Design District: Daniele Lago, CEO and Head of Design at Lago

Based

DANIELE LAGO

CEO AND HEAD OF DESIGN AT LAGO

by Marta Bernasconi

What is LAGO’s production philosophy based on?

Ourphilosophyisbasedonabroad-rangingvisionofdesign,whichweseeasan instrumentofsocialtransformationthatcanimprovethequalityofpeople’slives. TherearetwocorporateandproductionstructuresinspiredbyToyota’sindustrial philosophyofLeanThinkingandKaizen.Weareusingaleanorganisational structurethatprioritisesmaximumindustrialproductionprocessefficiencyto generatevalueandeliminatewaste.Wehaveagreenfactorydesignedasalarge woodandbrick“house”forhundredsofpeoplethatisbuiltalonggreendomestic constructionprinciplestoguaranteethesafety,healthandwellbeingoftheperson. Which contemporary living needs does Lago interpret in its lines?

Atthecentreofeverysingleoneofourdesignthoughtsistheperson:dialogue withourcommunityisthusamustandhasresultinginustalkingtoover25 millionpeople.Thanksinparttothistoowewereabletoidentifyourclients’ needs,includingtheonesthathaveemergedasaresultofthechangesofrecent yearswithafocusontheneedforsimplicityofformandhybriddomesticspaces forsmartworking,andabsoluteflexibilityintheirlayout.

How would you describe the collections’ signatures?

Themostimmediatetermislightnesswhichmeansthefurniturecanfitintoall kindsofdifferentsettingsandstyles.Ourproductsaredesignedtobetimelessin termsoftheirdesignandtheintrinsicqualityofthematerialsweuse.Alongside thisourDNAisallaboutmodularityandsustainability,whicharethestarting pointforoureverythought.

Which products in particular have played an important role in the brand’s success?

Ourbestsellersarealldifferent:36e8®,asquaremoduleof36.8cmperside, changedthesizeparadigmforcontainers,theAircollectionwhichmade transparencyandsuspensionitssignature,andN.O.W.,anacronymfor“NotOnly White”,whichintegratesseamlesslyintotheexistingarchitecturetoeliminatethe perceptionofclosetsascontainersthroughglasssurfaceswithhandle-lessdoors atirregularintervals.Thisyearwealsocelebratedthe18thanniversaryofthe LettoFluttua(FloatingBed),whichisstillkeepingover100,000peoplefloating! Could you please tell us a little about the Lago projects you working on right now?

Wearecontinuingtoacceleratetheenvironmentalside.AtthelastMilan FurnitureShow,wepresentedGoodHouse,astanddesignedwithcircularityin mindasitsentirestructureiscompletelyrecyclableandcanbeusedoverseveral years.Itreducesgreenhousegasemissions(e.g.CO2)byupto87%compared toaconventionaltradefairstand.Anotherofourgoalsistomakethebrand increasinglyglobal.

at Villa del Conte (Padua), Lago designs and produces modular systems and furniture for the home and group environments. Its roots date back to the end of the 19th Century and it is now in the hands of Daniele Lago and his siblings, the fourth generation of the same family, who are working together to make it a much more international brand