Almada Bb Trumpet by Ermanno Aparo

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DI: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?

EA : The idea is to show that a network of companies, when oriented by a designer, can build complex objects.

DI: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?

EA : I wanted to show how innovation can be the result of a perfect synergy between different partners that are part of a symbiotic network. As complex products they can be the result of a network articulated by a design oriented process.

DI: What are your future plans for this award winning design?

EA : This award can be the recognition for all those who have actively participated in this project. The news of this award won can be important for companies and designers to understand how creativity, when developing synergistic networks of companies, can provoke innovation.

DI: How long did it take you to design this particular concept?

EA : This project is the result of a post doctoral degree in Design at the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Lisbon. The process lasted for almost 4 years. It took almost 3 years to make the trumpet.

DI: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?

EA : This project is important because after almost 70 years in Portugal this type of musical instruments has returned to produce. The area and the typology have been chosen by me, to show that the design methodology related to the territorial networks is an effective method even for complex products such as a musical instrument.

DI: Is your design being produced or used by another company, or do you plan to sell or lease the production rights or do you intent to produce your work yourself?

EA : 12 companies were involved in this project, although the project was commissioned by CIAUD (Research Center in Architecture, Urbanism and Design of the University of Lisbon). At this moment there are no conditions for a serial production of the instrument, even if some of the components are produced only for sale, so I don't think the whole trumpet will be sold, at least in a short time.

DI: What made you design this particular type of work?

EA : What makes this instrument unique is its warm sound, the easy emission but above all to be an instrument produced in Portugal.

DI: Where there any other designs and/or designers that helped the influence the design of your work?

EA : I do not know, frankly, my influences are manifold and in the case of this project they come from the history of the trumpet but also from processes and products from other areas, such as jewelery, the automotive industry, lighting products and even fashion design.

DI: Who is the target customer for his design?

EA : Trumpeters, both classic and jazz.

DI: What sets this design apart from other similar or resembling concepts?

EA : I do not know, every instrument has its character, its peculiarities. Almada trumpet is a warm and powerful sound, an elegant and gentle instrument, a different and exciting experience of playing the trumpet.

DI: How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean?

EA : The name is the result of the analysis of the history of wind instruments in Portugal. In the first half of 1800 Ernesto Wagner built the first wind instrument with valves (a French horn) in an atelier in the "rua Nova do Almada" in Lisbon. In the first half of 1900 the Casa Guimarães built the last wind instruments in the "rua do Almada" in Porto. From here the name Almada trumpet.

DI: Which design tools did you use when you were working on this project?

EA : All the necessary tools, from low to high technology, from 3D Printers to mechanical lathes, from hammers to CNCs, stating that some tools have been created specifically for this project.

DI: What is the most unique aspect of your design?

EA : That of being the fruit of a creative process that comes from a terriotorial network, where everyone is important and where, holistically, the total is always more important than the individual parts.

DI: Who did you collaborate with for this design? Did you work with people with technical / specialized skills?

EA : Many companies in completely separate areas collaborated on this project: Luthiery, precision mechanics, jewelery, lighting products, craft tinsmith production, 3d printing, shipbuilding, home furnishings ...

DI: What is the role of technology in this particular design?

EA : In this project, as I have already said, all the technologies are important: from high to low technology, from the small artisan to the shipbuilding company.

DI: Is your design influenced by data or analytical research in any way? What kind of research did you conduct for making this design?

EA : Before the creative process it was necessary to do a thorough research on the wind instrument construction processes. We then went on to analyze all the processes individually and look for partners in the area by understanding how we could do better every single component of the trumpet, and we succeeded.

DI: What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/realization of your concept?

EA : Making a trumpet is in itself the biggest challenge of this project, trying to balance the sound, find the correct frequencies, balance the instrument's weights. These and all the other requirements that make a trumpet a complete instrument constitute the challenge of designing a trumpet.

DI: How did you decide to submit your design to an international design competition?

EA : When someone told me that the A 'design Award could be a great competition for our project.

DI: What did you learn or how did you improve yourself during the designing of this work?

EA : With this experience, I realized that by using design methodology and territorial networks, complex products can really be developed.

DI: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?

EA : Yes, thanks to everyone who made this project possible!