We have been looking to the future to get ahead of the curve since 2002. MADE Expo did not exist yet, many in the industry will remember the renowned SAIE in Bologna where Alias made its debut in 2003. Communicating innovation is just as important as innovation itself and investing in an impressive and futuristic stand is another challenge for Alias. There is no shortage of determination and inspiration comes thanks to the collaboration with architect Roberto Tortelotti. Tortelotti, who has a broad vision of the issues relating to design and living, is a specialist in interior design and multimedia art and is a supporter Alias from the very beginning. The layout of the Settima di Gossolengo offices, spaces designed and furnished with taste and functionality and still widely used today, also originate from him. The synergy between the founder Vaccari and Tortelotti, the architect, is further consolidated with the task of studying the very first corporate and product communication tools, essential for distributing the many special features that differentiate and distinguish their “Made in Piacenza” security doors from the competition. In parallel with leaflets and brochures, Tortelotti also dedicates himself to designing the first exhibition stand. We talk about how to make our “Serie A” debut, a clear and challenging mission: a new company, a new brand, a new concept for security doors. We need try to stand out from the giants of the sector of time. And it is at the Bologna trade fair that Alias’s winding red and white logo (the colours are those of the city of Piacenza, the original logo design is by the studio Adami&Bongiorno Creative) make their official debut. The large stand, designed by Roberto, bursts onto the scene and immediately catches the attention of customers and operators, both Italian and foreign. Their innovative security doors enter the marketplace, the first substantial orders arrive and are immediately a success.
The main task assigned to the architect Tortelotti was to create attractive and high-quality panels, designed to last over time and be resistant to passing fads, but the most difficult task was to transmit and communicate the hidden treasure concealed within an Alias door. Many technical and substantial aspects could not be easily or immediately conveyed.
Tortelotti’s inspiration comes from his previous experiences in industrial design (Calligaris, Porada, Glas) but also from the harmony of nature, as in the case of the evergreen “Cactus” collection: the first glass security door with decorative frame covering, perhaps the favourite of the Piacenza architect. Or perhaps the intuitions born from stimuli and ideals of beauty that could be traced back to the great classics of architecture and figurative art. There was ample space in Alias’s collections to experiment, but always ensuring completely harmonious proportions and designs that were never prosaic. An excessively bold stroke of the pencil ran the risk of overlapping environments, compromising their integration into the various environments; installing a security door in a villa, an office or a hotel needs to be done in a graceful and measured way. Alias doors express personality without arrogance, thereby adapting to the needs of the most demanding designers and architects.
In the first decade of the 2000s there were also interesting stylistic incursions into fashion, such as doors embellished with Swarowski decorations, very on-trend crystals, sometimes unique pieces and thematic collections made from elements that marked an era of particular creative fervour.
Throughout those years, the concepts and design ideas that still distinguish the production of many Alias doors today flowed from the prolific creative vein of the architect Tortelotti. Beauty and security must find the right balance, the prevailing taste of time was limited to massive, impersonal doors, to the eye much more akin to the blacksmith and heavy craftsmanship industry – even a little dated – than the modern design industry. The new style and substance offered by Alias had one eye on the future instead. This is how the first examples of designer security doors were born, capable of combining style, research, materials, innovative and useful technical solutions. All the while ensuring excellent performance in terms of installation, safety, maintenance, acoustic comfort and durability.
Onda, Mouse, Mood, Cactus, Nine, Map and Oval followed by Linea, Planar and Inout are among Tortelotti’s most successful collections, and there are still evergreen panels from among them. Or multimedia models like PAIS and even QUADRANT with its personalised decorations. More recently, LISTEN and CARGO were also much appreciated, in addition to METROPOLITAN, CARTOON, GIPSY and MARBLE. All textures, mouldings, milling and material decorations are conceived with a refined poetic style and a faithful consistent design that can combine spaces (interior-interior or interior-exterior) with great fluidity.
The same showroom and the working environments within which Alias’s management and administrative departments are located is rich in artistic quotes, paintings, installations and sculptures that accompany the daily work of the various departments. The company has grown rapidly over the years, expanding organically into the surrounding areas around its first site. In the space of a few years, new factories, warehouses, technical departments, areas dedicated to research, testing and development of new products and to the improvement of existing collections have been built in Settima di Gossolengo. Nowadays Alias presents itself as a neighbourhood company whose many signs can be clearly seen from the state road connecting the logistics departments to the main motorway and rail arteries.
But we are only at the beginning; in the early 2010s and many other challenges still awaited Alias, designing and building quality security doors is an enterprise that needs to be modernised month after month, as with the changing of the seasons, companies need to be able to evolve through innovation and consolidation, integrating technology with aesthetic beauty.
The story is to be continued over the next few weeks: we will meet other architects, technicians and designers, and if you’d like to accompany us, it will be a great pleasure for us to share all of the steps that have led our company to be a leader in the security doors industry with customers, collaborators and suppliers.
And thanks to everyone who has been on this journey, or part of it, with us. We will be back soon with more episodes of “Alias 20”.
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