Virgilio Forchiassin - the designer
Born 1945 in Trieste, in the north-eastern
part of Italy, Virgilio Forchiassin attended the
"E. Nordio" College of Art, attaining a
specialization in "Art of the Metals".
Achieved school-leaving certificate in 1966.
In 1964, when still a student, he was awarded by IBESTA with "Best Design for Cutlery Set". Choosen between 42 professional designers amongst a total of hundreds of participants, thanks to its innovative design, the project have been rewarded by several international exhibition since then, including Sheffield (Great Britain - Cutlery International Exhibition).
The success of the design has put "E. Nordio" college in direct competition with the "Royal College of Art" of London, the Krefeld's "College of Art" and several other distinguished art colleges.
The following IBESTA competition (1966)
awarded again Forchiassin for the design 
of “Model 65”, another
awarding-winning cutlery set. "Model 65" was exposed all
over Europe since then (Cologne / Werkkunstschule in Wuppertal from
April 16th to May 1966 / Munich - where Virgilio received an additional
award and praise for his work / Nederlands
Goud-Zilvermuseum Annex Klokkenmuseum in Utrecht from June to
September of 1966).
In 1962-1966 span time, the author's
name was included in a list of
74 international designers selected by IBETSA, and appeared amongst
other famous designers (including Tapio
Wirkkala, Ilmari
Tapiovaara, Arne Jacobsen, Friedrich Swodoba and others).
In 1967 he took part at Sheffield's "International Tableware
Design Competition".
His third cutlery set project was mentioned as "...deserving particular praise
and worthy of additional exhibition..." and was then exposed, along
with few other works picked from an array of 300 designers, at the Selfridges
(London, Oxford Street).
In 1967 he sent a lamp design to the "The Yamagiwa
International Lighting-Pixture Competition", gaining a praiseworthy
note.
From August 1967 to July 1969 he held position as chief of the designer
office at "Snaidero
Cucine Componibili" . During those years, he designed “Spaziovivo”
, an
award winning and revolutionary kitchen. "Spaziovivo" was
exposed in Milan (1968, VIII Furniture Exhibition), Paris 
(1969, Porte
de Versaille's Furniture Exhibition), Tokyo (Matsuya, 1969), and
finally at the New York City's MoMA, in permanent exhibition since 1972 (May 27 - September 11, 1972 - cit. pag. 125
“Italy : The New Domestic
Landscape”,
Archivements and Problema of Italian Design, by Emilio Ambasasz.
1972), and again at MoMA in 2010 ("Counter Space: Design and the Modern Kitchen" opening September 15, 2010 - May 2, 2011).
In 1972 he won a contest for a fountain's design for Udine's Tomadini Childhood
Institute, with jury praise for "...the suggestive elements that
prefectly integrate themselves in the enviroinment, recalling an
important passage between tradition and new trends...".
In the following years, he was present at several international competitions, including "Riedel 1972 - a glass for the future" (Kufstein, Austria), Maniago (1998), Cant� (1999, "International Home Design Competition"), Maniago Design 2001.
International design magazines like: Domus, Rassegna, Abitare,
Interni, Casa Vogue,
Casa Arredamento Giardino, Successo, Il Mobile, Arredorama, Modernes
Wohnen, Film
und Frau (and others) featured detailed articles about Forchiassin's works and projects.
In 2000-2005 span time he was engaged with new kitchen design projects.
He also worked as a teacher at "E.Nordio" in his hometown Trieste (1974-1976) and at "G.Sello" Art College in Udine, for over thirty years.
He is now engaged full-time with a brand new project known as "Alchimie e Lacerazioni".
Additional info available through:
Paolo Scandaletti, “Snaidero un uomo, un’impresa”, Moro, Tolmezzo 1994
Andrea Branzi, “Un museo del design
italiano – Design Italiano
1964-1990”, Electa, Milano 1996
Decio Giulio – Riccardo Carugati, “Di
cucina in cucina”, Electa, Milano
1998
Luigi Molinis, “Tocchi spunti e iperboli nel design del Friuli
Venezia-Giulia”, Ellerani, Pordenone 1998