The new Chicane pull-handle is inspired by the well-known shape of the double “S” curve that characterises the car racing circuits from which it takes its name.
Elegant and sinuous, Chicane was created to offer excellent grip and easy access to the locks of main doors, maintaining the aesthetic that has always distinguished each Mandelli1953 design.
“I imagined it immediately, on the day of the first meeting, driving back to my studio from Mandelli, keeping in mind that short and essential idea given to me verbally,” explains designer, Dodo Arslan. “And I immediately thought of a chicane-shaped pull-handle that combines functionality, feasibility and aesthetics, while reducing the number of pieces of the standard handle.”
The production process is surprising. Chicane was designed to be realised without a mould and, without the need to bring brass to very high temperatures to be shaped, can be produced with considerable energy savings, and with respect towards the environment.
The goal, during the prototyping phase, was to reduce the time and complexity of operations and, as a result, the waste of materials and unnecessary costs. Chicane is an element free from any productive constraints, and offers great potential.
Available in three standard versions, it can be customised both in size and finish, offering architects and interiors designers numerous possibilities.
“I let the shapes be somehow “designed” by the metalworking equipment, forged by mechanics,” says Dodo. “As the great master Vico Magistretti used to say “I like the design so clear that you don’t even have to draw it”. And this is what happened with the Chicane handle, which we developed at a surprising speed, on the phone with the Mandelli Technical Department.“
