Design Offi ce Antti Kotilainen was
founded 1997 in Helsinki. Specializing
in furniture design his studio also
provides product design as well as
complete visual concepts ranging
from graphic to spatial design.
Characteristic for Kotilainen’s design
work is organic functionalism set to
meet contemporary qualifi cations.
Behind his work is a drive to refi
ne technical issues and details – of
the manufacturing process and the
applicability alike – into aesthetics
of the fi nal product. His aim is
to compose designs that look as
effortless as they look essential. In the
best Scandinavian tradition Kotilainen
has explored new ways to work with
wood in numerous of his furniture
designs. Since the year 1993 he has
collaborated with several Scandinavian
furniture manufacturers for example
Martela, Piiroinen and also with Knoll
from United States and Arper from
Italy. Kotilainen’s furniture has been
widely recognized and his work has
been displayed in several Finnish
and international expositions. His
furniture has been utilized in furnishing
public spaces in various companies,
universities and cultural sites in
numerous European countries, US,
Australia and Japan.
Antti Kotilainen
Anderssen & Voll is an Oslo based
designstudio run by Torbjørn
Anderssen (1976) and Espen Voll
(1965). Torbjørn is graduated from The
Bergen Academy of Art and Design
and Espen is graduated from Oslo
National Academy of the Arts. As
cofounders of Norway Says in 2000,
they were forerunners in a emerging
international movement amongst
young Norwegian designers. Since the
startup of Anderssen & Voll in 2009,
their work has spanned from textile
design through tableware, lighting and
furniture to electronics for some of
Europe’s most renowned international
design Brands. Their colaborations
include work for companies like
Lapalma, Muuto, Wrong for Hay,
Foscarini, Kvadrat, Erik Jørgensen
and Filip Technologies. They also
take great pride in working with some
of the fi nest Norwegian traditional
industry like Jøtul, Gudbrandsdalens
Uldvarefabrik, Fjord Fiesta, Røros
Tweed and LK Hjelle. Working with
the very different industrial cultures
spanning from the mountains of
Norway to the plains of Veneto is a
continous source of inspiration. Their
work has received numerous awards
like Honorary Award for Design
Excellence in Norway, Wallpaper
Award, IF Award and the Torsten and
Wanja Söderberg Prize.
Anderssen & Voll
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Francesco Rota, interior and product
designer, was born in 1966 in Milan,
where he lives and works. After
graduating in industrial design at the
Art Center College of Design in La
Tour de Peilz (Switzerland), he opened
his own studio in 1998 specialised
in different fi elds of design. Over the
years Francesco has collaborated with
a number of widely recognised brands
such as Bals Tokyo, Barilla, Driade,
Fiat, Frag, John Richmond, Knoll
International, Lapalma, Lema, Living
Divani, L’Oreal Paris, Malo, Martini &
Rossi, Mercedes Benz, Moroso, Paola
Lenti, Oluce, Versus. Francesco was
awarded three honourable mentions for
the Compasso d’Oro with Linea, Island
and ADD. ADD System was among the
nominees in 2017.The products Kanji
and Move were awarded The Good
Design Awards in 2016, and Uptown in
2017. Same year Screen was awarded
WallPaper* Design Award and Agio
won the Archiproducts Design Award.
Francesco is a winner of the German
Design Award with the products Move,
ADD, Kanji while with Daydream he
received a special mention in 2014; a
winner of The Red Dot Design Award
with ADD, Move and Kanji in 2016 and
Red Dot Best of the Best with Uptown
in 2017; winner of Interior Design Best
of the Year 2014 Award with the product
Cloud. In 2013 Francesco was a fi nalist
for the Wallpaper Judges’ Award in
the section Designer of the Year and in
2015 he was selected among the Top
200 designers of the year by Architonic.
From 2013 he is art director of Lapalma.
Francesco Rota
Born in Modena, degree in
Architecture in Florence. In 1985-
87 he worked at Cesare Leonardi’s
studio. He has designed for: Alessi,
Authentics (D), Driade, Elmes
(Jp), Lapalma (IT), Serralunga. In
1992/2003 ”Top Ten” award at
Promosedia, in 1997 “Design Plus”
award in Frankfurt, in 2001 selection
for Compasso d’Oro award in Milan.
“Segreta” stool / ladder by Driade is
part of the permanent exhibition at the
Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
In 2005: personal show “watercolours
industrial design” in Jatsuo, Jp.
Fabio Bortolani
Born in 1950, in Pianiga, near
Venice. He still lives and works in the
Riviera del Brenta. During his cultural
education at the Venice Academy
of Fine Arts and at the Industrial
Design Course at the Department
of Architecture of the University of
Venice, he designed and created a
lot of art objects, which have been
showed in important international
exhibitions. Since the 80s he has been
working full-time in industrial design,
collaborating with prestigious furniture
brands: from Magis to Artemide, from
Lago to Gervasoni. In the 90s, he
took on the artistic direction of many
projects. He worked and collaborated
with Lapalma, Montìna, Bross,
Bauline, and also he allowed the
launch of new brands, as Verdesign,
Torremato, Kreoo, I-Radium, Hiko. He
obtained many awards, including, in
the 2014, the Compasso d’Oro Award
for the design of Bitta, an outdoor
lamp.
Enzo Berti
