RAMPINELLI EDIZIONI, Sovrappensiero

Rampinelli S.p.A. is a company that has been working in the metalworking manufacturing sector since 1913. Their work is based on complex constructions and machining on heavy thick steel plates which give life to impressive functional architectures with centesimal precision, used in the civil, automotive, steel, renewable energy and space sectors. The passion for new challenges and new ventures led the company to collaborate with Sovrappensiero Design Studio – previously on WeVux.

From this partnership, Rampinelli Edizioni was born: a new furniture brand that combines Rampinelli technical and production know how with the contemporary design of Sovrappensiero. The first collection, consisting of a table, a bench and a hanger, presents a selection of the manufacturing processes, such as the CNC plasma cutting, CNC milling and manual TIG welding.
Sovrappensiero’s aim is to share with a wider public this Italian excellence and the quality of their work. The company’s know-how has allowed them to approach the project as if they were working on a tailor-made suit:

“the choice of steel plates and profiles of different sections and thicknesses like the choice of fabric; the plasma cutting of the parts according to the project, such as the cutting of the pieces of fabric that follow the patterns; fitting: the parts are joined manually with small welding points and with the aid of temporary components that will first be welded to the rest of the product to give structure and then removed, just like the fitting of a bespoke suit; finally, expert welding with an infusible tungsten electrode, like the seams of a seamstress hidden in the right places.”

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The first collection is based on the composition of geometric solids: the archetypal forms generated bring the rough aesthetics of mechanical engineering into the intimacy of the domestic environment. Finally, the type of painting is inspired by the colors of the industrial machinery also present in the company.

The architecture of the bench highlights the idea of surface and plates, basic elements of the metal working. The grid, the result of 26 hours of machining, increases the perception of surfaces in space and the perspective effect. The weight of the steel is contrasted by the shape of the bench, which seems to be balanced on a single line of support.
The table is inspired by the shapes and typical grooves of the Greek columns, as a symbol of solidity and a reference to the idea of eternity. The table top houses in its center a mirror-polished steel disc, framed by a series of grooves inspired by the reverberation of the waves caused by a stone thrown into still water. The base of the table is made from two large steel pipes which are sectioned into 8 parts. The cuts are then turned over and re-welded together. The table top is machined on large vertical lathes.
The shape of the hanger was born from the desire to visually reduce the volumes to a single line drawn in space. The result is a functional sculpture in balance between strength and lightness. The apparent linear simplicity could never be obtained through the standard bending operations since such narrow radii would tend to deform the material. The hanger is created by plasma cut and TIG welding.

Rampinelli’s new collection has timeless shapes. Once again Lorenzo and Ernesto created designs able to transport our minds somewhere else: the partnership between two solid realities, Rampinelli and Sovrappensiero, and the sharing of knowledge and experience allowed them to create a furniture collection with a contemporary and fresh aesthetic, but at the same time reminiscent of that historic Italian Design, known all over the world.

Photo by Stefania Zanetti
Styling by Sarah Richiuso

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