Alias with Philippe Nigro is one of the teams running the new master's degree in Product & Furniture Design organized by Istituto Marangoni

As of October 2020, Istituto Marangoni is proposing a totally renewed Master’s degree program in Product & Furniture Design, with the aim to involve the participants in an authentic and innovative research experience, in close contact with renowned designers and high-end furniture companies in the made-in-Italy design world".

“I strongly believe in developing collaboration projects and initiatives between Alias and design schools; I think it is a definite task of design companies to disseminate the culture underpinning their DNA, and schools provide one of the most important opportunities to accomplish this mission.  I am happy to participate with Alias in the new Master’s in Product & Furniture Design offered by Istituto Marangoni, together with Alessi and Moroso. I firmly believe in the importance of engaging outstanding companies in unique learning and training programmes that prioritise innovation and can establish relationships between businesses and schools. Istituto Marangoni has selected the designers who will collaborate with the companies taking part in this initiative and, for me, it was a pleasant surprise to find that one of them was Philippe, a designer with whom we have already worked perfectly in tune with our approach to project development”, declares Andrea Sanguineti, Alias design director.

The course, ideated by Giulio Cappellini, renowned architect and brand ambassador of Istituto Marangoni, will assign each student a research project to be realised in collaboration with a designer and a company. Three teams have been formed, composed of Elena Salmistraro and Moroso, Moreno Vannini from studio Nendo and Alessi, and Philippe Nigro with Alias.  The initiative will provide a valuable opportunity to explore investigation paths that companies cannot normally address on a daily basis, and to achieve highly innovative results, with the aim to go beyond the interpretation of the brand and create a new object to be included in the catalogue through the identification of unprecedented scenarios characterised by a strong research content. In all the projects, the briefs will be guided by the School of Design of Istituto Marangoni together with the designers involved, representatives of the new generation to whom the heritage of the Masters of design is entrusted.  Alias, a company with a leading position in the development of furnishing systems for today’s world, whose work is characterised by its attention to stylistic innovations in the sector and the technical quality of its products, will engage in face-to-face dialogue with the students mentored by Philippe Nigro, a French designer who lives and works between Italy and France and defines his professional identity through the union of these two cultures. The research project will investigate new interior design solutions promoting seamless work flows and integrating distance and proximity situations, private spaces and work environments, so as to define a flexible and functional dimension that can reconcile the efficiency of smart working and the highly sophisticated experience of Made-in-Italy furnishings.