Interview with Alberto Bovo owner of HDG

Working as
a way of building relationships. From the product to spaces in the future

Collaboration
between Dieffebi and Hangar Design Group goes back a long way. It saw the
rebranding of the Company’s image and products, including the DotBox system, which
marked the transition from a catalogue of purely storage elements to designer
office furniture and more besides.

“We have
had a deep, fruitful relationship with Dieffebi,” Alberto Bovo, Chairman &
owner of Hangar Design Group tells us, “an open-minded client who is respectful
of our role as creatives. Together we have built the transition from a business
known primarily for its functional metal storage units to a company manufacturing
designer furniture. DotBox reflects their identity: sheet metal processing and an
anima that’s functional. It is in fact a 'box' providing storage that converts
into a highly versatile, practical modular system – from seats to filing
systems, to specific furnishing solutions for workplaces or reception areas.”

From the
office to the home. “The cross-sectorial use of environments and products,”
continues Bovo, “has been trending in the market for over 5 years. However, the
recent pandemic has rendered it imperative.  The most important element in the home office is
the desktop, the workstation, which the storage element complements. Having in
fact storage in the home that supports a mobile way of working is very much
trending at the moment. So what’s needed is not just wall storage, but pieces
such as benches that provide storage space or compact-sized elements on casters.
However, I believe that the future workplace will not be the home or the
conventional office. It will be the cloud, the virtual space where we will
store everything we need. I think we have to take this inevitable
transformation into account. Agile working on the other hand will be the future
when it comes to mobility: the real distinction will not lie not so much in the
place as in the opportunities for meetings, which will become more virtual. The
physical office nevertheless, albeit smaller in terms of floor space and areas,
will continue to remain crucial to relations, because one of its most important
aspects is physicality. Maybe meetings will be less frequent but of better
quality.”