The international jury of The Plan Award 2025 granted an Honorable Mention to the TOCCO Collection in the Industrial Design category, recognizing its innovative character.
TOCCO was previously honored with the Interior Design Magazine NYCxDESIGN Award in May in the Architectural Products Category. In June, it received the 2024 Best of NeoCon Gold in the Architectural Products Category, as well as the Innovation Award across all categories.
The sensory TOCCO hardware collection also received the 2024 Green GOOD DESIGN® Award for its contribution to sustainable development, highlighting its environmental, social, and economic characteristics within a diverse context of international excellence.
TOCCO has now received an Honorable Mention for its innovative character in the Industrial Design category. The Plan Award 2025, held in Milano, brought together architects and designers from around the world to celebrate the best in interior design, architecture, and urban planning among 400 finalists selected from over 1,000 projects.
The Plan Award is an annual international prize that celebrates excellence in architecture, interior design, and urban planning. With twenty categories and more than a thousand submissions each year, it offers architects, designers, and planners a significant platform to engage with a global community and contribute to the ongoing discussion of key issues shaping the industry today.
pba’s goal is to provide designers with a collection of inclusive and sustainable door hardware, enabling the design of spaces that are more sensory-inclusive and sustainable. This offering gives designers the ability to create environments where diverse user needs are accommodated through a range of options.
The
TOCCO Collection offers nearly infinite
color options (visual preferences), as well as two
grip textures (tactile preferences), ensuring the design of highly
inclusive spaces for all users. The levers and pulls grips in the collection are made of
ECONYL® regenerated nylon, which is not only environmentally
sustainable but also
interchangeable allowing spaces to be adapted to users’ needs and offering a better
thermal comfort by maintaining a temperature similar to the environment.
The grip of the TOCCO Collection is made of ECONYL®, 100% regenerated nylon from waste such as fishing nets, old carpets destined for landfills, plastic components and fabric scraps from mills. As well as being a solution on waste, ECONYL® is also better when it comes to climate change. It reduces the global warming impact of nylon by up to 90% compared with the material from oil.
TOCCO Collection has been designed to be easy disassembled, facilitating recycling the different components at end of life. The collection has an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) and it contributes to satisfying LEED requirements, contributing to building a sustainable future.
“We are honored to receive this recognition,” says Francesca Masiero, President of pba. “We design, industrialize, and manufacture accessories for doors, windows, and furniture with the belief that introducing something new to the world carries endless consequences that must be handled responsibly. Our TOCCO Collection embodies our commitment to sustainability and truly responsible practices.”
Committed to the goals of sustainable development and environmental and social sustainability – inclusivity; given that sustainability cannot ignore the centrality of the individual, pba is advancing sustainable and inclusive practices within the design industry.
“Inclusiveness, beauty for all, responsibility for the choices made on what, with whom and how, and sustainability. Because we cannot avoid to be sustainable if we truly believe in the “for all” which is the reason why the TOCCO Collection combines everyone and everything.” says Erica Anesi, CEO of pba.
pba aimed to deepen the understanding of sensory stimulation within the built environment and its impact on the individuals who inhabit it. In collaboration with the University of Venice – IUAV, pba conducted research to explore how the TOCCO Collection communicates inclusiveness and sustainability through its tertiary-expressive properties.
The project emphasizes the significance of social sustainability alongside economic and environmental aspects, recognizing the importance of neurodiversity in design. By fostering adaptable spaces, the design encourages participation and upholds the dignity for all individuals.
Implementing sustainable cooperation and participation, deeply rooted in culture, is closely linked to social sustainability. Sustainable development must consider a multitude of components, including economic, environmental, and social factors. While sustainability has often focused on economic and environmental aspects, it is increasingly essential to encompass social factors in discussions of community development. Moreover, when addressing inclusivity, it is vital to incorporate the needs of neurodiverse individuals. Sensory Inclusive Design aims to address the sensitivities of neurodiverse people towards perceptive and sensory stimuli.
Additionally, the research aims to further explore perceptions of inclusivity and sustainability among different groups, classifying its components into measurable variables. A psychophysical study evaluated the significance of these variables in expressing inclusivity and sustainability, while a questionnaire was used to identify overlooked categories of inclusivity and their links to tertiary-expressive qualities. Overall, the project aims to deepen the understanding of inclusive and sustainable design and its impact on community well-being.
Furthermore, TOCCO hardware components are designed to be interchangeable and employ standard fixing systems, allowing them to be seamlessly integrated into renewal projects without the need to replace existing doors or components. This sustainable, interchangeable, and sensory-sensitive nature of the Tocco collection reflects a deep commitment to sustainability in all its aspects. By offering neurodiverse and neurotypical individuals the ability to choose from various situations and environments within the same space, designers can uphold dignity and autonomy.
Creating versatile and adaptable environments not only accommodates individual preferences but also combats stigma and segregation, promoting equality and integration, which ultimately enhances perceived well-being. This holistic approach underscores the importance of inclusivity in interior design as a means of fostering sustainable and supportive communities.
The research results were presented during the Lectio Magistralis held at the University of Venice IUAV in the presence of the scientific committee of the Department of Architecture. During the event, Prof. Michele Sinico, Dr. Sophia Diaz, Dr. Samantha Barbolan, and Dr. Aristea Klanac shared the methods used and the outcomes achieved, engaging in a dialogue with Erica Anesi, CEO of pba S.p.A., and Maria Giovanna Sandrini, CCO of Aquafil S.p.A., about the role of sustainable and inclusive design and the importance of material choices in achieving sustainable development goals. They also discussed the need to explore these aspects not only from a technical standpoint but also by questioning how the values of inclusion and sustainability should be communicated to the design world.
The final results of the research are available upon request. pba offers engaging presentations and provides the Research Results Document to share with the architectural and design communities the data and findings on how the TOCCO Collection communicates inclusiveness and sustainability through its tertiary-expressive qualities.
pba collaborated with RainlightSTUDIO and Kay Sargent, Cognitive and Sensory Wellbeing Design Consultant, on this revolutionary hardware collection.
To be contacted by our architectural representatives to present the results to your firm, please contacts our team: marketing@pba.it
See the video of the Lectio Magistralis at IUAV
Discover the TOCCO Collection
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