Alcarol was conceived by Andrea Forti & Eleonora Dal Farra, an experimental design duo who researches and focuses on the story and intrinsic features of the environment and physical substances, combining avant-garde and innovative techniques with the handed-down experience of raw materials processing.
All environmental traces on the materials are thoroughly studied to discover a specific Genius Loci.
In classical mythology, the Latin term Genius Loci refers to a protective spirit attached to a place, a guardian who watches over its part of the world and imbues it with a special character. In a modern context, alcarol seeks to identify the spirit and the essence of a place to obtain an extraordinary understanding.
Alcarol is based halfway between the Venice Lagoon and the nearby Dolomite Unesco World Heritage mountains, and its pieces aim to capture some unique atmospheres of these remarkable lands, often by freezing time at the end of the material’s life cycle, thereby giving it a new life.
Acarol employs an experimental process using invisible or transparent substances to preserve natural materials exactly as they appear in their original habitat, and making them functional as unique design pieces.
The subsequent sectioning of the physical substances allows for an appreciation of their intimate and profound natures; introducing the fundamental idea of environmental cross-section.
The section planes – through touch, sight and olfaction of different materials – allow us to transcend the ordinary perception of a place.