SIMMETRICO WINS INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION FOR NEW SHUSHA MOSQUE

Simmetrico has won the international competition for the project and design of the new mosque in the city of Shusha, the cultural capital of Azerbaijan.

The project is designed by Simmetrico Architettura, a division of Simmetrico that brings its vocation as a storyteller and Experience Designer to the world of architecture.

The architectural project was led by Architect Francesco Giordano, head of the Simmetrico Architettura team, and Daniele Zambelli, creative director and founder of Simmetrico. Also contributing to the project were the Ideas engineering team led by Engineer Aldo Giordano, the Simmetrico design team coordinated by Creative Director Andrea Fiorito, and Celeste Sergianno, head of the Simmetrico content team.

Simmetrico’s introduction to Experience Design: empathy, travel, and heroes

By Daniele Zambelli

 

Experience design, or as I like to say “designing with emotions”, is the creative ability to integrate different artistic disciplines, languages, and technologies to build a memorable experience, to discover the contents and values of a thematic context, whether it be a country, a museum itinerary or a brand; it’s the creation of a physical and emotional journey within a narrative landscape made up of questions, people’s stories, and human endeavours.

My history as a creative director has taught me that, while  creativity has no rules – only missions, there are prerequisites for creativity to fully manifest itself and make the experience authentic for those who live it.

If I am asked to state what, apart from talent, is the requirement of a good creative, I say with unreasonable confidence that it’s the capacity for empathy. I define empathy, for a designer, as the ability to resonate, to participate in the contexts to which one applies one’s talent, and to be in a symmetrical relationship (Sym-metron: order and proportion among the parts of a whole) with them.  Whether it is towards one’s team, towards the project theme, towards the public, or simply towards beauty: a creative who has not yet discovered that it is empathy  to produce the right intensity to realise a project will never be as effective despite his talent and technique.

The design journey is like the hero’s initiatory travel that marks the classic structure of storytelling in literature; the creative path is full of unexpected events, allies, and mentors and always has the inevitable and necessary antagonist: time. This passage requires resources, and the first one for a creative is one’s empathic ability, which nourishes one’s mission to see, “draw”, and share what is not yet there. In the plot, the hero completes this journey with the “discovery of a new world”. For the creative person, the project and its realisation are the rewards.

Because of the symmetry I mentioned, it is not unusual that the prerequisite of empathy, which applies to the designer, is also the expected result of a good experience design project. Again, the metaphor of the journey comes to our aid: in this case, the heroes are the visitors and the goal is to surprise them as they travel inside the designed narrative landscape, to create an empathy with the values and contents we want to communicate: the “characters and shapes of our story”.

It seems difficult to engage the, sometimes, very heterogeneous exhibition audience if we consider the differences that shape everyone’s personal experience. Supporting the creative person in this endeavour is the emotional palette, with which we all perceive reality through our senses. Despite cultural differences, as archetypes of collective imagination, certain colours generate similar perceptions in us, this is also true for certain harmonic frequencies and certain fundamental forms.

If we move from the terrain of opinions to that of emotions, “we are made of the same substance…”, and we are much more similar than we imagine. We may be surprised at how many more fundamental values unite us than those that divide us, and you know that a smile or a tear means the same thing at any latitude. This is why Art in any of its forms has always been the most effective bridge for dialogue between different cultural universes.

 

Happy Journey to all.

Russian Copper Company Pavilion wins at BEA World for the second consecutive year

Russian Copper Company Pavilion, a project realised by Simmetrico with Ilogic as a General Contractor and Surveyor for the international fair Innoprom 2019, wins once again at BEA World Festival in the category Best Use of Technology.

The international jury recognized Simmetrico’s ability to bring the public closer to the history and the values of Russian Copper Company, which celebrated its 15th anniversary, with a seamless integration of technologies, design and storytelling.

In addition to the design and construction of the pavilion, Simmetrico was also in charge of the visitor experience and contents development & production. The creative concept The Future is Getting Closer took form of a “future accelerator”, which became an iconic place of the entire show.

BEA Italia 2019: Lifetime Achievement Award Goes To Daniele Zambelli

Simmetrico Founder, CEO and Creative Director Daniele Zambelli has been awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at Best Event Awards Italia 2019. The ceremony took place at The Mall, new district in Porta Nuova in Milan, as part of Live Communication Week, an initiative by ADC Group which brought together events and marketing professionals to celebrate the best events over the past year.

The award is a recognition to a “personality who has been able to play a leading role and stimulate the cultural and economic growth of the world of events.” In the past, the prize was awarded to: Marco Balich, David Zard, Alfredo Accatino and Riccardo Cioni.

After accepting the award, Daniele Zambelli commented: “When I heard about the award, I had a series of flashbacks on the past two decades of my work. But as I started recollecting on those adventures, I realised that it wasn’t the sets, or the projects, that remained imprinted in my mind, but the faces of all the people I collaborated with. Working in this complex activity, one can even possess a great talent, but without the talent of the others it is impossible to deliver a good project.”

Monaco Pavilion “Mirroring the Future” is the Best Small Pavilion by Exhibitor Magazine

We are happy and proud to annouce that Monaco Pavilion at Astana Expo 2017 has won Best Small Pavilion Award from Exhibitor Magazine.

Here are the reasons received from Trevis Stanton, Editor Exhibitor Magazine:

Judges had this to say about the Monaco Pavilion:

· Compact and powerful as a small wave hitting a beach, Monaco’s pavilion offered a lush and luxurious reflection on hydro power that’s as mesmerizing as a hypnotist’s watch.
· Excellent interpretation of the overall theme
. The fascinating kinetic installation gave an immediate focus to the experience.
· The entrance façade was simply stunning, calming, and relevant. The logo and its story and relevance to Monaco and the ocean was just a simple and beautiful design. Brilliant! The kinetic installation/presentation was big, bold, and beautiful! This pavilion was structurally gorgeous throughout!
· Monaco mastered big impact, especially for a smaller pavilion. From the gorgeous undulating waves and blue ocean hues of the exterior, to the large immersive kinetic environment of video and reflective elements, this pavilion was indisputably impactful and undeniably memorable. A press release announcing the winners and honorable mentions in each category can be found at https://lnkd.in/dx-MhKW.

Simmetrico thanks its team of 140 people in Italy, Monaco and Kazakhstan and Monaco Inter Expo for having believed in this project!

#staycreative #staytuned

 

Simmetrico’s experience at Astana Expo 2017 by our Innovation Technology Director

The experience of Filippo Nepote Andrè, Innovation Technology Director for Simmetrico at Astana Expo 2017, Kazakhstan Pavilion ‘Museum of Future Energy’ and Monaco Pavilion:

The best technology is the technology we don’t see.

This is something of a mantra for us here at Simmetrico: something we bear in mind every time we take on a new project or create a new story to share.

Our challenge for the Monaco Pavilion at Astana 2017 was to transport visitors away from the EXPO to the Principality – presenting the city, its history and future plans precisely and with detail yet arousing their intrigue through immersive, almost magical experiences.

We settled on two solutions: Oculus Rift to take visitors on a journey through the Principality and its history and an interactive wall with games to explain the future Monaco to younger visitors.

A team of programmers, graphic designers and editorial staff worked closely together for four months to develop two thorough and engaging installations.

The Oculus project developed an app that allowed visitors to choose between 4 themed routes, enjoy 18 different 360° panoramas and increase their knowledge of the places visited on the virtual tours thanks to 48 animated infographics that were integrated into the landscape.

We used a laser scanner with specifically developed capacitive sensors for the interactive Future Monaco wall. Using Pandora we then created interactive areas for an almost magical tactile experience where the walls projected animations on seven specific themes that are important to the Principality, through interaction with the public.

The best technology is the technology we don’t see because it is naturally integrated with the experience. When we realised we didn’t need to explain anything to our visitors, we knew we had achieved our goal.”

#simmetriconetwork

Simmetrico’s experience at Astana Expo 2017 by our Head of Project

The Experience of Riccardo Cigolotti, Head of Project for Simmetrico at Astana Expo 2017, Kazakhstan Pavilion ‘Museum of Future Energy’ and Monaco Pavilion:

“The context we have faced, was new and difficult, but the capacity to adapt ourselves and never give up, allow us to reach the goals.

Close process integration, between contents, design and technology, a Simmetrico must, was the key for comply of the deadlines for Monaco Pavilion and Future Enegy Museum in Expo Astana 2017.

Almost one year of development, over 200 people involved and few months for construction, including the winter time with very low temperatures.

Two different projects and two close teams, which have worked in support of one other in the most critical phases.

It has been again a great honour to be part of Simmetrico.”

#Simmetriconetwork

Monaco Pavilion’s central installation

Astana Expo 2017: the set up of Monaco Pavilion’s central installation has almost been completed.
The scenic design, created by Simmetrico, highlights the concept of reflection with a large kinetic wall that will greet the visitors, re-projecting on mirroring elements the history of the dialogue between humankind and the environment.Simmetrico was chosen by Prince Albert II of Monaco as the winner of the international tender for the concept design, content development and construction of the Monaco Pavilion at Astana.

Photo by Andrea Bellusci for Simmetrico

Simmetrico in the Heart of Astana Expo 2017

The final stage of production of the Kazakhstan National Pavilion of Expo Astana 2017 is started.

Simmetrico is engaged at the seventh and eighth floors of the experiential exhibition “Future Energy” providing: set-up production and installation, content multimedia development and production, software and interaction development.

A month away from the opening, they are completing the final construction details in the yard.

Having participated in the international tender called by the Pavilion General Contractor, Simmetrico, is the only Italian company in charge of the Kazakhstan Pavilion project.

Photo by Andrea Bellusci for Simmetrico

Simmetrico is in the FT1000 Europe’s fastest growing companies

The Financial Times has published the complete list of the FT1000, the 1000 companies in Europe that have achieved the highest percentage growth in revenues between 2012 and 2015.

“The 1000 innovative and fast-growing companies – writes the Financial Times – are the driving force of the European economy in the 21st century. They generate jobs and sustain Europe’s competitiveness”.