A meeting between Vittorio Alpi, the company's President, and the German designer Konstantin Grcic gave rise to a project on the theme of colour, which resulted in the new 'Arcobaleno' and 'Raggiosole' woods presented at the Salone del Mobile.Milano and Fuorisalone at the Alpi showroom in Via Solferino during the Milan Design Week.
 

'Research into colour is part of Alpi's corporate culture,' said Vittorio Alpi, 'but it had never gone as deep as it did with Konstantin Grcic. Konstantin has designed two surprising new woods, Arcobaleno and Raggiosole, exploring nature and the interactions between colours'.

 

“A Study of Hues”

As an industrial designer and profound connoisseur of wood, Konstantin Grcic, together with Alpi, has investigated new ways of pushing the boundaries of research, reinterpreting the wooden material under the banner of colour and graphics.

These two new woods, Arcobaleno and Raggiosole, are the result of extensive research and development work on the theme of colour, 'A Study of Hues', hence the title of the Milan presentation.

Grcic experimented for many months with the R&D department, focusing on the possibility of fading one colour into another, alternating colours in a programmed sequence. From a distance the effect is blurred, up close there is the illusion of an almost natural grain.

Arcobaleno, whose name already evokes its aesthetics, is a wood composed of multiple colour tones, like an iris. Raggiosole, on the other hand, is a more rigorous wood, but just as strong in its aesthetics, full of warm shades that vary between red and black. Two very different woods, but united by an aesthetic with a strong visual impact.

 

Enormous expressive and creative potential

It was an extremely challenging project, but one that in its outcome enhances the enormous expressive and creative potential behind the wood proposed by Alpi.

"The production of Alpi wood," says Konstantin Grcic, "is a long and meticulous sequence of processes, but it is precisely this complexity that makes the design possibilities limitless. Arcobaleno is composed as a progressive succession from blue to green, yellow, orange, red, magenta, purple and back to blue. Raggiosole draws its inspiration from 1960s guitars lacquered with a sunburst effect. The wood tones range from red-orange to ivory, black, ivory and red-orange. While both woods follow the same structural logic, they could not be more different in character. One is psychedelic and pop, the other is understated and solemn. Both are suitable for small and large, curved or flat surfaces'.
 

Kakao, a new shade in the Xilo collection

Among the novelties presented during the Milan Design Week was a new wood designed by Piero Lissoni, the company's Art Director since 2015, which enriches the Xilo wood collection with a new nuance: Kakao. A new chocolate-coloured wood interpreted in a contemporary key, capable of enhancing the range, expressing the full potential of this collection.

Kakao was the missing piece in a collection that draws its strength from the perfect intensity of nature by reproducing the grain and colours of natural wood through a calibrated colour scale. The living material of wood is enhanced, reproducing its natural characteristics.

Piero Lissoni also designed the Alpi space at the Salone, a stand made of discontinuous geometries and volumes to showcase the versatility and design potential of Alpi wood.