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About

Lanzavecchia + Wai is a creative collaboration between Francesca Lanzavecchia and Hunn Wai.

To them, being designers means being researchers, engineers, craftsmen and story-tellers all at the same time.
Wai hails from the south-east Asian island state of Singapore, educated as an industrial designer at the National University while Lanzavecchia received her BA in Product Design from Politecnico di Milano.
They met at the Design Academy in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, where they obtained their Masters in Design.

Having hailed from two very different countries and cultures, they attempt to feed each other’s backgrounds, knowledge and skill-sets to fuel lateral thinking and agile tangible application.

Design projects to them are research journeys characterized by the pursuit and selective employment of different design disciplines and professional competences, to be curated, cross-bred and nurtured into concepts and products that propose possibilities and inspire new perspectives.

The design studio was founded in 2010 and is based both in Italy and Singapore.

Here is the complete biography

Some testimonials:
What has been said about us

22Lanzavecchia+Wai_2017-1

Methodology

l-UOMO-Vogue-2016-by-Rebecca-Toh


“We drive our design practice into domains that pushed the boundaries of our definitions of “Industrial Design”, “Furniture Design”, “User-Centred Design”, “Healthcare Design”, “Childcare Design”.

We dig into all these different fields to expand our profession’s comfort zones, to enable growth, to bring value by applying one domain’s attributes and processes into another.

We seek expansion of our comfort zones, we seek discomfort to learn new things and acquire new tools to grow; and it is by this “Comfort/Discomfort” engine that we propel our practice into the unknown, to explore strange new worlds, to make new sense, knowledge and beauty.”

Clients

We love to work with forward-thinking brands from around the world.

Through design research and industrial design we give shape to their visions that push the boundaries of their domain.

loghi_clienti

Awards

Our work has received international media and critical acclaim, and been recognised by some prestigious awards that include:

  • 2021 “Archiproducts Design Award” for Wave bench designed for De Castelli
  • 2018 “Archiproducts Design Award” for Pebble Vanity/Desk designed for Living Divani
  • 2018 Land Rover BORN International Award – Home Category
  • 2016 “Red Dot Product Design Award” for the Transition Tiles collection produced by MIRAGE®
  • 2015 “Innovation in Inclusive Design Practice Award”, Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design, Royal College of Art, London
  • 2014 “AlumniPolimi Award”, Politecnico di Milano – Alumni Award
  • 2014 Elle Deco International Design Award – “Young Design Talents of the Year”
  • 2014 “FLYdeas for the City”, AgustaWestland X INTERNI Magazine Contest
  • 2014 Singapore Furniture Design Award. Honourable Mention
  • 2013 “Life-Enhancer of the Year” Wallpaper* Design Awards. Nomination
  • 2011 Wonder Design Award, Rima Editrice Young & Design
  • 2011 Elita Fuorisalone Award. Finalist
  • 2011 Talents – Tendence Fair – Messe Frankfurt. One of 30 Young Professionals selected worldwide.
  • 2007 Dyson Sustainability Awards, The Netherlands
award

Exhibitions

Lanzavecchia-Wai_rockit_secondome_Rome © Gianluca Di Ioia - La Triennale-1 copia IMG_0517 design-destinations-a_MGbig dam-images-art-2014-cooper-hewitt-cooper-hewitt-inaugural-exhibitions-04 events_20yearsSatellite01 gambuti.fp@gmail.com pmg-18

Here are some selected exhibitions:

2022

  • MAK Design Lab. MAK Museum, Vienna. 15 NOV 2019 – 30 MAY 2023
  • FIND – Design Fair Asia. Marina Bay Sands, Singapore. 22 – 24 SEP
  • Design Miami/Basel. Messe Basel, Basel. 14 – 19 JUN
  • London Tech Week. Queen Elizabeth II Centre. London. 13 – 14 JUN
  • Biennale Internationale Design Saint-Etienne. Cité du design, Saint-Etienne. 06 APR – 31 JUL

2021

  • Design Variations 2021. Palazzo Litta. Milano, 05 – 10 SEP
  • SuperSalone. Rho-Milano Fairgrounds. Rho, 05 – 10 SEP

2020

  • EDIT Napoli. Complesso Monumentale San Domenico Maggiore. Napoli, 16 – 18 OCT

2019

  • Vienna Biennale for Change. MAK Museum. Vienna, 29 MAY – 08 OCT
  • Wallpaper* Handmade X. Palazzo dei Tessuti. Milan, 09 – 13 APR
  • Material District 2019. Rotterdam Ahoy. Rotterdam, 12 – 14 MAR
  • Wallpaper* Handmade 2019. National Museum of Singapore. Singapore, 07 MAR – 10 JUN

2018

  • Reciprocity Design Liege. La Boverie. Liege, 05 OCT – 25 NOV
  • Selected 2018. Universal Museum Joanneum. Graz, 5 MAY – 03 JUNE
  • Triennale Design Museum 11: Storie. Triennale di Milano, Milan 14 APR 2018 – 20 JAN 2019
  • Sendmethefuture. Subalterno1 – Milan, 19 FEB – 30 APR
  • 100×100 Achille. Fondazione Achille Castiglioni – Milan, 19 FEB – 30 APR
  • The Bicycle Renaissance. Triennale di Milano – Milan, 2 MAR – 2 APR
  • See Yourself E(x)ist. Pratt Manhattan Gallery – New York 7 DEC 2017 – 18 FEB 2018

2017

  • Fifty Years of Singapore Design. National Design Center – Singapore, 10 MAR 2015 – 31 DEC 2017
  • Aqua Art Miami 2017. Aqua Hotel – Miami, 6-9 DEC
  • Signals. Habitare:Interior Design and Furniture Fair – Helsinki, 12-16 SEPT
  • Animali in Scatola. Galleria Giuseppe Pero – Milan, 4-9 APR
  • White Young, White in the City. Class Editori Space – Milan, 4-9 APR
  • Talisman, contemporary symbolic objects. Palazzo Clerici Milan – Milan, 4-9 APR
  • Action Giromari House of Birds. La Triennale di Milano – Milan, 4-9 APR
  • SaloneSatellite. 20 Years of New Creativity. Fabbrica del Vapore – Mlian, 5-25 APR
  • NEW OLD. London Design Museum – London, 12 JAN – 19 FEB
  • Bussa coi Piedi. Galleria Secondome – Rome, 1 DEC 2016 – 27 JAN 2017

2016

  • Atom: The Cutting Factory. La Triennale di Milano – Milan, 11 – 30 NOV
  • W. Woman in Design. Triennale Design Museum – Milan, 02 APR 2016 – 19 FEB 2017
  • White Flag. London Design Biennale – London, 7 – 27 SEPT
  • New Craft. Fabbrica del Vapore – Milan, 02 APR – 12 SEPT
  • Looking at Tod’s Leo. Tod’s Boutique – Milan, 16 – 18 APR | New York, 17-24 MAY
  • A Matter of Perception: Tradition and Technology. Palazzo Litta, Milan 13-18 APR
  • Singapore Design: The Alchemists. Singapore Art Museum – Singapore, 16 – 31 JAN

2015

  • The New Italian Design. Gwangju Design Biennale – Republic of Korea, 13 OCT – 15 NOV
  • Le Affinità Selettive. Triennale di Milano- Milan, 9 – 12 JULY
  • Le Affinità Selettive. Museo d’ Arte Contemporanea di Lissone – Lissone, 18 JUL – 12 NOV
  • Singapore Design : The Alchemists. La Triennale di Milano – Milan, 23 MAR – 19 APR
  • PRESENZE. Biografie inedite di cento oggetti. Spazio ex Verniciature Allestimenti Porta Nuova – Milan, 23 MAR – 19 APR
  • LOCAL ICONS. Greetings from Rome. MAXXI Museum – Rome, 27 MAR – 7 JUN
  • Fifty Years of Singapore Design. National Design Center – Singapore, 10 MAR 2015 – 31 DEC 2017
  • INDUSTRY Gallery @ FOG Design + Art Fair. Fort Mason Festival Pavillion – San Francisco, 15 – 18 JAN
  • ANIMALITÀ. La Triennale di Milano – Milan, 13 JAN – 22 FEB
  • La bellezza quotidiana: Un percorso nella Collezione Permanente del Design Italiano – Villa Reale di Monza, 14 DEC 2014 – 13 DEC 2015
  • Beautiful Users. Cooper-Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum – New York, 12 DEC 2014 – 26 APR 2015
  • Il design italiano oltre la crisi. Triennale Design Museum – Milan, 04 APR 2014 – 22 FEB :2015

2014

  • Aqua Art Miami 2014. Aqua Hotel – Miami, 3 – 7 DEC
  • Craftsmen, Designers, Makers. Korea Foundation Cultural Center Gallery – Seoul, 17JUL – 27 AUG
  • EBACE, European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition. Geneva Palexpo – Geneve, 20 – 22 MAY
  • FLYdeas for the City -Feeding new Ideas for the City – INTERNI @ Università degli Studi di Milano – Milan, 07APR – 18 APR
  • MONDOPASTA – An Italian Contemporary Tale. Subalterno1 – Milan 08, APR -13 APR
  • DESIDERABILIA – About Desirable Things. Ventura Lambrate – Milan, 8 APR – 13 APR
  • ONWARDS -Straightforward techniques, Noble Material. h+, Brera Design District – Milan, 8APR – 13 APR
  • Tempo Italiano. Stockholm Design Week – Stockholm, 4 FEB – 7 FEB
  • Rock It! (solo exhibition). Secondome Gallery – Rome, 22 NOV 2013 – 21 FEB 2014

2013

  • Equal Design Festival. CZECHDESIGN.CZ – Prague, 17 SEP – 21 SEP
  • Design Days Dubai. Industry Gallery – Downtown Dubai,18 MAR – 21 MAR
  • FUTUREcraft. International Furniture Fair – Singapore, 08 MAR – 12 MAR
  • The New Italian design 2.0. Cannery Galleries – San Francisco, 22 JUN – 11 AUG
  • The New Italian design 2.0. Alhondiga – Bilbao, Spain, 8 FEB – 05 MAY

2012

  • Shape your Life, Progetto Alcantara-MAXXI. MAXXI – Rome31 OCT – 18 NOV
  • 100% Design Singapore. Marina Bay Sands – Singapore, 10 – 12 OCT
  • The New Italian design 2.0. National Taiwan Craft Research and Developement Institute –Taiwan, 20 SEPT – 20 NOV
  • Transformers: How Enabling Design has Transformed Disability. The National Centre for Craft & Design – Lincolnshire, 14 JUL – 30 SEPT
  • The New Italian design 2.0. Beijing Industrial Design Center – Beijing 16 JUL – 20 AUG
  • Women design… C’est la vie. Zamek Cieszyn – Poland, 11 MAR -15 APR
  • ANOTHER TERRA, Home Away from Home – 4th Landing. Biennale Interieur 2012 -Kortrijk, Belgium, 20 – 28 OCT
  • ANOTHER TERRA, Home Away from Home – 2nd Landing. Depot Basel – Basel, 12-16 JUN
  • ULTRABODY. 208 opere tra arte e design. Castello Sforzesco –Milan, 19 APR – 17 JUN

2011

  • Meet Design, Una Storia Italiana. Roma – 16 SEPT – 13 OCT
  • Talents Tendence Fair. Frankfurt, 24-29 AUG
  • A Voyage in Lightness. Installation Samsonite store – Milan, 12 – 19 APR
  • The New Italian design 2.0. Santraal Istanbul – Turkey, 9 DEC 2010 – 23 JAN 2011

2010

  • Prédiction. Biennale di Saint Etienne – Saint Etienne, 20 NOV – 5 DEC
  • Visualizing Transformation. Artissima Design – Turin, 6 – 14 NOV
  • The New Italian design 2.0. Santraal Istanbul – Turkey, 9 DEC 2010 – 23 JAN 2011

2009

  • Social Interaction by Art & Design. Buurthuis Breda – The Netherlands, 12 NOV – 1 DEC
  • Design That Thinks. Ex Chiesa S.Francesco – Lecce, 17 MAY – 26 JUL