By Heba Elkayal
Italian designer Francesco Rota has collaborated with Alchemy Cairo, a furniture line that is head designed by Karim Mekhtigian, to produce some incredible pieces inspired by the local context for an audience that appreciate a western influence in their space.
He has designed the Gouna Chaise Lounge, a super thin and sleek lounge made out of wood with a thin leather layer that seems to emulate a folded piece of origami or paper — delicate and striking in its apparent thinness.
To design for Alchemy was in Rota’s words “interesting.”
“To design for an Egyptian company and have the items placed in a store in Designopolis, Cairo’s new design hub, is very different to having your pieces placed in typical retail outlets such as those abroad. Asking designers to design for this spirit is more interesting and connected to the ground work where Alchemy leads.”
Rota’s lighting designs for Italian brand Oluce is sold at Alchemy Cairo in Designopolis, in addition to the Hexagonal tables he’s designed for Alchemy Cairo and a series of light brown wooden shelves with hidden niches and spaces hidden behind the bookshelf’s exterior sliding panels.
