dAM Atelier
dAM Atelier is an experimental design studio founded by Paolo d’Alessandro and Marco Malgarini. Working between architecture and collectible design, the duo creates sculptural furniture and objects defined by bold geometric forms, structural exploration, and a refined minimalist aesthetic. Rooted in their architectural education at the Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio, their work balances technical precision with artistic expression.
Interview
Marco: I was born and grew up in Alessandria, Italy. I’ve also lived in Switzerland, for my studies, and in Paris for work.
Paolo: I was born in Turin, Italy. I lived there during my childhood, but then I gained important experiences in Switzerland, Portugal, and Spain, besides Italy. So I feel mostly European.
Marco: My father comes from Venice; we used to go back quite often. I still remember the unique feeling of entering S. Marco’s Basilica.
Paolo: I don’t think I have a specific memory. Even though I grew up in a rich architectural and artistic environment, I think it’s difficult to be conscious about it during childhood. Back then, it was just curiosity. With adulthood, you get to understand that even if you didn’t notice it, it went under your skin. The curiosity transformed into necessity.
Marco: I started young, helping my father in his furniture business, and I loved it. This early experience pushed me to start my studies in architecture and design.
Paolo: Definitely, I’ve just considered studying car design at some point, considering Turin’s automotive history. Then I started my architecture and design career, and that remains my passion. But I wouldn’t rule out designing a car at some point as well 🙂
Marco: I have always loved to draw since I was a child. Whenever I had the chance, I was always with the pen in my hand. Then this passion materialized and developed, starting my studies in architecture, a choice that was fundamental for my growth in the field of design.
Paolo: The studies of architecture opened my mind to the concept of design as a unique idea. Starting from that, it’s just a matter of different scales, which I enjoy in any case.
We like to start from an abstract idea generated by a word, a text, or an art piece. The following steps include a dialogue that eventually leads to the design of the object. Besides all this, being part of a duo is an added value to us, which enables the generation of new ideas and different points of view.
Our different personalities and tastes lead to a process of back and forth, subtracting and adding information till we get to what we want. A result that brings up the qualities of both of us.
Marco: Every day is different from the previous one. I usually like to start early in the morning because I feel more productive. The afternoons and evenings are for talking and exchanging ideas, but always with the right amount of caffeine.
Paolo: I generally like a long and quiet routine to have a nice and calm start. I prefer to do the most conceptual tasks during the morning and the production ones in the afternoon. I also enjoy the quietness of the night to conceive new pieces, ideas, and to work hard when needed. Then reality comes in, and everything is mixed up.
We like raw materials. Materials that are able to age, to generate a patina, and improve their characteristics with time.
Starting from that, we have no prejudice, and we like to experiment a lot!
We like the contrast between an effortless look and complex technical solutions to achieve it. Our work, which starts from simple geometric volumes, brings the composition of the latter to the limit through a deep study of forces and gravity. Unstable elements are then connected together to create a condition of stability, leaving this research still perceptible once the work is completed.
To love what you do and to be stubborn with your vision. But we’re still open for advice 🙂
Our priority is to try to achieve a design that could express our ideas. Right now, we don’t know where it could belong; maybe we’ll know in the future.
Marco: Peter Zumthor has surely been one of my biggest influences; the use of materials and the strength of the atmospheres that he is able to create always amaze me.
Paolo: I periodically get obsessed with some designers, and then I move to the next one. Right now, I think it’s Valerio Olgiati’s turn.
Marco: Vincent Van Duysen, Vincenzo de Cotiis.
Paolo: Muller Van Severen, Fala Atelier, Arquitectura G…
Marco: Mark Rothko, Arnaldo Pomodoro.
Paolo: Alexander Calder, Richard Serra, Eduardo Chillida.
Minimalist constructions which emphasize the weight and the nature of the materials.
“We like raw materials. Materials that are able to age, to generate a patina, and improve their characteristics with time.”
The Questions
(The Proust Questionnaire is a set of questions answered by the French writer Marcel Proust.
Other historical figures who have answered confession albums are Oscar Wilde,
Karl Marx, Arthur Conan Doyle, Stéphane Mallarmé, Paul Cézanne…)
Marco: I still don’t know it.
Paolo: A loud dinner with friends.
Marco: Losing someone I love.
Paolo: To have no options left but one.
Marco: Being too kind.
Paolo: Being inconstant.
Marco: Arrogance.
Paolo: Absence of curiosity.
Marco: My parents.
Paolo: My parents, for the sacrifices they made.
Marco: Starting every day with a cappuccino and a cream croissant.
Paolo: I wear blue jumpers all the time, if this is one…
Marco: Optimistic.
Paolo: Inpatient.
Marco & Paolo: Patience.
Marco: Coherence.
Paolo: Cultured.
Marco: Coherence.
Paolo: Cultured.
Marco: “Pazzesco” (amazing).
Paolo: –
Marco: Fearless.
Paolo: Rapidity.
Marco: I would like to read more.
Paolo: Not being afraid of the unknown.
Marco: Following my dreams.
Paolo: To be 100% committed to what I do.
Marco: A bird.
Paolo: Me as a professional golfer.
Marco: Somewhere where I can wake with a sea view.
Paolo: Close to the loved ones.
Marco: A bracelet.
Paolo: One of my lamps.
Marco: Self-pity.
Paolo: Hypocrisy.
Marco: To swim.
Paolo: To meditate.
Marco: Joyful.
Paolo: Thoughtful.
Marco: Sincerity.
Paolo: Loyalty.
Marco: Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Paolo: Italo Calvino.
Marco: Annalise Keating.
Paolo: Does Tom Cruise count as fiction hero?
Marco: –
Paolo: It’s not exactly historical, but it would be Joan Mirò.
Marco: My parents.
Paolo: People who sacrifice themselves for others.
Marco: Letizia, Lorenzo, Virna.
Paolo: Vega.
Marco: Strong cheeses.
Paolo: To ask for information.
Marco: I don’t have any.
Paolo: Mistakes make us who we are.
Marco: Without suffering.
Paolo: Ready.
Marco: “Chi la dura la vince.”
Paolo: “Semplice non vuol dire facile.”
“The curiosity transformed into necessity.”
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