Join us for a captivating session with talk featuring three innovative Italian design groups, and explore where craftsmanship, innovation, and tradition intersect.
We are delighted to welcome guest speakers—Lucia Massari, the design duo GROOVIDO, and Jonathan Bocca. Lucia explores how to elevate the legacy of, while GROOVIDO designs distinctive furniture blending cultural influences with innovative methods. Jonathan sculpts imaginative furniture from recycled paper, showcasing how innovation meets tradition through the transformative power of repurposed materials.
Moderated by architect Dennis Cheung, this cross-regional conversation will inspire perspectives between design and the enduring value of craftsmanship.
Dennis Cheung is a Registered Architect in Hong Kong, and founder of material and fabrication based practice Studio RYTE. He teaches at the University of Hong Kong, where he directs the Alternative Material Studio at Design+. He graduated from the University of Hong Kong and earned his Master at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he was awarded full scholarship, the MIT Merit Award and KPF Travelling Fellowship. Prior to Studio RYTE, Dennis worked in renowned offices including C+S Architetti in Italy, Kengo Kuma Associates in Japan and China.
GROOVIDO is a furniture design studio that transforms creative challenges into distinctive pieces through a singular visual aesthetic. Explorative in nature, the studio engages with tradition while introducing new cultural influences, materials, colours, and production techniques.
Founded in 2020 by Gianmaria Della Ratta (b. 1993, Italy) and Giorgio Gasco (b. 1992, Italy) following their Master’s in Contextual Design at Design Academy Eindhoven, Groovido continues to push the boundaries of contemporary furniture design.
Jonathan Bocca (b. 1998) is a sculptural designer from Lucca, Tuscany. He graduated in Interior and Furniture Design at IED in Florence and later joined the Fabrica Research Centre in Treviso, where he studied and experimented with new materials for his sculptures and objects.
A defining feature of Bocca’s work is his use of recycled paper, sourced from the industrial waste of Lucca’s paper mills. After several days of processing, this compound becomes extremely durable, almost entirely organic, and highly malleable. Through this material, Bocca aims to raise awareness of how organic waste can be repurposed in everyday life. He believes that design and art should avoid non-recyclable materials, instead embracing sustainable alternatives. His ambition is to challenge conventional notions of design by starting with humble, discarded resources, reinterpreting them, and giving them new life and meaning.
The inspiration for his objects often emerges from dreams, which he transforms into reality by creating fantastical, dreamlike creatures.
Lucia Massari is a designer whose work lies at the crossroads of craft, materiality, and emotional expression. Rooted in a deep appreciation for traditional techniques, her practice playfully challenges convention by blending meticulous craftsmanship with experimentation and irony.
Flitting between two and three dimensions, she often blurs the boundaries between image and object, surface and structure, embracing imperfection and the element of surprise. Through collaborations with local artisans, Massari transforms everyday objects into layered experiences that reveal hidden narratives and subtle tensions.
Her projects investigate how materials and colours carry memory and meaning, inviting viewers to look beyond surface beauty to the complex histories embedded within.