Fiandre featured as one of the landmark Italian brands at the ‘Casa del Design’ in Tokyo

Functionality, beauty, technology: these are the essential cornerstones of Italian design that have garnered it worldwide renown. Tokyo’s ‘Casa del Design italiano’ (House of Italian Design) is the very first industrial design exhibition to be hosted at an Italian embassy abroad: a permanent exhibition space dedicated to showcasing artistic and cultural activities within the consulate itself. 

As a leading company in the production of porcelain surfaces and a trusted partner in high-profile architecture projects, Fiandre Architectural Surfaces was invited to contribute to the permanent exhibition - alongside twenty-one other landmark brands including Cassina, Pirelli, Kartell, Poltrona Frau, Lamborghini and Artemide - which is spread over the 150m2 premises of the Chancellery, renovated in 2005 by architect Gae Aulenti. 

The initiative, spearheaded by Ambassador Gianluigi Benedetti and curated by architects Matteo Belfiore and Valentina Cannava, was made possible by a partnership with the Association of Industrial Design (ADI - Associazione del Disegno Industriale) and valuable contributions from a variety of Italian companies. 

For this occasion, Fiandre created a series of display systems based on designs by Matteo Belfiore and using the 300x150 cm format of its Uni Ice Active material.  This is a bright, versatile ceramic surface which is an ideal match for both traditional and contemporary projects, its performance improved by the antibacterial, anti-viral, anti-pollution, anti-odour and self-cleaning properties of Active Surfaces®: environmentally sustainable, fully recyclable surfaces produced in zero-emissions factories. The logo, which takes pride of place in the embassy atrium, was also printed using the company’s innovative DYS - Design Your Slabs - technology, which makes it possible to reproduce any image or illustration on Fiandre ceramic surfaces. 

The selection of objects handpicked for the exhibition was guided by a desire to represent a century of Italian design, from historical pieces created by the great masters of design to some more recent works. Some of the exhibits on display - or the designers behind them - have been recipients of the prestigious Compasso d’Oro award, which the ADI has been using to acknowledge outstanding products and designers for seventy years (with the first edition in 1954).