Fabio Colucci, between heaven and earth...
Space has always fascinated Fabio Colucci -the infinity of the universe just above our heads and the vertigo it induces. As a child he wanted to be an astronaut and today harbors a twinge of regret for not becoming one, until he brings up his other passion: cartoons – the pinnacle of the world of imagination.
As a teenager, Fabio Colucci, who was already good at drawing, set his sights on architecture. He wants to design the world around us, positioned under the stars. Once he got his diploma he set out to find the best path. The same year he took both the Ecal and HEAD professional exams and passed both. “I had the luxury of being able to decide,” says the son of the famed designer Claudio Colucci. The apple didn't fall far from the tree.
He chose HEAD in Geneva, a city he loves and where he fully enjoys the quality of life, and he chose interior design, allying technicality and creativity. “I loved my years in school, studying and working crazy hours. We were all a family.” The memories come flooding back – a presentation at the Milan Furniture Fair, a workshop with the iconic Matali Crasset, moments of exchange and sharing, sleepless nights, the Teo Jakob prize with special mention…
Search for meaning
With his Bachelor's in hand, Fabio went straight to the Paris office of Colucci Design for several months, working at every level in the company. The Fukushima disaster in 2011 gave him a reason to leave for Japan, then back to Geneva for an internship with Strata Architecture. His father then asked him to take over the Geneva office, where he accepted to give “a helping hand.”
Once on the job, the only one in the office, he discovered the true life of a professional designer, not what's in the schoolbooks. The late nights, disrespect and acrimony. The projects he must defend, clients to convince and the office to run. "In the beginning I was the designer, artist, project manager, accountant..." He created the Hermès shop windows throughout Switzerland, a limited edition Caran d'Ache pen and even designed the architectural identity of TPG Architecture in collaboration with Strata.
He loves all aspects of interior design business even if he has a preference for the early creative research phases. His passion drives him to teaching. A discovery, an opportunity. "I teach real life. Those things that nobody taught me," he says without hiding his joy.
What does he expect of his students? That they always go above and beyond what's expected of them, without forgetting to tell the story behind the project. The search for meaning is primordial.