An age-old, ancestral material made of silicon and carbonates, generated by the earth, which over the centuries has become like the sky.
We decided not to stop there, we explored the material, we realised that transparency is only one condition, the harbinger of many other signs.
We did not abandon it, but realised its depth. The material goes back to being matter, to be reconsidered in all its expressive power.
Melting is a heat treatment during which the sheet of glass is deformed by gravity. In the course of this operation, the worker in charge of melting assists the glass, so to speak, to assume the desired shape, giving the finished product its unique features that set it apart from a mass-produced object.
Fiam currently has more furnaces reaching internal temperatures of between 650° and 900° C. This equipment is designed and built within the company and represents the pinnacle of our know-how.
DV-GLASS® was conceived in 2018 with a view to achieving unprecedented glass thicknesses in the world of furniture and reinventing a multi-faceted material, optimizing all the production process phases, from procurement to consumption, while fully embracing the concepts of circular economy and environmental sustainability.
The idea is to section the sheet of glass (by recovering various off-cuts of glass sheets) into lots of small glass strips. By combining these strips, including ones of different thicknesses and heights, and skilfully placing them side by side, a variety of colour combinations can be created, according to a specific or random pattern.
Lastly, the ultra-high temperatures of the ovens (over 800°C) melt the strips until they combine into a new sheet that showcases the visual and tactile properties of the original elements.
This is how DV-GLASS® was invented, a type of glass that is set apart from all the others on the market due to its high thickness (up to 30 mm), large dimensions and the possibility of infinite colour combinations.
The extreme variability of the melting process combined with the high degree of craftsmanship in the pre-assembly phase means that each new sheet is, in fact, different from the previous one and never the same as the next.
The bending of the glass sheet is the process that put Fiam’s name on the global map.
Through the use of complex moveable moulds and an avant-garde blast furnace, we succeed in transforming a sheet of glass into a three-dimensional shape, while maintaining the balance of the glass between the solid and liquid state, in unrepeatable situations.
The master bender is the key figure because he is able to combine technical expertise with manual dexterity. Controlling the temperature of the sheet of glass at various points is fundamental in order to soften each one differently depending on the final shape to be achieved. Through the use of various tools, the master bender succeeds in moulding the sheet of glass to give it the desired shape.
This dexterity requires a high level of sensibility which is crucial for the quality of the finished product. It is from this specific encounter between cutting-edge technology and artisan expertise that unique, non mass-produced items are created.
The silvering process consists of depositing metallic silver in liquid form on the surface of the sheet of glass to create a mirror. A mirror that can reflect the rays of light that strike its surface.
This operation is based on chemical reactions, but also involves careful control of all the parameters that determine the quality of the end product given that they are influenced by atmospheric conditions.
Although featuring a high technological content, the experience and sensibility of the artisan in charge of silvering is also essential in ensuring a successful outcome in this process.
Sculpting is one of the most fascinating steps of the production process in which artisan expertise is expressed in its most spectacular form!
On a specially equipped bench, the master sculptor moves almost like an artist given the sensitivity required by the process and for the end result. Selecting piece after piece of the most suitable glass, designing the shape that each piece must assume, and sculpting it using a special “tool” with an almost rhythmical movement: piece by piece, the master sculptor’s skill is showcased in the point where creativity and dexterity come together.
The individual pieces, once sculpted, are finished on a sanding belt and assembled to obtain a component (for example, a table leg) that resembles a unique and unrepeatable piece of art.
Fiam is not just glass. Every day, we produce products of extremely variable complexity from the pure, single-block curved glass table to the complex display cabinet, full of components made of different materials.
Our expertise in the transformation of plate glass inevitably calls for the high degree of technical skill of our workers in assembling all the glass components, as well as combining glass with other materials such as metals, wood, and marble. This is made more difficult by the high tolerances inherent in our semi-finished products in bent or fused glass. Given the very high temperatures, it is not possible to obtain precise and perfectly reproducible sheets of glass, which is why the entire production process, right from the design phase, must take this variability into account and consequently, rely on skilled, trained and sensitive operators.
We are numerically controlled artisans.
Giacomo Mornico
Irene Sartor
Marco Tonet
Nicola Carpene
Simone De Gasperin
Webkolm
