For Riccardo Blumer design is the result of a continuous and ever-evolving research process that often leads him to explore concepts and experiment with materials, or, with ancient techniques as is the case of Ghisa, the innovative outdoors seating system co-designed with Matteo Borghi.

Driven by the advantages of iron casting; relatively low investment, reduced cost and good resistance of the material to weather and heavy use, the designers faced the problems of public furniture with extraordinary creative intelligence. A module-based system assures the flexibility needed to fit different landscapes and architectures, and the variable widths of both the seat and the backrest allows for linear or curved configurations. Modules are attached to each other with a series of diagonal tensors.

The materiality of Ghisa reflects its deeper functional roots; the unique skeleton shaped structure is the formal synthesis of its functionality, the beautiful bare shape of a need. This impeccably balanced dialog between form and function makes me reflect on how powerful design is when approached as a problem-solving discipline.