Werner Aisslinger has designed seating landscapes for Moroso that not only provide many functions at once but also have an exciting name, albeit one that has a historical kick to it: “Bikini Island”. Esther Schulze-Tsatsas asked the designers a few questions. Werner Aisslinger: In the 1950s, the bikini was a real revolution. The name stemmed from a group of islands that was permanently in the media back then, as the Americans tested their atom bombs there. Bikini as a name has a touch of the South Seas about it and a revolutionary flair, of something completely unusual. Aisslinger: “Bikini Island” is of course also about multifunctionality, above all about a completely new use of sofas. Sofas to date tend to have been aligned in only one direction, usually that of the TV screen, whereas Bikini Island takes its cue from family life today, can be used from all sides, is a landscape that synchronically fits any number of uses. Here, you can read, download data, relax, meditate, chat, play online games, watch movies on your iPad, talk... Aisslinger: Individuation of groups, friends, and families is rising as a result of the media we use, meaning future sofas need to be modular landscapes, a kind of communal ensemble bringing people together. Aisslinger: Well I don’t think anyone’s been there since the 1950s. And given the half-life of plutonium there are not going to be that many visitors for the next 50,000 years or so.



www.aisslinger.de
www.moroso.it