*arsenale

"Off the Dust" aims at disrupting the threshold where Murano Glass can be involved, stepping into new contexts to re-configure our relationship with it: from contemplative to interactive and social, redeeming it from the dusty shelves and old fashioned aesthetics it sits on.

To make this happen, I had the opportunity to collaborate with a prominent furnace in Murano (Vetreria Nuova Venier), Venice.

The first outcome of this ongoing research is a series of home-integrated speakers where technology is concealed behind a glass sculpture that we are finally invited to touch.

The project looks at existing home-integrated products, their aesthetics, manufacturing processes, customisation and sustainability: the detachable aluminum tech body here can be upgraded or simply returned to the manufacturer for recycling while the "envelope" (often made out of different plastics and non-recyclable materials) can be cherished as a unique piece of art. No one piece will be the same as the other, and the possibilities in terms of customisation of colors and finish are endless.
Aluminum and glass ensure a highly sustainable process: a glass furnace has no waste, the cracked pieces and offcuts can be re-melted almost infinitely.

The collection of prototypes culminates with a final, functioning piece, ARSENALE 01, where the century-old "incamiciato" technique (colored glass and ceramic powders "trapped" in between layers of clear crystal) allowed me to work on color gradients with total freedom while hiding the internal technology, turning the latter into a subtle, unexpected surprise.

Tech and craft are fused together and integrated to interior spaces with a whole new language. The sensory properties of frosted and engraved glass are enhanced by the touch functions present on the speaker surface (triggered by invisible proximity sensors), indicated by symbols which are also a celebration of Venice architectural icons (The + and - for the volume are a stylisation of Palazzo Ducale's facade windows), adding a cultural layer to a social object that enables its owner to keep such stories alive.