Beauty on the outside: Minotti

The 2018 Outdoor collection originates from Minotti’s desire to give open-air spaces a strong character and to highlight its supremely comfortable quality, flexibility and perfect fusion of indoor and outdoor living. The decision by Minotti and its long-standing Art Director, Milanese designer Rodolfo Dordoni, to collaborate with architect Marcio Kogan to develop its sophisticated, mix-and-match 2018 Outdoor collection is supremely apt.

Entirely coordinated by Dordoni, this collection — which is steeped in cultural references — brings together the products designed by him, namely a comprehensive line of armchairs, chairs, dining and occasional tables, and the standout seating system Quadrado, created by Kogan and his studio mk27.

This illustrious Brazilian architect’s philosophy and aesthetic mirror the ethos of Minotti’s outdoor furniture, which dissolves the artificial boundary between indoor and outdoor living and is equally at home in both residential and hospitality sectors. Kogan’s architectural approach embraces the elements, establishes a continuity between nature and culture and reinterprets traditional elements of Brazilian architecture in a contemporary way: his passion for bridging indoors and out chimes with Minotti’s avowed desire to produce outdoor and indoor furniture that is equally stylish and comfortable indoors and out.

Quadrado derives from Kogan’s pet name for himself — ‘Square Man’ — which relates to his preference for squared buildings, although he also favours organic forms. His interest in both these strands is reflected in his enthusiasm for Metabolism, the avant-garde Japanese, postwar architecture movement that married megastructures with softer organic forms.

Quadrado cleverly takes inspiration from the classic teak duckboard used in the yachting industry. Its modular design combines generously sized cushions that rest on woven wicker-effect backrests and armrests in two colours, Mud and Licorice. Quadrado’s slender wooden platforms appear to hover in the air and can accommodate trays in two dimensions made of lava stone and a candleholder that can be arranged as desired with a surprising interlocking effect. The Quadrado family also includes an armchair with a semicircular backrest and the entire system has the potential to fill enormous open-air spaces, bleeding into the borderless natural landscape, like Kogan’s buildings.

Otherwise, Dordoni has created all the accompanying pieces in the 2018 Outdoor collection. His designs include the sculptural Van Dyck table, comprising 10cm-diameter metal tubes in the new finishings with a White bush-hammered texture or a glossy Pewter colour, that support a top made of Cardoso stone or Silver Beola stone.

Moreover, the Outdoor collection’s York “Cord” Outdoor dining chair and Prince "Cord" armchair with cord tautly stretched over their slimline backrests conjure up the spirit of mid-century American modernism. The cord is available in Sand, Forest Green or Charcoal, while the aluminium bases feature smooth Pewter or White tones with a bush-hammered finish. These chairs’ very transparency suggests openness and expansive spaces in line with the philosophy of living en plein air, promoted by Minotti’s 2018 Outdoor collection and by Brazilian maestro Kogan himself.

The various furnishings of the 2018 Outdoor collection naturally complement the wide range of existing pieces dedicated to the outdoors, some of them with a more formal identity such as the Rivera family. A series of compact seating elements suggesting a contemporary interpretation of retro elegance and characterised by a different combination of materials and braids: sofas, armchairs and chairs feature a slender handcrafted base in solid iroko supporting an enveloping backrest in woven polypropylene fibre with an unusual “cannage” effect.

With its 2018 Outdoor collection, Minotti embraces a new exciting creative multicultural exchange, a true cross-pollination of styles and languages. It embodies a journey across design cultures, while retaining the values of elegant forms, sobriety of design and continuity traditionally inherent in the company’s DNA.

© Architonic