São Paulo – Luciano Devià adopted Brazil as his second home thirty years ago. He was born and graduated in Architecture in Turin, Italy, but moved to the country by invitation of industrialists who were interested in his work as a designer, and here me made a name for himself and established his career. Now, he plans on exporting, to the world and also to Dubai, luxury decoration objects such as chandeliers and mirrors, entirely made of glass using a revolutionary technology that sculpts the object using high-pressure water jetting.
It took years of drawing and experimenting for Devià to achieve the result that he wanted. “I spent two years designing the items, with lots of detail and shapes, and using a technology that most Brazilians are not even familiar with yet,” he says. The technology that provided the designer’s imagination with wings is a robot that blasts a jet of water, mixed with an abrasive product, that cuts with precision of over one millimetre. “This technology enables the creation of details that would be impossible to obtain manually,” he explains.
The architect’s interest in the emirate of Dubai is not random. “From the point of view of art and history, mirrors and crystals have always been associated with luxury and wealth, and the Arab market demands sophistication. The series of mirrors, for instance, has several shapes (oval, vertical, irregular like an amoeba) and was designed to be hanged in living rooms or at the entrance halls of houses and restaurants," he explains.
According to Devià, he decided to use the technique used for the chandeliers and mirros to create two dining tables, “a really large oval-shaped one for 10 people and a round-shaped one. The two have tops and foundations in glass made by Guardian and are accompanied by a small centre table,” he says.
In the second half of the year, the collection will be showcased in the city of São Paulo at Firma Casa, in Gabriel Monteiro da Silva street, a famous spot for decorative objects. The largest and best interior decoration brands are located in the street.
Home studio
Designing new possibilities for his professional future, Devià wants to promote his home studio, designed by himself and located in the Brooklin neighbourhood, in the capital of São Paulo. Inspired by organic architecture, he created an L-shaped project, facing the direction in which the sun rises, within the boundaries of the 20-metre by 19-metre plot, in order to preserve the 60-year-old jabuticaba tree that was part of the property. “I used glass panels on the two inner sides for natural light to come in, and for people to be able to see everything from all corners,” he says.
According to Devià, the largest part of his office is located in the lower area of the plot. A wing-shaped staircase with a rebar structure and MDF steps links the two pavements. The main access to the space is in the outer corridor. The rear wall is blue.
“For the living room, I designed a set of small tables that can be disassembled, to make transportation easier, made in the state of Acre using Amazonian wood and featuring exclusive details."
According to the designer, the items have already been displayed in an exhibition in 2001 and are being sold in the state of Acre. “They are very interesting items with a strong Brazilian quality, and should attract lots of attention abroad as well,” he claims.
Contact
Magali Freitas
Telephones: (+55 11) 5531-2796 and (+55 11) 8312-3903
E-mail: magalifreitas@uol.com.br
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
