The switch to outdoor living with Cassina’s Carlotta collection

Brand story by Emma Moore
Meda (Mi), Italy
01.02.22

Cassina's new Carlotta outdoor armchair by Afra and Tobia Scarpa is the refined partner of the 1967 model of the same name – for outdoor spaces that are as sophisticated and modern as their interior counterparts...

Afra and Tobia Scarpa’s 1967 Carlotta small armchair has been reissued for the outdoors by Cassina. It sits happily alongside new designs such as the innovative Cassina Parasol. Photo: Valentina Sommariva

As we settle into a fresh year, we start to think of ways to organise our space to accommodate ever-shifting living patterns. And one of the many changes that has accelerated through lockdowns is that the attention we give to the refinement of our interior decor is, increasingly, breaching the threshold and penetrating our external meterage too.

Cassina is among those who have understood that design choice is as important to our open-air spaces as it is to our internal living areas. Its outdoor collection, first launched in 2020 as ‘The Cassina Perspective Goes Outdoor’, includes, for example, works by Charlotte Perriand, Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret, alongside new, future classics from Rodolfo Dordoni, Philippe Starck and Patricia Urquiola. This holistic approach encourages us to blend our favourite Modern Movement pieces with contemporary furnishings so that our patios are as polished and on point as our interiors.

The carpentry details of the Carlotta small armchair have been faithfully reproduced in teak and a complementary coffee table has been created in three sizes. Photo: Valentina Sommariva

Caring for the environment

Cassina's reworking of archive designs for the outside arena also pays attention to environmental concerns through the choice of materials and production methods. New to the mix this season is the 1967 Carlotta small armchair by Afra and Tobia Scarpa. The iconic wooden frame is finely crafted in certified renewable natural teak using the same novel joints and fine detailing as the original indoor version. The adaptation, which Cassina made in collaboration with Tobia Scarpa, also sees the generously proportioned seat and backrest cushions padded with PET fibre, encased in recycled PET fibre wadding and PET water-resistant canvas, and upholstered in contemporary fabrics from the Cassina collections.

The Carlotta small armchair features thoroughly modern materials: its cushions are padded with PET fibres wrapped in water-repellent canvas. Photo: Valentina Sommariva

Newly designed complementary coffee tables, featuring a top of glazed porcelain stoneware and the same finely-tuned teak framework as the small armchair, come in three sizes. Team with weather-proofed lighting, rugs and cushions, and the Parasol Cassina – which innovates with a practical and flexible new horizontal opening mechanism allowing limitless positions – and the switch to outdoor living will be seamless when temperatures start to rise.