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Nigel Coates unveils versatile armchair at Design Variation, Fuorisalone 2022
Plasma armchair and footrest by Nigel Coates for Centro Studi Poltronova
Image: Courtesy of Centro Studi Poltronova
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Nigel Coates unveils versatile armchair at Design Variation, Fuorisalone 2022

Joining the ensemble of Design Variations by Mosca Partners, Centro Studi Poltronova will present the works by Nigel Coates, Archizoom, Bethan Laura Wood and Ettore Sottsass jr.

by Nigel Coates
Published on : Jun 10, 2022

Morphing a rococo palace into a harbour for the contemporary, the interplay of contrasts brings to light the importance of cultural contamination and the search for integration and cohesion between different artistic manifestos. Orchestrating values and aesthetics, symmetries and decorative games, radicalism and richness of detail, Centro Studi Poltronova will come together with Palazzo Visconti for Design Variation as part of Fuorisalone, during Milan Design Week 2022.

Through their artistic compositions, Nigel Coates and Bethan Laura Wood extend on the belief that the past becomes a living material to be rethought, to be communicated with increasingly refined, exclusive materials and patterns that are moulded by the needs of the product, the producer and the hand that crafted it. Space takes up an elementary role in the evolution of this narrative, fostering relations between things, places and people by explaining one's idea of the present and the future.

Centro Studi Poltronova has picked three significant pieces from the collection – Superonda, Plasma, Ultrafragola – for their ability to enhance the exemplary ideas that the Tuscan company has represented in the world since 1957. The special edition of Superonda by Archizoom, in the new terrazzo version with the pattern designed by Bethan Laura Wood, introduces the Poltronova Research Centre in the field of fabrics. This whimsical and multicoloured pattern can be used both for the modular sofa and for other products. With its roots lying in pop culture and design free from constraints, the evolution of Poltronova products is experimented with in terms of both form and materiality, which excellent craftsmanship makes invaluable.

Touch is also the sense stimulated by the Plasma armchair designed by Nigel Coates that showcases the designer's vocation for creating essential forms through digital designThe installation is the 'variation' for a reimagination of the space, which unifies with the product. The extraordinary Ultrafragola mirror by Ettore Sottsass jr. completes the ensemble for Palazzo Visconti. The exhibition epitomises the contemporary scene, with the old and the new as complementary factors for understanding the nuances of a design, an experience - to make them live fully.

The Superonda, an iconic piece by Archizoom that in 1967 affirmed its autonomy from the formal tradition of the sofa, maximum freedom of use, and released the furnishing product from the architecture that contained it, here becomes a Terrace on the Sea, owing to the pattern of Bethan Laura Wood. Wood's experience in a Venetian palazzo is expressed in a kaleidoscopic pattern, with many coloured 'gems' to support the lightness of the wave. She admired the Terrazzo that covered every inch of the space at her disposal, and fascinated by the many types of decoration, she has proposed them again in her works. The precious stones are thus released from the terrace, from the landscape imprinted in the eye, to set themselves on the sofa and give another original idea of relaxation and an unforgettable experience of their own.

Like oil bubbles rising and falling in water, the cushions of the Plasma armchair seem to levitate. Their rounded forms are defined by the subtle meandering steel frame, a faint stroke that cradles those seated in it. The uniqueness of each cushion is accentuated by a combination of three different colours. The powder-coated steel core and waterproof neoprene upholstery make it an ideal seat for both indoor and outdoor use.

The Ultrafragola mirror/lamp with its sinuous silhouette, reminiscent of wavy hair, contributes to the series of Mobili Grigi, a complete bedroom and living room designed by Ettore Sottsass for Poltronova and presented at the third edition of Eurodomus in 1970. None except Ultrafragola went beyond the prototype stage.

Design Variations will be on display at Salone del Mobile.Milano 2022, from 6th – 12th June, in Palazzo Visconti, via Cino del Duca 8, Milan.

STIR takes you on a Milanese sojourn! Experience Salone del Mobile and all the design districts - 5vie, Brera, Fuorisalone, Isola, Zona Tortona, and Durini - with us. STIR’s coverage of Milan Design Week 2022, Meanwhile in Milan showcases the best exhibits, moods, studios, events, and folks to look out for. We are also excited to announce our very own STIR press booth at Salone del Mobile - Hall 5/7 S.14, Fiera Milano RHO.

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