Imagine stepping into a theater where the anticipation of the performance becomes a multisensory experience, heightened by the architecture, furnishings, and materials that surround you. The new project for the Piccolo Teatro at Parco della Musica in Cagliari, dedicated to the renowned Sardinian soprano Carmen Melis and commissioned by the Fondazione Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, presented a unique opportunity to create a welcoming and engaging space that transcends the traditional foyer concept. We extended this vision to the ticketing area, transforming it into a versatile and captivating space where guests can also enjoy themselves.
The project reinterpreted the dominant morphological features of the building, resulting in a new arrangement that enhances both its perception and functionality. The redesigned interior emphasizes inclusivity, usability, hospitality, and architectural quality. Custom-designed elements, carefully scaled and architecturally significant, include the welcoming and multifunctional ticketing counter, an accessible cloakroom module for the foyer, and a suspended garden inspired by theatrical scenographic techniques. Additionally, the 15 hand-bent plywood “Soprano” lounge chairs and multifunctional planters with integrated seating further enrich the atmosphere, creating a hospitable environment before and after performances.
The new space comes to life through a collection of digitally designed and meticulously crafted bespoke furnishings and systems. Leveraging parametric design techniques and advanced digital fabrication methods such as CNC milling with a Kuka robotic arm and laser cutting, we harnessed the potential of FSC-certified birch plywood to create three-dimensional forms that seamlessly integrate into the existing space, enhancing usability and livability. Our material-focused approach aimed to highlight the innate structural and morphogenetic capabilities. Sustainability was a key consideration throughout the entire process, emphasizing lightweight interventions that align with the overall project’s ecological sensitivity.
The project realized for the Fondazione Teatro Lirico di Cagliari combines the precision of digital design with the art of traditional craftsmanship, utilizing parametric design both to ensure continuity between the design phase and production and to support artisanal activities, making them more accurate and suitable for complex processes requiring precision and repeatability. This holistic approach differs from traditional design methods, which are subject to post-design optimization or delegation of complex realization aspects. It also diverges from serial industrial productions, allowing us to adapt to existing architecture and enhance its qualities with a contemporary and non-mimetic language, concretely maximizing the impact of the resources deployed.
Using our internal digital fabrication lab, we have adopted various strategies for constructing the complex wooden structures that characterize the project, ensuring the faithful realization of the curved surfaces that define the entire design while maintaining a unified and integrated language. We have also devised and implemented construction strategies to realize complex metal carpentry assemblies without the need for a workshop equipped with advanced machinery. To support the entire realization phase, both of the wooden and metal works, we have designed and self-produced customized tools through digital fabrication, which have helped us to be faster and more accurate. This innovative approach has allowed us to enhance local craftsmanship and stimulate the regional economy, ensuring the utmost accuracy of the final product.
For this project, we have deployed the skills that most characterize the work of ALO studio, and we have decided to maintain a bold approach in the intent to ethically enhance the resources deployed. Each element of this setup is the result of intense and concrete research and development activity that has guided and supported the various phases of the project, thus pushing the typical boundaries of a public commission. Our integrated process has led us to increase our knowledge of material properties, guiding us to design with new intelligence. Although it is a hybrid self-production, between industrial and artisanal, we have achieved consistent product quality and remarkable efficiency in production times. From the start of the design phase to the completion of the setup, just 12 months have passed.
The entire setup project was based on advanced use of A/AB quality birch plywood from FSC-certified productions, a sustainable material for its high resistance and durability. The quality of the material allowed us to obtain robust furniture elements using reduced thicknesses, thus less material for the benefit of lightness and reduction of processing waste. We have addressed the issue of sustainability in an operational way, showing how its concrete achievement can only occur with an innovative and intelligent use of materials, even traditional ones. Parametric design and the subsequent direct digital fabrication of parts in our laboratory were fundamental in achieving this goal.
With the goal of lightness in mind, we designed the four wardrobe modules (containing metal coat hangers) and the reception front (with three stations for reception staff) by borrowing the concept of “Stressed Skin” from the world of aviation. This principle is based on the idea that airplane wings become structural elements through the collaboration between the internal framework and the visible external skin.
The components that make up the installation are characterized by a self-supporting double structural skin, with the intentionally exposed internal framework and vertical surfaces that flow through space with the horizontal continuity of the veneer and color coordination. The most remarkable and sophisticated quality that made this realization particularly complex is the complete absence of visible screws and fasteners for joining the two layers of skin, hence the name “Double-Skin.” In this regard, we turned to aviation and borrowed the systems used for attaching the internal finishing panels of civil transport aircraft.
The three clothing delivery stations were designed with universal accessibility in mind. Unlike traditional wardrobes, where the operator stands behind a particularly high counter that is not easily accessible to people with motor disabilities or in wheelchairs, the reception front features height variations that allow everyone to independently deposit or retrieve their garments.
Wood, a living and responsive material, changes its shape to find a new balance in response to external forces. Its fibres and natural elasticity play a crucial role in this process. Learning from Charles and Ray Eames’ research in bending techniques and the creation of bent plywood furniture, as well as from Frei Otto’s empirical Form-Finding technique (which involves physically manipulating materials to discover their form), we empirically explored the shape of the “Soprano” lounge chair, dedicated to Carmen Melis. We embraced a new way of working, leveraging digital fabrication and contemporary technologies such as 3D scanning, laser cutting, and CNC milling. This allowed us to explore multiple design variations rapidly, implementing a true evolutionary process for the form.
Our goal was to eliminate the need for moulds in shaping the chair components, diverging from Charles and Ray Eames’ experimentation. We overcame the challenge of exhaustively testing numerous design variants to find the most suitable configuration. Through trial and error, we discovered how to shape the flat parts of the raw plywood sheet based on the direction of the fibers. We then curved them over a form until achieving the ideal shell shape with an angle between the seat and backrest.
Contrary to expectations, there was no 3D digital model during the development phase. Instead, we created several 1/4-scale study prototypes, each with only a two-dimensional drawing of the flat parts to be laser-cut directly in our in-house workshop. Finally, we obtained a valid and repeatable candidate. After bending, it was 3D scanned, and the resulting digital model was scaled to life size. Using this digital twin, we parametrically designed the wire frame that completes the seat, emphasizing the overall design’s pursuit of lightness.
The seat shell consists of a double structural skin, ensuring stability and strength while minimizing material usage. We achieved this by using 6 mm thick birch plywood sheets. Each seat is made from a single raw material sheet, ensuring color and grain coordination between the inner and outer skin. The skins are then hand-bent with the aid of steam and a form. After bending and securing the first skin, spacers are applied, and the second skin is curved following the contours of the first. The backrest’s connecting element, which we call the “key,” has a specific shape designed to facilitate closing and fastening the two skin flaps during bending.
In the process of revitalizing the basement foyer, we worked to reintegrate nature as an essential part of the interior design. One of the focal points was the light well, an area with great potential to transform the space into an intimate and captivating corner. We introduced multifunctional furnishings: a spacious planter that evokes a micro-garden and seating with storage space for guests’ reading materials. Inspired by theatrical sets, the suspended planter with steel cables amplifies natural light, while lush vegetation brings life to the environment, making the anticipation of the performance a unique experience. The double-height seating, designed for both adults and children, emphasizes accessibility and versatility in the space.
We aimed to breathe life into the basement space of the foyer, treating vegetation not as mere decoration but as an integral part of the new architecture. The planters with integrated seating are positioned around some of the supporting columns, serving as both filters and functional elements for waiting or gathering before and after performances. They were crafted with a distinctive wire frame, hand-shaped and completed with double-height shelves to accommodate adults and children.
The ticket office is often seen as a purely functional space, but we saw an opportunity to set the stage for the theater experience that awaits spectators. Our proposal consists of a single architectural element that resolves multiple functions while prioritizing accessibility and hospitality for all.
The complex form of the object integrates three fundamental functions: an information corner with storage for informational materials, a bookshop area for adults, children, and those with mobility challenges, and two ticketing stations with a functional and ergonomic configuration for maximum comfort for operators and customers.
The articulated design of the furnishings elegantly addresses the complexities of the space (especially flow management) due to the presence of two central columns, a recessed staircase, and an off-center entrance. Simultaneously, it creates an iconic and identity-defining image for this space.
The success of this project is a testament to passionate collaboration with our partners. Special thanks to Gabriele Onnis for invaluable support throughout the production and realization phases, to Michael Tinti (Weld Project) for his welding expertise and openness to exploring innovative construction strategies developed for this project, and to Enrico Collu (GEA) for the exclusive pearlescent finish on all wooden surfaces, completed with tight timelines and mastery. We extend our gratitude to the Municipality of Cagliari, the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, and all the individuals involved in the Administrative and Technical Offices for their support in this ambitious and complex endeavor.
+ Photographer
ALO s.r.l. | Marco Verde
+ Year
2023
+ Location
Cagliari
+ Awards, Publications and exhibitions
nd
+ Keywords
Design di interni, Legno Digitale, design parametrico, fabbricazione digitale
