In Milan and Hangzhou (China), at the China Industrial Design Association, the eleven winners of the second edition of the ADI Compasso d'Oro International Award have been awarded. The theme of the competition has been Sport - Performance and Innovation.
“We felt it was an opportunity to reflect on the possible future changes generated by this privileged sector” - the president of ADI, Luciano Galimberti, explained. “This reflection involved the collaboration of professionals of different disciplines, all united by design practice, which can translate and concentrate the knowledge of fields very different from each other. One common denominator of the experts of this sector is sport. It occupies our daily life, no longer just on a competitive level, but as an activity suitable for everybody, which puts man at the center of a project of freedom and peace”.
A jury of professionals of sports activities and organization, chaired by the designer Makio Hasuike, selected 10 winners for the International Compasso d'Oro and one for the ADI Young Start-Up Award.
Luca Apostoli and Alessio Rigamonti - founders of the architecture studio Apostoli&Rigamonti, in Lurate Caccivio (Como) - received the honorable mention for the project VWT-Vertical Wind Tunnel, better known as Aero Gravity: the free fall simulator that stands 31 meters high in the skyline of the Milan Expo area, with its flame red color.
The interior design is based on the large transparent cylinder of the simulator (diameter 5.20 meters; total height 21 meters, of which 8 in crystal glasse; volume 455 cubic meters). The Vertical Wind Tunnel simulates the 'floating' in the air produced by a free fall at 200 km/h, after jumping from an airplane at 4,000 meters.
For the flooring of the building, the studio Apostoli&Rigamonti chose the Olmo effect of the Cottage tiles by Ceramiche Piemme, being a perfect solution for the high foot traffic and the warm and natural tone of the slatted version.
