Designers N.Calandrino Van Kleef, S.Bignami, R.Cavozzi KUSHIM CARING DESIGN

This new start-up was conceived by architect Natasha Calandrino Van Kleef, thermo-technician Riccardo Cavozzi, and designer Silvia Bignami. Based in Milan, this creative team has synergised its technological skills and collective foresight to revolutionize the way we experience and safely inhabit spaces thanks to the latest technological innovations and scientific research. Homes, offices, public places and meeting areas now need to be purified with technologies that promote health and reduce contamination, helping to prevent contagion and infection by effectively reducing the transmission of pathogens between people.

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Natasha Calandrino Van Kleef is an acclaimed architect and designer, and the owner of several design patents in partnership with the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Milan, where she also serves as a graduate degrees commissioner and specialist lecturer. In 2010 she founded the NVK Architecture & Design Studio and created her NVK Daydoll ethical and sustainble fashion collection, which is certified by the Textile and Health Project as part of the Italian Ministry of Health. In 2021, together with Riccardo Cavozzi and Silvia Bignami, she is launching a new brand called “Kushim Caring Design” that provides solutions for inactivating pathogens with interior processes and furnishing accessories. Natasha's interests include anthropology, physics, and scientific innovations, and she is passionate about the application of new technologies in the fields of architecture, civil engineering and design.

​She recently started a collaboration with INAF (National Institute of Astrophysics) to design innovative tools that grant the inactivation of pathogens in closed environments.

Riccardo Cavozzi, is a thermo-technical designer, industrial expert, and fire prevention professional who is registered with the Italian Interior Ministry. He has worked with various companies, overseeing the different phases of systems design, from testing to implementation and verification over time. In 2013, Riccardo founded his own technical design studio and holds several patents together with Natasha Calandrino Van Kleef and Silvia Bignami. He is passionate about new technologies and mechanics, as well as the environment, and is committed to the research and development of systems and processes for the application of new techniques for a more harmonious coexistence with the natural world.

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Silvia Bignami, is an independent designer. After graduating in architecture she began a long collaboration with the Lolli e Memmoli brand, a world leader in designer lighting. With experience in the fields of interior design, exhibition and showroom fittings, furniture production and design, and lighting components, Silvia also holds several patents with the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Milan together with Britta Gelati, Natasha Calandrino Van Kleef, and Riccardo Cavozzi. Since 2009 she has been working as a freelancer with various architecture, engineering and design studios. Her interests range from graphics to photography and technological innovations. Always interested in the interactions and interpretations of various disciplines and fields of study, Silvia is convinced that the fusion of different kinds of knowledge can generate new aesthetic objects and spaces for everday living.