior design, due to the pandemic. The fact is that, first of all, we are structuring a brand new approach to the spaces of our houses that are used for working, playing with our kids, relaxing, etc., instead of just eating and sleeping. That’s why all the spaces in our houses will change progressively and so the furniture.
Moreover, we are, finally, exiting from the modernist way of thinking about spaces and materials, so our buildings won’t be machines for a living but will be a changing space, able to adapt to all the changes in our lifestyles, I mean, our houses will become a “liquid” space instead of a rational “machine for living”.
Furniture will finally reopen to decorations, we are all quite bored by these spaces with no colours and no fantasies, in my opinion, sooner or later we’ll start again designing objects and spaces and their decorations. I know that this isn’t specifically a “trend” but these new approaches will define new trends in product and interior designs.
