Franca e Allegra blends the attitude of the 60’s with a contemporary approach

Punto Zero studio introduced Franca e Allegra at EDIT Napoli 2023 – its first design product, a series of refreshingly minimalistic dining tables and coffee tables innovatively born from a research for lines and shapes.

Based amongst the shops of Rione Monti in Rome, Punto Zero is an architecture firm featuring a portfolio of projects throughout the country, from Stromboli to Circeo, from Milan to Padua. 

Its three partners – Giorgio Marchese, Arianna Nobile and Silvia Firmani – firmly believe that architecture and design have an ethical function, as well as a practical and aesthetic one to give happiness to those who want or need to enjoy it. 

This is why the center of each project – be it a space or a design object – is the person, or rather people. This is the true “punto zero” from which everything is measured, conceived and designed, in a thread suspended between art, psychology and tireless perfectionism.

With an ability to seamlessly weave together the attitude of the 60’s with a contemporary approach, a constant feature of their interior design projects – “we have always considered the table as one of the most complex objects in the history of design. 

Therefore, moved by a feeling of discovery mixed with curiosity, during our recent ‘Casa Ermete’ project – we decided to work on some ideas of ours in this regard and that is how Franca e Allegra was born!” shares Marchese, Nobile and Firmani. 

“In a world of chaotic quantity, what we appreciate about Edit is surely its selective quality. The challenge of guiding design from the South, from Naples, and the look it reserves for non-mainstream products, seeking that special sense of future among the little things!” Nobile adds.

Punto Zero effortlessly reflected the same attention to the harmony between its tactile aspect, colors, details and the emotional design, they pay in every project they take care of, in the creation of Franca and Allegra – from its soft shapes and colors, in a reference to image and experience of their grandmothers, to whom the series is inspired and dedicated.

“Edit seemed as the right home for Franca e Allegra to grow up in. A line of tables resulting from a mix of experimentation, just enough color, handfuls of love and a pinch of nostalgia!” says Firmani. 

This eclectic but one-of-a-kind furniture collection embodies a series of MDF tables, first cut flat by numerical control, then meticulously milled at the edge for the roundness of the top -5 cm thick – and beautifully sanded by hand. 

The legs – one or two depending on the models – are partly crafted by hand, with a skeleton structure in poplar plywood, on which a double continuous sheet of very thin MDF is spread to follow the curve. 

Additionally, everything is further sanded by hand, before moving on to the extra-gloss lacquering, with a polyester base and scratch-resistant polyurethane paints, to enhance all the curved shapes, from the edge of the top to the legs.

Franca and Allegra is a monolithic and severe design that is at the same time an iconic recognizable object, playful, versatile and adaptable to any type of environment. Like a primitive, single-material, essential dolmen.