SALONE DEL MOBILE 2017
Simple, but not simplifying
Best to let the Grand Master speak for himself when it comes to describing the new “Grand Sofà” by Antonio Citterio for Vitra: “If you think about a sofa, you first need to watch how people live. Until 30 or 40 years ago, sofas simply served to receive guests and for talks. As of the 1980s, my view of the sofa broadened: I wanted to consider its role for more personal uses. If I design a sofa, I imagine one element as the center of the living area, a kind of ‘island’ for personal activities. The living room has morphed into a family room, with the focus on leisure and relaxation. Which is why the sofa has become a soft surface that can be used in all manner of ways: to watch TV, to doze, to eat.”
Meaning, or so Citterio continues, he “started by analyzing the DNA of Vitra the furniture makers and then aspired to create contemporary, simple pieces that could be placed one next to the other. To this end, we resorted to the modernist principle of a clear separation of supporting and supported elements, thus emphasizing their respective functions.” He concludes: “For me, a sofa is both support and cushion. Forty-five years ago I started designing sofas and soon saw them in that light: a simple, but not simplifying approach. For all the changes I have witnessed down through the years, it is the contemporary classic designs that have held their own in the market.” (mm)
