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“Born from a blank slate.”

Fuoripista bike by Adriano design

Founded in 1997 in Turin, Italy by the Adriano brothers, Adriano Design has worked with prominent companies worldwide and earned numerous accolades in the design world for the out-of-the-box innovations. Meet their latest creation that stirred international praise in the design world: the Fuoripista bike.

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METCHA - Fuoripista bike - Adriano design - a man using the Fuoripista bike made with leather material by Adriano Design

The creative spark behind the invention began when Adriano Design was invited to conceive a product that would represent the very concept behind the Satellite show in Milan, a design trade show specifically meant to uplift rising designers, to celebrate the event’s 20th anniversary.

Without a real client with a real problem to please, the studio was given total creative freedom to actualize a product that represented their most profound concept of what design can do for a product — freeing the studio to complete deconstruct and reimagine a typically mundane product and transform it with sleek construction and premium materials like leather which offered a luxe look while promising durability.

METCHA - Fuoripista bike - Adriano design - the Fuoripista bike made with leather material by Adriano Design

The resulting design was impactful to say the least, earning international praise and awards, and even giving birth to a brand new independent brand in collaboration with Elite, one of the leading companies producing indoor cycling products.

We chatted with Davide and Gabriele Adriano, founders of Adriano Design about the details of the product, from conception to CREATION & BEYOND. Scroll down & hop on.

What moment of Adriano Design are we at?

Today, professionally, we are experiencing an important moment of great growth— we are working on strategic projects for highly structured companies that have fully embraced our philosophy and design methodology. Our approach is very particular, we do not design a single product, we design the future through a strategy that is based on a design methodology, one that leads companies to become visionaries in the function of product culture and researched innovation. When we talk about innovation, we mean the radical transformation of meaning, the technique and the technology of the products and their production processes. For this reason Adriano Design claims numerous patents to this day — almost all of them for internationally protected inventions.

METCHA - Fuoripista bike - Adriano design - a living room with the Fuoripista bike made with leather material by Adriano Design

There is an idea that says good design is invisible. Where do you find the balance between functionality and wow factor that your pieces evoke in people?

We like to investigate products "forgotten" by design and designers because they are "uncomfortable" and/or difficult to reinterpret. At the same time, we like "impossible" challenges like reinventing a wheel or an induction hob, products where it seems impossible to introduce our concepts of technological innovation and transformative meanings. Normally our products have an initial “wow” effect created by their conceptual and formal transformation, such as the Rotola wheel, which with its large hole seems incompatible with the function it has to perform — or the cooking hob Ordine that presents itself with such a different architecture (hanging on the wall) that doesn’t appear to be functional. But, the part that makes our products unique, able to last over the years and allows them to become a lever for transformation of companies is their technical side aimed at industrial invention and its patentability. This is how the Rotola wheel called the entire production process of the wheels produced for furniture into question through a totally new technical solution: the wheel pin, enlarged to become a large hole, becomes a rolling element of the wheel which is supported by two bearing shells in zamak alloy joined together by a simple and fast bayonet lock. Designed in 2004, it is still an icon in the world of furniture and office which, in its uniqueness and longevity, sees its most important means of prosperity. The Ordine cooking hob designed for Fabita, on the other hand, represents our way of bringing innovation to a consolidated technological world where everything now seems etched to the stone. By working on electronic components and rethinking their positioning, we managed to redesign a consolidated product by transforming its functions and functionalities even before its appearance.

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METCHA - Fuoripista bike - Adriano design - the Fuoripista bike made with leather material by Adriano Design in detail

Can you elaborate on the concept of the Fuoripista project?

Fuoripista Bike is the reinterpretation of the indoor training machine concept, and of the relationship that people can have with a "sports" product. We wanted to demonstrate how a product born to be segregated in the garage, or hidden in the closet, could be re-imagined in its deepest meanings — even before its form, function or aesthetics. From a machine to a sculptural object of desire, obviously without losing on performance and functionality. This is how we could involve one of the leading companies in the field of indoor training for bikes, Elite, in the project — and with them we developed an iconic object without technological compromises. In fact, Fuoripista Bike is one of the most complete and performant products for the training of cyclists.

Fuoripista had received so much attention that it immediately gave life to a new independent brand by Elite that we are obviously following personally and will see its debut in September 2020.

What made you jump into the idea?

In April 2017, the Satellite show in Milan turned 20 and to mark the occasion Marva Griffin invited us to think of a product that was the testimonial of this event, that represented our work and the very concept of the Satellite show. That’s why we can say that Fuoripista was born from a blank slate, because for the first time in many years we did not have a real client with a real problem to solve, but were free to make a product that represented our most profound concept of design, one that could narrate what design can do for a product. So, it was there that we made the decision to dedicate ourselves to the transformation of an "anonymous" product, one impossible to imagine in the living room of our homes. It is a true example of transformation of meanings, from machine to sculpture. The success was incredible and, in the months following the show, led us to open an amazing collaboration, active to date, with the Italian brand Elite for the development of Fuoripista, not only as a product but as an independent brand, as well as a wider collaboration with Elite’s products dedicated to the world of cycling.

Your work often embraces new forms of technology, how important is bringing these futuristic concepts to materials that never go out of date, such as leather detailing?

One of the most important characteristics of our products is given by their longevity, by their ability to go through time without being influenced by fashions and trends in order to always be fascinating and contemporary. Some of the many ingredients necessary for this result include noble materials such as glass, wood, steel, aluminium and leather — which, when treated with care, can live forever — expressing the distinct charm of rare & timeless products in normal use. For that reason, the Fuoripista bike does not have any plastic components.

Although the Fuoripista bike is a very technological object, we noted the Brooks seat, an icon of the cycling world. What’s behind this choice?

We want Fuoripista to be a timeless product. Fuoripista is made up of many components all designed and produced with materials suitable for keeping faith with this philosophy, the saddle is the only 'commercial' component that completes the product. When we found ourselves deciding we had no doubts. Brook's fully represents our philosophy. A product to be treated and lived in its natural transformation given by wear that makes it unique and unmistakable.

How are you thinking about sustainability these days?

Longevity and affection for the product/project represent real sustainability for us, everything else is an assumption. If we talk about an industrial product, our thought is that the world needs less products of greater substance. Repeating on restyling exercises today, as far as industrial concerns, can be very dangerous as it leads to a disaffection towards the product, perceived as an object to be consumed in the short term.

METCHA - Fuoripista bike - Adriano design - the Fuoripista bike made with leather material by Adriano Design being made

With Fuoripista, Adriano Design changed the game and raised the bar for design practices internationally — challenged creatives everywhere to deconstruct and rethink the very concept of “design” itself. We aren’t the only ones who feel that way tho — the design has received numerous international accolades.

SHOUTOUT TO CONSTANTLY MOVING FORWARD, EVEN WHILE STATIONARY. 🚲

Keep cruisin’ thru more [metcha originals] chats with creatives across industries.

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