door handles by zaha hadid and rem koolhaas /OMA for olivari

since 1911 olivari has been manufacturing handles at its own factories in italy where the entire production process takes place. after world war II, starting from the ’40ies, olivari invited italian architects and designers for collaboration on new projects. among them were gio ponti, franco albini, ignazio gardella and joe colombo. from the ’90ies an automated production started with projects by alessandro mendini, paolo portoghesi, oscar tusquets, vico magistretti, richard sapper, andrea branzi, rodolfo dordoni, enzo mari, stefano giovannoni and piero lissoni. since then also international protagonists as shigeru ban, steven holl, toyo ito, daniel libeskind, jean nouvel, ben van berkel and dominique perrault have express themselves with different languages and have create minimal sculpted, ergonomic, ironic handles. during milan design week 2015, olivari presented ‘chevron’ by zaha hadid and ‘open’ by rem koolhaas /OMA.

computer generated curves that determined the form of zaha hadid’s door handle project ‘chevron’
all images courtesy by olivari/zaha hadid/ OMA

zaha hadid’s first project in new york city, a residential building located beside high line park, was the starting point to develop the new door handle which is informed by the chevron pattern of the apartment block’s façade. extracted from architectural elements of horizontality and symmetry, the handle takes upon a curving form, which enhances the ergonomic relationship between the hand and the piece, optimizing it through a series of delicate carving-out of the object’s volume. available in three finishes: chrome, satined chrome and super-anthracite satined.

‘open’ by rem koolhaas /OMA

rem koolhaas’ door handle resembles a mechanical tool: the simplicity of its ‘formal grip’ enhances the quality of the metal, and lends itself to further variations: punctures and subtractions open new possibilities for everyday use. ‘open’ is the result of a process of reducing the handle to the primary functional components: the hub and the lever. the separation results in two independent elements that join mechanically to generate multiple combinations of metals and finishes (chrome, satined chrome, super-inox satined and super-anthracite satined).

OMA/rem koolhaas’ door handle resembles a mechanical tool