Fernando and Humberto Campana in the HSBC Lounge of Design Miami.
WHITEWALL: Congratulations on your Designer of the Year award. This HSBC lounge design is amazing. How did you come up with the design?
HUMBERTO CAMPANA: It’s a celebration. Whenever you receive a prize you want to give something back. This project with straw is something we’ve been investigating.
FERNANDO CAMPANA: Last year with the Chandelier for the Crystal Palace we made it out of straw with the crystal pieces. It was smaller and shyer with the use of the straw. Then we made part of the set for the installation for the exhibition in the Design Museum in London and the covering of a façade for Art Basel last year. The HSBC lounge here was an opportunity to work on a larger scale to represent the Indian houses of Brazil in the Amazon. The smell and spirit of the jungle is now inside the fair.
HC: Also to create a shock between a bank. A solid, very serious structure and to rethink what could be a bank today – where there is a disparity of everything.
FC: Banks are always made of concrete and glass, very solid.
HC: But we used a lot of respect.
WW: Of course, it’s shocking but it’s not silly. It’s quite cozy.
HC: For me it’s like a palace. It comforts the soul.
WW: It’s certainly an oasis, a break from the over-stimulation you can experience walking around the many fairs.
FC: It also blocks sound very well.
WW: You were ahead of the curve in terms of appropriation and have been using found materials in your design for years, before it was a trend. Walking around Design Miami, you can certainly see a trend in organic forms coming through. Are you excited that other designers are working with more organic forms and materials?
HC: Our design shows that you can do it yourself. So I’m quite happy – I like to see other examples grow.
FC: People are taking the position without depending so much on industry. You can use your hands.
WW: What is the dynamic like between you two as a design duo and also as brothers?
FC: Humberto is more into the sculpture and I graduated from Architecture school so I bring in the function and help to polish his ideas.
HC: But those roles change sometimes.
FC: We argue everyday. That’s the secret to being friends, brothers, and partners for the past 25 years. [laughs] I’m kidding about that. We do have honesty, partnership, and brotherhood.
HC: Because first of all, the much more important thing for me is the work. Sometimes I’m not so selfish, I respect his ideas in order to grow.
WW: Are you worried at all about the current global economic climate?
FC: We started to work in Brazil, so we know the whole ABCs of crises.
HC: It’s funny because since I was born we always live under crisis in Brazil. We maintain mental agility and are prepared for the next fall.
WW: Anything you’re excited to see in Miami besides all the Design Miami festivities?
FC: I would love to go to the Everglades or to the Botanic Gardens. I’m so passionate about nature.
