ABET LAMINATI is pleased to present the “Kasa Digitalia” project to the public at the 2008 International Furniture Fair in Milan (Salone del Mobile - Fuori Salone) . The project was created in collaboration with De Rosso and based on the designs of Karim Rashid. A collection of decorative items in bright and provocative colours that will give shape and meaning to the living spaces of the Kasa. An exceptional event, which represents a new chapter in the enthusiastic adventure of ABET in the area of Italian and international design.
On 16 April 2008, the “Kasa Digitalia” event/project will be opened to the public and to the press at the Triennale di Milano Design Museum. The project is organised by ABET LAMINATI SpA with the special collaboration of De Rosso, a partner specialising in furniture production. A new collection of bright and provocative colours and decorative items will give shape to KASA DIGITALIA: a unique and provocative technological domestic ambience entirely covered with ABET laminates printed using digital technology and fitted out in collaboration with De Rosso. Karim will meet the public and national and foreign press on 17 April at 18.00 at our stand on the ground floor (Galleria dell’Architettura) of the Triennale di Milano Design Museum.

BIOGRAPHY

Backed by over 50 year‘s experience, ABET LAMINATI has become one of the most important and prestigious Made in Italy companies in the world thanks to its collaboration with the greatest designers and architects all over the globe, from Ettore Sottsass to Alessandro Mendini as well as the annual collaboration with Karim Rashid. Karim Rashid, a graduate in Industrial Design from the Carleton University of Ottawa, has become a leading figure in interior design on a worldwide scale. Rashid’s approach to design may be described as functional and attentive to the context into which the article is inserted for everyday use. Among the masterpieces of the artist, called the “poet of plastic” by Time, towers the “Oh Chair”, considered one of the gems of universal design. Karim Rashid has been awarded many prizes for his work. Among the most recent recognitions we recall the Daimler Chrysler Award (1999) and the Brooklyn Museum of Art Designer 1998 award. Rashid’s works are frequently exhibited in some of the most important museums in the world, including the Moma in New York.
Collaborations between ABET LAMINATI and major designers have enabled the development of the image of laminate, through research into motifs and surfaces capable of transforming its aesthetic appearance. Thanks to these efforts laminate has progressively acquired a precise identity and a new and different image. In this regard ABET LAMINATI has distinguished itself in accumulating and interpreting changes and developments in habits and social context. In 1987 ABET LAMINATI won the Compasso d’Oro with Diafos, the first transparent laminate with a three-dimensional ornamentation. The travelling exhibition “Material Lights” was organised to publicise the image and presents a collection of luminous objects created in Diafos and designed by a group of designers coordinated by Ettore Sottsass. In the new millennium ABET LAMINATI has focussed its attention on research into high-quality, innovative techniques and increasingly refined new products so as to differentiate its products from those available on the market. The international vocation and curiosity to constantly search for new markets, together with the desire to constantly renew its products led to the creation of DIGITAL PRINTING: a new technique for the HPL laminate which enables four-colour inkjet printing directly from file. Digital printing means that the finest textures and shades can be achieved with excellent print quality enabling designers to expand their expressive potential together and giving infinite design possibilities.
The persevering contribution of ABET LAMINATI to Italian and international design culminates with this historical and unique event at the Milan triennial exhibition with the Milan Furniture Fair which will receive great echo throughout the world of architecture and design.

KARIM RASHID is a focal figure in the area of interior design, furniture, lighting and art. Over the years he has worked with many famous brand names such as Alessi, Umbra, Prada, Miyke and Method and has influenced customer culture with his Sensual Minimalism.
To date more than 2500 objects have been created using Karim Rashid designs. Successes such as Dirt Devil Kone, Umbra Garbo and Method show how Karim designs are “democratic” or rather, accessible to the masses. Karim’s language embraces all of life’s aspects, from furniture to cosmetics, from works of art to architecture. Awards for work in interior design include the design of the Morimoto restaurant in Philadelphia and the Semiramis Hotel in Athens as well as shops and restaurants throughout the world.
 
Winner on several occasions of the Good Design award of Chicago Athenaeum, Museum of Architecture and Design Chicago, I.D. Magazine Annual Design Review and the Red Dot Award, at the beginning of his career Karim had the honour of receiving the prestigious Daimler Chrysler Design Award and the Brooklyn Museum Young Designer of the Year Award. He recently received the International Furnishings and Design Association Circle of Excellence Award for Industrial Design and the Pratt Legend Award. His works are part of permanent collections in 15 museums around the globe, including the MoMA and the SFMoMA. He also exhibits his works in various art galleries.
A university lecturer in Industrial Design for ten years at the Rhode Island School of Design and the Pratt Institute, Karim is often a guest speaker at various universities and conferences all over the world.
Karim has published the “Design Your Self” guide, “Digipop” a digital exploration of computer graphics (Taschen 2005), two essays entitled “Evolution” (Universe, 2004) and “I Want to Change the World” (Rizzoli, 2001). He also supervised the 2003 edition of the International Yearbook 18 for Calmann and King.
 

DE ROSSO SPA is a young company with innovative ideas. It is headquartered in Farra di Soligo (TV) in the north-eastern Veneto region, occupying a number of restored historical buildings. It was established in the ‘80s thanks to the intuition of Roberto De Rosso and has three plants, 20,000m2 of production plant, a unit specialising in the production of laminates, one in the production of metals and aluminium, a third in the production of textile parts and a fourth dedicated to the details and finishing.
The result is a complete furnishing programme that is flexible and suited to all home environments as well as to offices and shops.
The high-quality materials used enable the creation of over 200 colours and finishes by drawing on a vast range of laminates and P.V.C., while complying with environment-sensitive policies.
The careful attention to detail and finishes and the high standard of quality make “De Rosso” production an essential instrument for all designers and interior decorators who know how to maximise its versatility.
De Rosso is currently capable of providing the most suitable solutions for every room in a private home (living room, bedroom and kitchen), but also for commercial activities and public spaces, from offices to shops, enabling personalised creations to meet every type of requirement, with a flexible and versatile furniture programme which allows the creation of furniture to the millimetre with almost unlimited possibilities for shapes and colours.
97% of the production is carried out in-house: from the production of doors and drawers, the cutting of shapes to the upholstery, from the working of aluminium through to varnishing with epoxy powders. This is all thanks to the work of specialised technicians and the use of avant-garde equipment and machinery. For many years De Rosso has automised the company: information travels in real time from order to delivery, from company to dealer and is accessible by all company departments. The company has grown significantly and is now a leader in the use and production of laminates. However, technology continues to be used with the human touch to ensure careful attention to detail and finishes, while guaranteeing an industrial quality standard.
Attention to quality and eco-compatibility has always been the cornerstone of the De Rosso corporate culture. This commitment led De Rosso to certify its own quality system in compliance with UNI EN ISO 9001/2000 regulations and the most critical production processes for the environment in accordance with UNI EN ISO 14001 regulations. To certify its policies and practices, De Rosso chose ICILA as its partner, the most important certification institution in the wood-furniture sector.
This is the spirit which for over twenty years has accompanied Roberto De Rosso in Italian design. He started his adventure in the world of design at a very young age, working as a designer in his own interior design shop. This experience helped him to see things “from the customer’s point of view”. Convinced that there was no “custom” company able to create a product dictated by service and so decided to create the company himself. Recalling a slogan we could say that the company offers design that stays “one step behind”, thereby allowing the hidden demands of the consumer to be interpreted with the maximum creative freedom.

Francesca Losi

For any further information
or to ask for press releases
please contact
ABET LAMINATI SpA Press Office
c/o DEMETRA – Communication in Architecture
T  0039 0341 271900
F  0039 0341 353776
press1@demetraweb.it
Press Office Manager: Francesca Losi
Press Office Assistants: Laura Sala, Giovanna Gilardi

Tags: De Rosso, Digital Print, Fuori Salone, Karim Rashid, Kasa Digitalia, Milan, Salone del Mobile, Triennale di Milano

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