MALA AIMS TO CREATE UNIONS BETWEEN INNOVATIVE DESIGNERS AND TRADITIONAL ROMAN METHODS OF FABRICATION IN AN EFFORT TO SUSTAIN FLOURISHING ROMAN STREET LIFE AND VITALITY – INTEGRATING PAST WITH PRESENT, ART WITH PRODUCTION, SALON WITH STREET. MALA COMMISSIONS ESTABLISHED AND UPCOMING CONTEMPORARY DESIGNERS TO COLLABORATE WITH LOCAL HIGHLY SKILLED ARTISANS TO CREATE MODERN AND EXPERIMENTAL PIECES WHILST UPLIFTING THE ARTISAN CRAFT AND PRESENTING IT TO A WIDER, NEW KIND OF AUDIENCE. THE PROCESS AND PRODUCT SEEK TO REINVIGORATE ANCIENT CRAFT WITH A MODERN AESTHETIC AND PROVIDE A GROWTH PLATFORM FOR DESIGNERS.

ON THE GROUND FLOOR OF VIA DEI BANCHI VECCHI 21, IN ROME, BEVILACQUA ARCHITECTS DESIGN AN ARTICULATE, MULTIFUNCTIONAL PLACE, ABLE TO INTEGRATE THE PAST WITH THE PRESENT, ART WITH PRODUCTION, THE “SALOTTO” WITH THE CITY. MALA IS A MULTIDISCIPLINARY SPACE THAT BRINGS TOGETHER LOCAL PRODUCTION WITH THE BEST CONTEMPORARY DESIGN, COMMISSIONING LOCAL ARTISANS AND DESIGNERS – PROMINENT OR EMERGING – TO CREATE MODERN AND EXPERIMENTAL PIECES: THE AIM HERE IS THAT, THANKS TO ITS HYBRID NATURE, MALA BECOME A CULTURAL REFERENCE, A PLATFORM FOR GROWTH AND RESEARCH, NOT A CANONICAL GALLERY, NOT A RESIDENCE, NOT A LABORATORY, NOT AN ATELIER, BUT A SPACE FOR CREATION AND WELL-BEING, WORK, CONNECTIONS, MEETINGS AND EVENTS.

EVEN THE ARCHITECTURAL SHELL REFLECTS THE SAME DYNAMIC, LIGHT, FLEXIBLE CHARACTER WITH WHICH MALA WAS CONCEIVED: A SERIES OF LINKED ENVIRONMENTS, ARRANGED ON TWO LEVELS AND CONNECTED TO EACH OTHER IN SEQUENCE BY ARCHED OPENINGS, A TRIBUTE TO THE ROMAN CONSTRUCTION ARCHETYPE. THE FURNISHINGS, ALL RIGOROUSLY TAILOR-MADE, ARE SCENIC BACKDROPS DESIGNED BY BEVILACQUA ARCHITECTS TO PERFORM DIFFERENT FUNCTIONS TOGETHER, AND THE CHOSEN COLOR PALETTE – A COMBINATION OF TERRACOTTA AND POWDER BLUE – DECLARES THE DESIRE TO MAKE MALA A MULTIFACETED, WELCOMING AND CONTEMPORARY CONTAINER, LINKED TO THE ROMAN CONNECTIVE TISSUE BUT, AT THE SAME TIME, PROJECTED TOWARDS AN INTERNATIONAL DIMENSION.