"Luuunga": a collaborative project

Matteo Thun and Antonio Rodriguez present ‘Luuunga’, a bench developed in collaboration with Cassina Custom Interiors for Homo Faber - Fondazione Cini Creating a bond with this Venetian initiative through the use of local materials

The initial starting point of this joint project between Matteo Thun, Antonio Rodriguez and Cassina Custom Interiors, was to find the ideal proportions and features to create an iconic bench for this year’s edition of the Homo Faber Event in Venice, held from the 10^th of April to the 1^st of May, 2022. 

Typical Venetian materials shape the design of Luuunga, a slim, purist bench that stands out for its maximal dimensions and distinct proportions. Vertical staves made from the wood of ‘Briccole’, the iconic stops that gondoliers use in Venice, ensure a sturdy three-metre-long seat supported by just two legs.

The base of the Luuunga bench is made from Istrian stone that resists the humidity of the Venetian lagoon and shapes the architecture of this historic city. The stone blends into the wooden seating like carpentry with an interlocking system that ensures that its comfortable 30cm deep seat can dry faster.

Stretched to its extremes, the Luuunga bench is characterised by simplicity in form and ease of use.

Inside the exhibition, two examples of this extravagant bench offer visitors a quiet place to rest. Thanks to Cassina Custom Interior's know-how and excellent craftsmanship expertise, the benches’ details, proportions, simplicity and minimalist aesthetics have been developed to perfection.

A site-specific project, the benches have been donated by Cassina Custom Interiors and will remain in Venice.

 About Matteo Thun & Antonio Rodriguez

Renowned for their mindful approach to design, Matteo Thun & Antonio Rodriguez projects are forces for good, respecting the relationships between people, places and products to ensure everyday enhancement.

Nurturing the concept of Made in Italy for a new generation and pairing a sophisticated aesthetics with intuitive functionality, their approach of timeless simplicity and clear design language shapes iconic products and architectural projects for a worldwide clientele.

Using warm, natural materials and honouring cultural heritage is at the heart of this restorative vision that imbues soul to the projects and results in products that resonate both sensorially and emotionally. In doing so, a deep reverence for the environment and the elements reverberates through their work, energising projects with intangible joie de vivre.

https://www.matteothun.com/about-the-group

About Cassina Custom Interiors

The Cassina Custom Interiors division boasts a long and extensive experience since the 1950s and 1960s when the company furnished 58 transatlantic liners, including the Andrea Doria, the Raffaello and the Michelangelo, as well as many hotels, bars, restaurants and residences.

Currently Cassina Custom Interiors operates worldwide offering specific targeted services, in particular for the most exclusive fashion boutiques, showrooms, restaurants and hotels such as, for example, La Mamounia 5-star palace hotel in Marrakesh, Badrutt's Palace in St. Moritz, Starbucks Roastery, Garage Italia Customs, the Room Mate Giulia hotel and the Excelsior Hotel Gallia in Milan, Bar Campari in Vienna, Terrazza Aperol in Venice, Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong, Palazzo Versace in Macau, the Le Royal Monceau Hotel in Paris and the Conservatorium Hotel in Amsterdam. Numerous special projects have also been undertaken including the Waldkliniken Eisenberg new hospital building in the Thuringian Forest in Germany, the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, the London-Paris Eurostar lounge and the lobby of the Messeturm in Frankfurt.

The Cassina Custom Interiors division offers turnkey solutions, working alongside important architects and designers, to design and produce tailor-made furnishings often characterised by special handcrafted workmanship.

www.cassina.com/it/it/projects/custom-interiors.html