Formafantasma

The first comprehensive monograph on multidisciplinary design studio Formafantasma, one of the most creative and innovative design duos working today

Formafantasma is a research-driven design studio founded in 2009 by Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin. This monograph, edited by Alessandro Rabottini, offers a comprehensive, critical examination of their pioneering practice.

Over the past decade, Formafantasma has emerged as one of the most influential studios of its generation. Founded in 2009 by Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin, this research-driven creative practice challenges established norms and works fluently across disciplines to redefine the possibilities of contemporary design.

Formafantasma is a systematic survey of their wide-ranging portfolio. Featuring work ranging from product design to spatial interventions, the book explores their rigorous, context-driven methodology through collaborations with Prada, Flos, Artek, Fondation Cartier, and many other leading institutions and brands.

More than a catalogue of work, the book functions as an in-depth exploration of the nature and purpose of design today, positioning Formafantasma within wider conversations on materiality and culture. Extensive interviews with Trimarchi and Farresin sit alongside contributions from leading scholars, practitioners and curators, grounding the studio’s output within a global design discourse. Contributors include some of the most important voices in design, philosophy, architecture and art, such as Paola Antonelli, Alice Rawsthorn, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Hella Jongerius, Marianne Goebl, Domitilla Dardi, Anna Tsing, Emanuele Coccia, Alessandro Rabottini, and Andrés Jaque.

The result is both a definitive account of Formafantasma’s trajectory and an essential guide to the ideas shaping contemporary design, offering deeper insight into the intellectual frameworks driving the field forward.

Formafantasma is a research-based design studio investigating the ecological, historical, political and social forces shaping the discipline of design today. The studio was founded in 2009 by Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin. The aim of the studio is to facilitate a deeper understanding of both our natural and built environments, and to propose transformative interventions through design and its material, technical, social and discursive possibilities. Working from their studio in Milan and Rotterdam, the practice embraces a broad spectrum of typologies and methods, from product and spatial design to strategic planning and design consultancy. Whether designing to a client’s brief or developing self-initiated projects, the studio applies the same rigorous attention to context, process and detail. As a result, Formafantasma’s entire portfolio is characterised by a coherent visual language and meticulously researched outcomes. 

Alessandro Rabottini is a writer and contemporary art curator. He has edited monographs on the work of leading artists and curated exhibitions for many international institutions, including solo shows of Karimah Ashadu, Talia Chetrit, Roe Ethridge, Guido Guidi, Walid Raad, and Danh Vo. He serves as the Artistic Director of the Fondazione In Between Art Film.

Paola Antonelli is Senior Curator of Architecture & Design at The Museum of Modern Art, as well as MoMA’s founding Director of Research & Development. The Instagram platform, book and podcast all titled Design Emergency, which she co-founded with Alice Rawsthorn, form an ongoing investigation on design's power to envision a better future for all.

Alice Rawsthorn is an award-winning design critic and author whose books include Design as an Attitude and, most recently, Design Emergency: Building a Better Future, co-written with Paola Antonelli. Rawsthorn’s weekly design column for The New York Times was syndicated worldwide for over a decade. A founding member of the Writers for Liberty campaign for human rights and of DemocracyNext’s advisory board, Rawsthorn is also a co-founder, with Antonelli, of the Design Emergency podcast, which explores design’s role in fostering positive change.

Hans Ulrich Obrist is a curator, critic and historian of art and the Artistic Director of the Serpentine in London. Prior to this, he was the Curator of the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. Since 1991 he has curated more than 300 shows.

Hella Jongerius is one of the world’s leading designers, known for her research-driven approach and vigorous work on uniting craftsmanship and industrial production, infusing mass-produced objects with imperfection, sensibility and character. She founded her design studio Jongeriuslab in 1993, and has worked on commissioned projects for Vitra, Maharam, the interior design of the Delegates’ Lounge of the United Nations Headquarters and the cabin interiors for the Dutch airline KLM in addition to initiating many independent projects and exhibitions. In 2024 Jongerius’ archive was acquired by the Vitra Design Museum.

Marianne Goebl is a design professional specialized in the development and dissemination of projects at the intersection of culture and commerce. Since 2014 Marianne has been managing director of the Finnish design company Artek, founded by Alvar & Aino Aalto in 1935. She has previously served as director of the Design Miami fair and has spent a decade within Vitra.

Domitilla Dardi is a historian and independent curator of design. Since 2007, she has been Professor of History of Design at the European Institute of Design (IED) in Rome, teaching on both bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes. Dardi has published widely.

Anna Tsing is an anthropologist and professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and Aarhus University in Denmark. She is the author of The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins (Princeton University Press) and a co-editor of Feral Atlas: The More-than-Human Anthropocene (Stanford University Press).

Emanuele Coccia is a philosopher and lecturer at EHESS. He has been a visiting professor at the universities of Tokyo, Buenos Aires, Düsseldorf, Columbia and Harvard. He has published widely and recently participated in the making of animated videos such as Quercus (2020, with Formafantasma).

Andrés Jaque is Dean and Professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP). He is the founder of the New York- and Madrid-based architecture practice Office for Political Innovation (OFFPOLINN).