I Balocchi

Davide Mercatali

Born in Milan in 1948. Architect, designer, promoter of brands and events in the field of industrial production for home and public spaces. He specialized in taps, but also created sofas and armchairs, lamps, silverware, fireplaces, home and bathroom fittings. After working with the firm Mercatali & Pedrizzetti for ten years, he started his own business as designer and promoter and cooperated with outstanding companies in a wide range of fields.

In 1984 he took part in the creation of the ZEUS brand, as organizer of design exhibitions. In 1990 he was involved in the establishment of Metals, a new brand for the promotion of metal furniture for collective spaces. In 1992, together with Italian and Spanish partners, he took part in the Mas/Barcelona for the promotion of Catalan design in Italy and Italian design in Catalonia. In 1995, together with approximately thirty designers from Milan, he organized in Tokyo INGENUO, a display of high-tech design prototypes and projects that were proposed to Japan manufacturers. He can boast several experiences abroad, including on-the-job training in Brazil, in Barcelona and in Osaka. 

Paolo Pedrizzetti

Born in 1947. Scientific secondary school diploma and degree in architecture from Milan Polytechnics. He started as a product designer with Davide Mercatali in 1978. In 1988 he opened a firm with his wife Raffaella Mattia and continued his product design activity. In 1993 he was one of the founding members of the cultural association ABC Incontri sul Progetto. From 1988 to 1994 he was chief editor of the magazines Blu&Rosso and Bagno&Bagni. In 1995 he became a consultant for the magazine Il Bagno Oggi e Domani, published by Reed Business Information. Some of his objects are part of the permanent collections of the Chicago-I11 (USA), Munich (Germany), San Diego-Cal (USA) museums, New York Museum of Modern Art (USA) and Pecci Museum (Prato, Florence - Italy). Others were shortlisted for the Compasso dOro award in 1979, 1981, 1987, 1991, for the ADI Design Index in 1998/1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, for the BIO award (Ljubljana, Slovenia) in 1981, 1984, 1992, 1996, for the Adi-Technotel award in 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991. In 2002, he won the Comfort & Design - ADI award and he received the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen Red Dot Award. In 2008, he won the second prize at the International Design Award – Los Angeles, Cal, USA. In 1993, one of his products was selected for the merchandising of the New York Museum of Modern Art.

Fantini series :  I Balocchi

Ph. Fantini historical archive