Aliante bookshelf is a project developed for the Carbon Fiber Design Contest 2012 by Olympus FRP, winner of the 1st price. The aim of the contest was to promote the use of the carbon fiber material with its intrinsic characteristics of strenght and lightness in the furniture product category.

The idea behind Aliante bookshelf is to create a 'low air-resistance' piece of furniture. The inspiration comes from aeronautics (Aliante is the italian word for glider) and the shape of the shelves reminds the wings of the aircraft. The winglets at the end of the shelves also create the bookends. The overall dimensions of the bookshelf are quite big (2,2 mt high and 2,7 mt wide) despite its very light and slim structure.

Every single detail has been considered to properly design the structure of the bookshelf: the two central 'columns' give strenght to the frame; the shelves are thicker at the middle and they become thinner on the side; the depth of the 'wings' is 32cm near the central structure and 22cm at the end, so that you are able to put bigger and heavier books where the structure is more resistant. The result of these techical solutions is a piece of furniture with a sculptural and aerodinamic form language which strives to become a must for the high class interiors.