The Gaulino Collection by BD Barcelona is a homage to Oscar Tusquets' 1987-design

It was 36 years ago when Spanish architect Oscar Tusquets designed the Gaulino Chair—his first creation in wood that drew heavy influence from the works of Antoni Gaudí and Carlo Mollino (thus the name Gaulino). Taking cues from Gaudi’s freedom of form, and Mollino’s sensual line, Gaulino was born as ‘a chair of great modernity’ and was released by BD Barcelona – a Spanish furniture company co-founded by Tusquets. Gaulino has given form to a new collection of furniture pieces that draw their silhouette from the contoured wooden frame of the icon. Named the Gaulino collection, it includes a lighter and lower extension of its predecessor, an armless version, a stool, dining tables, and tables for living spaces. Described as ‘a union of forms’ by BD Barcelona, the pieces reveal stretching shapes, fibrous limbs, hand-sewn leather seats, and curving elements.

BD Barcelona (formerly Boccaccio Design) was founded in 1972 as a creative entity and a business model between Tusquets and fellow Spanish architects Pep Bonet, Cristian Cirici, Lluís Clotet, and Mireia Riera. Rooted in the wealth of inspiration springing from the Italian design scene where design and manufacturing had a unique synergy, the collective sought to produce their own work in Spain where the demand for manufacturing was comparatively very less. Over the years, BD Barcelona went on to produce works of celebrated names in design such as Ettore Sottsass, Alessandro Mendini, and Alvaro Siza, to reissuing icons by masters like Antoni Gaudi and Salvatore Dali, and contemporary designs by Doshi Levien, Konstantin Grcic, and Jaime Hayon, to name a few. While most of the founders are in their 80s now, a new path for the brand emerged last year as it announced the joining of new creatives taking the helm together with Tusquets to explore the brand’s heritage. Publisher and creative agency Apartmento together with architects Pablo Bofill and Hernán Cortés of Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura, and Igor Urdampilleta of Arquitectura G have acquired majority stakes in the company, to build a future legacy of the brand. Following an extensive showcase at this year’s Milan Design Week which included an exhibition of historic works and a redesigned brand identity, the Gaulino Collection is one of the first few collections that have been announced.

Key pieces that are part of the collection include the Gaulino Easy which retains the functional artistry of Gaulino while appearing lighter, wider, and lower. Designed as an easy alternative to Gaulino, the chair features bony legs and arms wrapping the seat and a low backrest meets deeper leather upholstery. Another extension of Gaulino named Gaulinetta takes the form of an armless seating that has been inspired by Enzo Mari’s Tonietta Chair. The reduction of armrests - lending a more slender form to the piece - makes the chair an ideal choice for dining in smaller spaces. Speaking of reduction, the Gaulino stool is designed as ‘a chair that is not tied to any particular setting, but is free to move around the home with total ease.’ BD Barcelona describes the model as ‘their most versatile Gaulino yet’. The stool has a concave seat that prevents the sitter from slouching their back, whereas the legs are reminiscent of the Gaulino, and assert confidence in a slow-tapering cabriole.

The Gaulino collection also includes Carlinas' tables that take reference from the nature-inspired designs of Carlo Mollino. In these pieces, a smoked glass tabletop is supported by twisting stretchers; the visual clarity lent by the glass top heightens the sculpturesque drama captured by the base: "the stabilising structure twists like entwined fingers, and legs come out of the table like bent knees," mentions BD Barcelona.

Last piece in the collection is the Gaulino table that Tusquets modelled in 2011 to complement the Gaulino chair. Featuring a soft curved edge, the table’s profile has a gentle and thin top with an arching underside that meets tapered legs. With the Gaulino table, ‘Tusquets,’ mentions BD Barcelona, ‘amplified the utility of the Gaulino concept, exuding contemporary frame from a modern design’. Giving the collection an elegant companion is a series of bookcases that are made of ash wood, with a distinctive black stained option, a natural varnished solid ash and coral red lacquer.

Previous interpretations of historic designs published on STIR include Daisuke Motogi’s versatile extension of Alvar Aalto’s Stool 60 in the Hackability of the Stool, Marc Newson’s reimagining of the Louis Vuitton trunk, and IKEA’s Nytillverkad collection that revisits the Swedish company’s archives on its 80th anniversary.