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Matteo Thun

David Wilson

Matteo who? How do you pronounce his name? It's pronounced 'Toon' and means thunder. He is one of Italy's most feted designers.

What's his style? It varies. He can be low-key, in keeping with his mantra: 'Simplicity, serenity, spirituality.' One of his understated efforts, exhibited as an installation during the 2002 Milan design week as part of an 'anti-globalisation' chain hotel, is called Homage to Hong Kong. A counterpoint to the bustle, it was all clean lines, subtle lighting and fragrances supplied by Italian perfume firm Oikos, enclosed by a green bamboo screen. He was far more flamboyant when he designed the interior for Hamburg's five-star Hotel Side.

Lashings of colour? The basement alone features yellow, orange and green walls, and aquamarine glass mosaics. It is supposed to make you forget you are underground.

What's his inspiration? Homo universalis, or Renaissance man - he takes an interdisciplinary approach, dabbling in architecture, hotel design, shop and display systems, corporate facade building and small objects of desire.

Such as? He designed the Illycaffe classic white espresso cup (below) in 1990, supposedly the perfect cup for coffee. He came up with Zero Visibility, a bulb set in a box of painted steel, porcelain and glass, inspired by a buoy bouncing in a harbour. He is also responsible for several Swatch models and a range inspired by a swathe of cities: Reykjavik, Palm Springs, Acapulco, Chicago and Stockholm.

What else does he find time for? Corporate work: he dreamed up Coca-Cola's Zurich facade, which exploits the trademark scarlet lettering. Other clients range from Dunkin' Donuts to Fila. He designed Fila's extraordinary Milan flagship store.

Why is it extraordinary? Each level is devoted to a particular activity, such as tennis or running, and oozes a fragrance that might be associated with that activity. The tennis floor, for example, is yellow with a lemon scent intended to create an aura of freshness. The running area is orange for energy and has the aroma of freshly cut grass. It must make Thun nostalgic.

Why? Thun was born in the Italian Alpine town of Bolzano in 1952. At 16, he went to the Academy of Salzburg to study with Austrian Expressionist painter Oscar Kokoschka. In 1975, he was awarded his doctorate in architecture at the University of Florence. In 1981, he founded Memphis with Austrian-born designer Ettore Sottsass. Memphis represented a backlash to the cold design of the 1970s. An example from his Memphis period is the Nefertiti sugar bowl: a pyramid-like structure named after the 14th-century BC Egyptian queen renowned for her elegance. Thun remained with Memphis until 1984, when he launched his own design studio

in Milan.

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