THE ISTANBUL METRO THE WINDOWS IN TOPKAPY INSPIRED THE FLOOR OF THE Project start date: November 2009 CARRIAGES OF THE KADIKOY-KARTAL RAILWAY LINE AND Duration of work: from 4 to 5 months MONDO IDEA HAS EMBODIED THE DESIGNER’S DREAM. Line length: 22 km Capacity: 70,000 travelers / h Project: CAF, Integral Design & Development Transport (Turkey) DESIGN AND CULTURE When, in November 2009, the Spanish firm CAF (Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarril) won the competition for the construction of the Kadikoy-Kartal line subway trains in Istanbul, the Turkish city’s municipality clearly expressed the desire that the drawings and elements featured in the trains represent the hallmarks of Istanbul. In order to approach this challenge, CAF commissioned the Integral Design & Development studio to design the interior and exterior of the cars. "We always perform cultural research when we are asked to furnish a train and adapt it to the specific situation of a city - said Alessandra Furvis, from the design team at Integral Development & Design -. It is not just to meet the requirements of the customer's final project, but also to consider the viewpoint of end user, who takes the train every day as well as the occasional visitor. In any case, we think it is right that the train more than mere transportation; it also reflects the important social and cultural aspects of the place itself. " KNOWING ISTANBUL After an initial research on the web to get an early understanding of the main characteristics of a society as complex as that in Istanbul, which has always represented the bridge between Europe and Asia, the Integral Design & Development team visited the city and mingled with its people, walking the streets of the city taking in the smells, tasting the flavors, getting sensations that you cannot get through Internet. "The research on the web is insufficient, you must travel there to see for yourself the true characteristics of the local culture - says Alessandra Furvis. Pre-proposals made prior to visiting Istanbul had to be discarded because they were more in relation with Turkish culture in general rather than that of the metropolis. The team’s trip to Istanbul was enlightening because it allowed for direct entry into the city’s dynamics." After three trips and a series of meetings with local authorities and the people involved in the project, in search of the characteristics of a city having a thousand different facets, the designers managed to refine the guidelines and draw up graphic proposals for the cars’ interior and exterior. A COMPLEX REALITY Among the over 30 initially submitted proposals, four were selected at the end, which took into account several elements: architectural, naturalistic, symbolic, and linked to local artisan traditions. "Of course we had to take into account the principles of industrial standardization to achieve something that could be produced - reminds Alessandra Furvis. At first, we considered choosing only two projects, but the richness and complexity of all the proposals persuaded the railway department of the municipality of Istanbul to create four different types of graphics solutions." The end result met the initial requirements, with four themes that represent the best of Istanbul: the ancient and modern architecture, the Bosphorus with its gulls, spice markets, and tulips, a symbol of the Sultan . "In terms of design, it was a very entertaining project to achieve – said the architect, Alessandra Furvis. Each time we returned to Istanbul, we saw a different city. The colors, flavors and vitality that you see on the streets make it different from traditional European cities, even though in other respects, Istanbul is a very European city. It's nice to think that every time a passenger waits for the train, he doesn’t know which one will be coming." ORIGINALITY, EVEN IF IT’S UNDER YOUR FEET The imagination in the choice of design has not affected only the cars’ exterior, but the interiors as well; in particular, for the construction of the pavement, the only element with the same finish found on all the cars, thanks to Mondo Idea, we were able to meet guidelines of the entire project with the creation of a dedicated texture, in keeping with the city’s aesthetics. "The idea for the design of the floor texture came to us while observing the details of a grid inside Topkapi Palace, in the area once reserved for the sultan's harem. It is an Islamic source motif repeated several times and that in its blue shades based proposal reminds one of water reflections, another characteristic feature of the city," says Alessandra Furvis. MONDO IDEA TO BEAT MONOTONY The Istanbul subway project highlights the opportunities that Mondo Idea can offer an architect or a designer in the construction of a flooring unit. "Mondo Idea for us is not just a range of products, rather it is an idea – said Willy Lepre, head of Mondo’s Transportation Sector. The designs that you can achieve with this technique are different and we offer designers and architects the ability to customize the flooring of a railway carriage Pag. 1/2 according to their needs. The designer is given the possibility of creating a non-trivial product, something deeper, perhaps one linked to the culture of the country where the project is being carried out. This is exactly what happened in Istanbul, where the inspiration came from a grid at Topkapi." A TARGETED CHOICE CAF and Integral Design & Development’s decision to choose Mondo was not random. Both firms had previously worked with the Piedmont based company in other projects, having come to appreciate Mondo Idea’s quality. "This product is very interesting because you can draw inspiration from almost anything to create a floor at quite a reasonable cost, comparable with a floor of the catalog, but with the added ability to imbue the project with added value through customization," said Alessandra Furvis. "Being able to create custom textures is an advantage in the hands of a designer or architect, who must have the sensibility to come up with items that are feasible from a practical and aesthetic point of view. We must always remember that these are products with a long life cycle; there are some basic principles to be respected. That is why it was important to secure Mondo’s collaboration, which has never been lacking, "adds the designer. In short, it offers a proven, simple, flexible and fast technique in the service of creativity. "We do not sell ready-made designs; we offer designers the opportunity to express their creativity, the dream always starts from there. Our task is to turn that dream into reality,” says Lepre. Pag. 2/2.