A private home in Florence once held a very special collection, steeped in sporting memories and history. From it comes Footvem, a one-of-a-kind museum created by Andrea Furlanetto to showcase his treasured collection of football pennants. Started in 1979, the collection has grown over the years to more than 700 pieces from across the international sporting world.

A museum designed around the collection

The project involved an exhibition space of around 75 m² on the ground floor of a historic building in Florence.

Through a co-design process, Echo Labs developed bespoke furnishings and display systems, conceived to highlight the exhibits and give the collection a practical, well-organised layout.

A range of display supports was created, born from the meeting between the materials available and the design expertise of the two partners: display cases built from wood sourced from the logistics supply chain, with covers made of plexiglass recovered from other supply chains and from the screens used to separate office workstations during the Covid period. These are complemented by seating, additional display elements and a storage system with 19 pull-out drawers. Altogether, the project recovered and repurposed 216 kg of wood, turning it into structures and furniture for the museum spaces.

The project is a tangible application of the circular economy in the cultural sector: recovered materials are transformed into customised display solutions, extending their life cycle.