The Italy and USA-based design studio Caterina Tiazzoldi – Nuova Ordentra recently has completed the Toolbox interior project.

Toolbox interior project, image courtesy of Caterina Tiazzoldi / Nuova Ordentra

+ Project description courtesy of Caterina Tiazzoldi / Nuova Ordentra

Toolbox is a professional incubator realized in Torino Italy in an industrial space.

Toolbox design has been conceived to mediate user plurality and diversity with the coherence of the design concept.

For this reason the project is obtained by modulating similar volumes with different materials (cork, rubber) and performance types.

Approach that permitted to obtain a variety of space deriving from the same concept with different gradient of work intensity and privacy levels.

The idea of a design based on plurality emerge in the lobby wall in which 400 different with polygon are used as signage. A parametric device control the depth of each cube by connecting it with the distance of a specific programmatic function.

Winner of a special mention to the Contech Design Award about automation in design in the project Toolbox, each user is provided of a badge permitting to turn on and off the light of the different spaces in accord with the type of function that has been charged on users profile. In this way automation is used to mediate the coexistence between the different users and to moderate the friction usually deriving from the use of a common space.

+ About Caterina Tiazzoldi

Caterina tiazzoldi is the Principal of the architecture and design firm Caterina Tiazzoldi / Nuova Ordentra, Director of the Research Lab NSU at Columbia University in New York and Visiting Researcher at the Politecnico di Torino. Her work is characterized by a strong interaction between research and practice. Her work focuses in use advanced digital tools to develop innovative spatial concept. For this reason she participated to international events such as Torino World Design Capital, the Young Design Talent selection by Giulio Cappellini for the Temporary Museum for New Design, Advanced Architecture Biennal Settimo Tokio, Experimenta Design, Minimaousse 4.Her work has been published in international magazines (Domus, AMC Interieur, Interni, Metropolis, Elle décor, Vanity Fair, La Stampa, Repubblica, Bespoke), books (Shops 2009) and scientific publications (ARCC Journal).Caterina Tiazzoldi won several awards (Nomination at the cooper Hewitt Museum’s National Design Award, best paper EAAE/ARCC) and research grants (Sinapsi, Lagrange, Santa Fe Institute and Regione Piemonte fellowship).

+ All images courtesy of Caterina Tiazzoldi / Nuova Ordentra