Formafantasma opens up about its energy-efficient website and the future of tech
Photo by Renee de Groot
Formafantasma is a design studio led by Italians Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin. Last month they redesigned their studio’s website with a layout that minimizes energy consumption as a way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. In this interview with Bridget Cogley, the duo opens up how their website works and what they hope will happen around sustainable design.
Formafantasma is behind some ground-breaking exhibition designs, like the pink and yellow walls of Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum that were designed to be taken apart and recycled afterward and Cambio at London’s Serpentine Galleries that investigated the production and distribution of wood. It also makes products, including lights for Flos and volcanic ash-glazed tiles.
“We felt it was an excellent design task to use new, more sustainable parameters as limitations for the new website.”
BC: Your new website has sparked quite the discussion around carbon dioxide emissions, pollution and technology. What’s it all about? Why did you do it?
AT & SF: Our interest was to make a website as efficient as possible, as clear and informative as possible, and energy-efficient. We all know that when using digital tools we are consuming energy and emitting CO2 emissions. We felt it was an excellent design task to use new, more sustainable parameters as limitations for the new website. Based on this we did preliminary research that we handed over to Studio Blanco that we knew would have had the right sensibility and knowledge to design it.
On a technical level, the interface uses system typefaces (Arial and Times New Roman) as a default to avoid unnecessary HTTP requests. In mobile use – where OLED screens are most common – it is available only in black, reducing screen brightness and energy consumption. The design is intended to be as clear as possible to avoid loading unwanted content. Before viewing pictures at a larger size, a preview of the average file weight that your device will need to download is visible on hover.
The website is powered by a tailor-made platform with a significantly lower impact on server-side resource consumption, and it's hosted on GreenGeeks. The website is also largely based on text, especially on the homepage. Text is much lighter than images and since many people decide if to continue the navigation when landing on the homepage, we removed all the images and postponed them on a separate page to avoid unnecessary loading of content if somebody isn’t really interested in knowing more.
A huge inspiration for the website has been Solar Low Tech magazine. Considering how much our work is based on visuals we made some compromises though, for example, the gallery of images per project is still quite extensive.
The duo’s light-filled apartment in Amsterdam doubles as their studio. Photo by Renee de Groot
BC: How did you two meet? Can you tell me a little about your work, and why you founded Formafantasma?
AT & SF: We met in Florence during our bachelor studies. We moved to The Netherlands where we applied as a duo, as Formafantasma! In 2009 we officially opened our studio. We have been a couple for 17 years, and we live and work in the same space.
Formafantasma for us is a way to engage with design on multiple levels. Our practice is research-based and Formafantasma allows us to investigate the ecological, historical, political and social forces shaping the discipline of design today. At the same time, we are also providing our services to an expansive array of international clients and public institutions that reach out to us because of our approach to products, spatial design and consultancy.
Since September 2020, we’ve also been the heads of the Geo-Design department at Design Academy in Eindhoven that explores the social, economic, territorial and geopolitical forces shaping design today.
BC: What’s the one major thing you think has to happen right now to further efforts in sustainable design?
AT & SF: Honestly we think many things should happen but on the legislative level. The European Union is working on several directives that can be then translated in actual law by different European countries. One initiative is to ban planned obsolescence in electronics (making products with artificially short lifespans). Because of this, brands who make use of this irresponsible strategy can be taken to court.
Formafantasma’s wood investigation for Serpentine Galleries in London in 2020. Photo by George Darrell
BC: Some people think sustainability isn’t the right word because it’s so vague and used for almost everything, but there are no easy alternatives. Do you relate? If so, what’s an appropriate substitute
AT & SF: We see sustainability as a chance to envision a different world, even if we prefer the word ecology. Sustainability is too often a word used by marketing to greenwash irresponsible production processes. Within sustainability, we should all find a utopia to aim for. We are interested in sustainability as a chance to rethink the way we live on the planet.
BC: How would you describe your work to your grandma?
AT & SF: We are designers. We give shape to things and ideas and because of this, we have some responsibilities that go beyond pretty colors, forms and so on… But yes, of course, grandma, we still like pretty things, don’t worry.
BC: What’s the one most promising technology or development you think the industry should adopt more broadly?
AT & SF: Everything boils down to establishing some ethical standards. Those standards could be imposed, but I think the best would be if ethical committees would be established willingly by corporations. Any responsible company should start by defining its responsibilities and commitments. These should be made public.
BC: The cost of something is most often on people’s minds before impact. What are some ideas to get more people on board with thinking about sustainability?
AT & SF: At the end of the day, everything we do as a studio has to do with that. We don’t earn a living doing long-term research projects about waste or on how the industry of timber is regulated. We do this because we think, as designers, we have some responsibilities. We can not just get commissions by brands and design. We do this with the hopes to contribute to exactly what you are saying… the building of a culture. Our commitment is also to education, and the Geo-Design department we are heading focuses on these questions.
