Archi

Concept & design Contemporary architecture is largely made up of simple linear geometries and it is particularly interesting how a circular element can interact with them.
The common idea of ​​three-dimensional architectural space mostly recalls cubic volumes defined by flat surfaces and right angles. From a cosmic and atomic point of view, however, the idea leads us back to a spherical shape whose circle is its two-dimensional representation. In many cultures, the circle is, in fact, a symbol of life, harmony, perfection precisely because it unites the micro cosmos (the cells) with the macro cosmos (the planet and the idea of ​​the universe). ARCHI is a new ADL project that aims to relate these two apparently contrasting ideas of space by providing a new one that contains both of them as Leonardo da Vinci did with his Vitruvian Man and as the great architect Carlo Scarpa brought it into the architecture of the 70s.

ARCHI is a new ADL collection designed by Giovanni Battista Gianola that inscribes the shape of the circle in the very thin aluminum perimeters that make up the frames of the glass panes. Three compositional solutions, three different interpretations of the relationship of the circle with the geometry of the connecting element: tangent to the horizontal lines, to the vertical lines or free from the lines. Each composition can be interpreted with one or more circles based on the number of doors and the design you want to bring into the architectural scene.

The idea of ​​the circle in modern architecture is remarkably expressed by the great master Carlo Scarpa who, in his works (in the picture, the design of the famous Brion Tomb 1970-1978), did not use the circle as a decoration, but as a narrative and functional element that guides the gaze by connecting the past and present. Scarpa uses the circle as a sign of permanence and infinity, recalling classical and oriental architecture and evoking both the harmony of nature and the pure forms of conceptual abstraction.
His architectural circles, as well as the refinement of the details, the combined use of materials such as glass, wood, bronze and water, evolve the language of the brutalist style of the 1950s, giving it a unique and surprising sense of lightness and sophistication.