Inhaling the future, exhaling the past; spoiling the ticking of time by creating the impossible. Stories that make you reflect on their true meaning giving life to creations of worlds unseen. JCP is an imaginative universe that transforms our normality by encouraging us to reflect on our own way of life, here on Earth. JCP is an eclectic brand that aims to change the design status quo in a revolutionary way.
The mural is the oldest painting technique, because walls were the first painting surface that humans worked on. In the contemporary era, mural art finds in wallpapers a partner: both of them stand on walls and both of them need water and paint to take shape. Having this in mind we developed wallpapers that take over the role of old murals, becoming site specific artworks accessible to many. For each…
In a world saturated by chimaeras of globalisation the Hybrid project is a reflection on how our diverse historical cultures can help us create a common meaningful future. Starting from a collection of tableware reflecting on the traditional production of Chinese and European porcelain and its centuries of cross-fertilisation, the project has grown to encompass more paradigms and cultures projecting the vision of a more conscious hybrid future. CeramiX Art…
CTRLZAK studio was asked by ekies all senses resort, a member of the Design Hotels collective, to give a deeper meaning to the hotel’s identity. Inspired by Chalkidiki’s special ecosystem, where rounded stone volumes and pine trees are in direct contact with the sea, we strived to develop creative solutions that underline nature’s presence and invite visitors to reflect on their relationship with it. Exterior spaces and treehouse The…
Throughout the years of our collaboration with the brand as Art directors, we had the opportunity to design a wide range of pieces which bring attention to the issues addressed in the JCP Universe. The archetypal forms of the pieces and the careful selection of their components reflect the aeons of cosmic transformation that gave life to everything we perceive. The focus is placed upon the mutable essence of nature, merging…
Born in the city of Ioannina (Greece), the new brand Granes focuses on the bespoke craft of silver pieces combining traditional techniques like casting, forging, carving and filigree with new digital technologies. Silversmithing is an art that has never ceased to thrive in Greece – from antiquity to the present day – and Granes proposes a new philosophy of making silver art. The endeavour has a…
‘Dare to design what we dream, away from norms and forms’ is the spirit behind Yo2’s creations. Following the studio’s ongoing research on the subject of extinction, we decided to take this spirit a bit further, infusing it with meaning and starting with a first collection that aimed to create awareness regarding issues of extinction caused by human activities. Discover more on : yo2.io Coral Loss |…
Rurality is the New Luxury Nowadays we finally understand that our actions influence everything around us and that we need a new sustainable lifestyle that is slower and more conscious. A lifestyle connected to nature on more than one level. Erba del Chianti is a brand that promotes exactly this lifestyle having as a paradigm the prodigious plant of Cannabis. A plant both practical and spiritual that can accommodate many of our needs and the cultivation of which…
A research project on the issue of species extinction and the loss of biodiversity. Extinction by definition is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms (taxon), normally a species. Most great extinction events in the past are caused by ’normal’ evolutionary dynamics (glaciations, volcanic eruptions and other unpredictable natural events such as the collision of an asteroid) but the long course of extinctions is increasing in…
A book exploring CTRLZAK Studio’s work from its inception in 2009 until 2017. A careful selection of paradigms from the studio’s projects takes the reader on an unexpected journey to humanity’s diverse cultural pasts, on contemporary society’s ironic present and proposing a future of a conscious world that realises its place in the cosmos. With critical essays by : M. Arapoglou, C. Morozzi & A. Zanchetta Book design : …
An installation about water created in collaboration with JCP Universe, for the Design on Water exhibition by Luisa via Roma, on the river Arno. The installation enhances the essence and the importance of water in its multiple forms. The visitor becomes involved using all his senses in an experiential journey of transparencies and reflections. To look, listen and taste water are some of the implemented actions in Waterness; a path of…
A project explores the micro-organisms found in food and water but that are normally invisible to the naked eye. The project is based on the enlarged representation of certain radiolarians and mycetes that were carefully selected and arranged in order to be printed on fabric. The patterns created for aprons, kitchen towels, tablecloths and napkins are thus inspired by the micro-ecosystem that we live with every day. At the same…
Known, among other things, for its hybrid modus operandi, the studio has realised throughout the years a series of works examining various scenarios of a ’hybrid future’. Starting from the history of porcelain and moving on to the world of textiles the various projects undertaken focused primarily on two ancient cultures: the European and the Chinese. A selection of this body of work was presented at Spaziootto a Sino-Italian space in Milan between December…
Time is something that cannot be seen, cannot be touched, smelled or be tasted. How is it then that we can visualise this vague concept within the physical space that we perceive with our senses? Hegel in the first section of his book “The Philosophy of Nature” (§257) says: “Space ‘is’ time, that is time is the ‘truth’ of space”. In other words time gives life to space as it…
Known for its hybrid modus operandi, CTRLZAK studio has been invited by carpet producer cc-tapis to work on a collection that reflects traditional values recomposing them in contemporary forms. The result of this collaboration is the collection of three carpets Cross(me)Knot, one piece of which was initially presented at Maison & Objet and Domotex, where it won the Best Innovation award. The collection enhances the company’s philosophy by merging traditional processes with current cultural issues. Cross(me)Knot combines…
This project was focused on the historical chair archetypes that even through their multiple variations maintain their original character up today. An interesting example of parallel archetype design is found between the Rocchetto style European chair and the Deng gua (Lamp hanger) Chinese chair. Both chairs have existed for centuries and were used initially by the rich as general use chairs, ending up eventually in common people’s houses where they…
A concept store located in the island of Mykonos which brings together historical replicas from various Greek archaeological museums. CTRLZAK studio is responsible for the entire design concept, which can be broken down to three main axes: stratification, excavation sites and museological representation. These themes where approached in different ways independently and then grouped together through the use of materials/colours and lighting. The central display area consists of white asymmetric…
MONUMENTALE is a collection inspired by the Italian architectural heritage. The collection aims to promote cultural knowledge and the familiarization with Italian heritage around the table through a series of different designs. Each object is characterized by a particular pattern corresponding to different floor plans and elevations of buildings selected for their historical value and location in the Italian territory. The collection has won the first prize awarded by the…
Nature with its astonishing perfect geometry has always been the primary source of inspiration for most forms of creative projects. Quartz is a system that couples two-dimensional pentagonal and hexagonal wooden structures, which develop in three dimensions following natural crystalloid formations.The geometric volumes are covered with ecological fabrics in mixed colour variations producing an end result that resembles more a wild microhabitat than an armchair. The Quartz armchair is produced…
An exhibition specifically conceived for the space of the Moroni mansion in Bergamo old town with the scope of discovering and reliving it through a multitude of viewpoints. The Hybrid porcelain collection, the CeramiX Art collection, the fabrics of the Flagmented project and a sound installation designed specifically for the occasion interact with the traditional furnishings and objects already present in the space. Within the halls of the palace the…
A series of works which integrate traditional fabrics from two diverse cultures, the European and the Chinese, blending them to form a single textile. The project represents a possible future able to surpass normal cultural borders and expressions. Classical European embroidery and Toile de Jouy are coupled with traditional Chinese fabrics forming unique pieces that stitch together the two diverse realities. The unexpected results mark a new era of globalisation…
On a mountain near a Buddhist temple Thanos & Katia discovered a peculiar practice: tiny sticks placed underneath massive boulders, appearing to support them but too small to bear the stone’s weight. Three years later this has been the inspiration for CTRLZAK’s D\Zen project, in which this meeting of great weight and delicacy takes the form of two different pieces of furniture. In the past it is probable that these…
Designed alongside the Art collection as a self-produced project, this is a series of ceramic objects that comprises a plate, a bowl and a cup in white glazed ceramic. This collection underlines some of the formal characteristics identified during the initial research of cross-fertilisation between Western and Eastern aesthetics, and applies them within the design process. The result is a series of tableware which employs contemporary forms to symbolise a…