ilVespaio is a design studio with a focus on ecodesign and sustainability.
A team of creatives, researchers and educators promotes awareness on social and environmental issues, organizing workshops, events, contests and educational exhibitions with companies, local authorities, schools and families.
ilVespaio designs promotional products using recycled materials or reusing production scrap.
Why ilVespaio?
IlVespaio was founded by the graphic designer Stefano Castiglioni and the product designer Alessandro Garlandini in 2008, based on the idea of designing and producing promotional merchandise made of re-used production scraps and other materials. A circular promotional item unique and customized.
We called ourselves ilVespaio, the Italian word for wasp nest, because we were looking for a name from the natural world recalling dynamism and creative chaos. Wasps are usually considered useless, annoying insects. However, they are very important for the ecosystem and for impollination. Moreover, unlike bees, they proudly refuse to be tamed and don’t like to work for humans. They use attics to create their nests, instead!
ilVespaio – ecodesign and sustainability projects
We strongly believe that citizens play a crucial role in the transition towards circular economy and that we need to focus on education especially of children and new generations.
We have developed projects to raise awareness on environmental issues and to promote conscious behaviours. Every medium is strategic to convey messages that are important to us: exhibitions, outdoor events, workshops and laboratories, digital projects, educational videos, installations, promotional products, toys and even murals with photocatalytic paints. Besides, every place is good to enhance awareness: web and social networks, museums, airports, hospitals, universities, schools, fairs, even food festivals.
ilVespaio – design e recycled plastic
ilVespaio has been focussing on plastic recycling recently. We joined the Precious Plastic community and we built many machines to recycle plastic; we can shred plastic packagings and transform them in recycled objects by injection.
In a few words, we are trying to do our best to leave a better world to future generations.
Our network
Alessandro garlandini
designer and founder
Graduated from the Polytechnic of Milan, Alessandro deals with product design, graphics and exhibit design. In 2008 he founded ilVespaio.
He teaches product design at NABA. As a designer he has won numerous prestigious international awards, including 6 Good Design Awards from The Chicago Athenaeum and 3 ADI Design Index.
Sebastiano Ercoli
designer
PhD in Design at the Polytechnic of Milan, he has carried out research projects on Design for All, reverse modeling and virtual reality. He worked for Olimpia Splendid, Snaidero, Electrolux, Gregotti Associati, Politecnico di Milano. He has won numerous prestigious international awards, including 6 Good Design Awards from The Chicago Athenaeum and 3 ADI Design Index.
Stefano Castiglioni
graphic designer and founder
Freelance graphic designer and visual designer, he collaborates with companies, organizations and institutions on print and multimedia projects. He is co-founder of ilVespaio and has worked with some great masters of Milanese communication, including Bob Noorda, Italo Lupi, Giancarlo Iliprandi and Emanuele Pirella. He has managed projects for ADI, ADI Foundation, Lombardy Region, Province of Varese, Pepsico, Google Italia, Sedus Stoll, Renato Zero, Istituto Oikos.
ILARIA PIRRO
designer
Graduated in Product Design at NABA, she is currently completing a two-year specialisation course at Politecnico di Milano. During her studies she worked as a laboratory technician and later as a teaching assistant at NABA. Interested in the culture of design – in all its forms – she approached the environmental issue, a theme addressed in an editorial project as part of the exhibition “Italy: a new collective landscape” at the ADI museum.
Clara Giardina
designer
Freelance designer, she has a special interest in the educational and collaborative aspects of the project. She works between project and education, as a means to create social innovation, sustainable behaviors and new opportunities. From 2007 to 2013 she was an expert at the Product Design Laboratory, Industrial Design Course, Polytechnic of Milan. Since 2014 she has been a contract professor in the Degree Course in Industrial Design, University of Bologna.
Marco Del Comune
photographer
He began photography in 1985 and specialized in adv. Since 2001 he has been making portraits and reportages related to food, doing works for SlowFood in Latin America, Asia and on the food communities of Terra Madre; afterwards he made reportages on the most important events related to food and biodiversity. In 2019, with the artist Silvia Levenson, he created projects with immigrants and refugees on the theme of integration in Berlin and Birmingham.
Luca Orioli
video maker
Graduated in communication sciences and technologies at IULM in Milan. Editor in Milan and Cologno Monzese, he has worked for Mediaset, Sky Show Biz, Endemol, Promo Video and RCS. He founded Aroproductions, for which he deals with the conception, development and editing of visual and photographic projects and has collaborated with ilVespaio for years.