C02 Chair by Simone De Stasio for RcK Design

Born in Novara, Italy in 1985, architect-designer Simone de Stasio began his studies at the Polytechnic of Turin before attaining a Master’s Degree in Architecture from the Technical University of Berlin in 2012. After graduating, de Stasio worked as a designer at Menis Architects in Tenerife, as well as several collaborations with architectural agencies such as One Works and Studio Libeskind. In 2017, he launched his own studio, RcK.design, which is an exclusive collection of custom-made pieces, spanning furniture and lighting design.

As a designer, de Stasio’s aesthetic is heavily influenced by an architectural language that is characterized by basic geometric shapes and the total lack of ornamentation. Essentially a rigorous minimalist with a dash of industrial grittiness, de Stasio is interested in the idea of geometric shapes and 3D forms as embodiments of a particular atmosphere or energy. He says, for example, that “the circle leads us to continuity, movement, perfection”, whereas the square “and its three-dimensional extension, the cube, more than any other shape give us the idea of stability.” To emphasize the elemental forms that underpin his design, de Stasio favors raw, unadorned materials (such as steel, wood, and iron) in strong, dark colors. The C01 (2017) chair, for example, is constructed in burnished iron with the welding and sanding marks left visible in the sparse, stark final product.

RcK.design recently completed the custom re-design of the chic Pizzeria Giulio Cesare in Novara; everything in this gesamtkunstwerk of a renovation, from the lighting fixtures to the seating and tables, was designed and handmade with an almost obsessive attention to detail. In 2017, de Stasio’s work was exhibited at Operae in Turn. He continues to work between Milan and Berlin.