It's elementary: new outdoor furniture from Pedrali

There’s a lot of talk about outdoor space these days. Those who are lucky enough to enjoy access to it at home, those who can only dream of it, and how we’re all wondering what renewed shape it’ll take in the future when it comes to shared public environments.

Two of Pedrali’s seasoned design collaborators, French industrial designer Patrick Jouin and Como-based design studio CMP Design – who’ve both designed new product releases for the premium Italian furniture brand – discuss how the great outdoors is evolving and how their al-fresco seating provides new benefits for both planners and users.

How are public outdoor spaces changing?

Patrick Jouin: Public spaces are evolving in the sense that cities are becoming more welcoming. Across the world, public spaces are turning into social destinations instead of a space purely used to travel through. Adding furniture to these destinations invites people to sit, have a rest and a chat. For example, the High Line in New York or Times Square (at 42nd Street) are areas where a lot of furniture has been installed, creating a peaceful place where people come to meet each other, play chess and relax. Furniture in outdoor public spaces ultimately has an important social role: to bring people together.

CMP Design: The change that is underway in the use of public spaces (we refer to anti-pandemic regulations) can be considered a tangible, more visible aspect of a much slower, epochal change towards which capitalist society has been tending for a long time. The isolation of individuals is an extremely favourable condition for the multiplication of consumption, and for the transformation into a commodity – purchasable as a service – of opportunities for interpersonal exchange. We believe that it is not advisable to limit assessments on the change of outdoor spaces in the short term, but to have a clear long-term objective of a greater centrality of interpersonal-relationship spaces, typically represented by squares and by other places of public gathering.

And what tendencies do you see in the evolution of residential outdoor spaces?

Patrick Jouin: They are going to get bigger and bigger, and will be used more than ever before. They are becoming spaces to enjoy, to connect with nature, where you can breathe fresh air and relax – rather than just being decorative. During the Covid-19 crisis, the need for outdoor space became more evident than ever before, with those without a terrace, a little piece of garden or a balcony really suffering during this time. We need a space with access to outdoor air, and adding furniture allows us to sit and enjoy it. For many, this may be a dream, as a small garden or terrace is a real luxury, but perhaps it is better to have less indoor space if this means you can have access to an outdoor area.

CMP Design: The severity of the ongoing pandemic forced us to spend the spring of 2020 in domestic isolation, which led us to slow down and to observe, perhaps with a certain nostalgia, what was happening outside our windows – the trees in the street, the plants on the terrace, as well as birds of various species nesting in the garden. Even if a terrace or a garden are not really natural – they are, par excellence, a form of artificial control over the improbability of nature – they are today, in our urban civilisations, the outposts of a resistance. This is why, today, there is such an increase in the demand for good-quality residential outdoor furniture: we realised how little we have lived outdoors in recent years!

What value does your new product for Pedrali bring to an outdoor project for the architect/planner?

Patrick Jouin: First of all, it brings optimum comfort. I think this is the most comfortable sofa I have ever designed. When you sit on a Reva sofa, you don’t want to leave it; you want to read a book and rest. When we draw, we can’t really express comfort. It’s only when you start working with the material that the comfort becomes real. And with Reva, we have succeeded in combining comfort and aesthetics.

CMP Design: A woven artefact provides a sense of reverence and respect for work as dedication. An idea of the countryside, of a coastal landscape and mountainous peaks bring such objects back to their archaic familiarity. The woven backrest of our Panarea seating locates the furniture in this imagination. For this reason, the architect who specifies it for an outdoor project can deploy a host of atavistic suggestions. This does not mean that the seating attempts to imitate an antique product, however; rather, it borrows its lexicon, speaking a new language with strong colours.

Was there a particular challenge faced or innovation delivered in the product's development?

Patrick Jouin: The innovation of this product is found in the resistance and the solidity of the structure, which allows it to have just a few feet. The sofa is long in length which gives it a very elegant shape. We designed with an aeroplane wing profile in mind, which makes it appear very thin and light whilst also being extremely resistant. The other innovation is the ease with which it can be disassembled, which is important as it is an outdoor collection, so will need to be stored away and the cushions removed. This can be achieved in just a couple of minutes.

CMP Design: The challenge we set ourselves was that of minimising the number of horizontal passes required to obtain a double-curved woven surface. This reduction in complexity is key to making the weaving operation more agile and less costly in terms of manufacturing time: that is, less use of energy for a greater result. In fact, the physical lightness of the object is added to the visual lightness of this solution.

Why use cord? What benefits does it create structurally, aesthetically, emotionally?

Patrick Jouin: The idea behind the Reva Twist collection was to create a more natural product compared to the Reva collection, which was more technical. Using a cord instead of Batyline gives this new collection a more craft-like feel. This is one of the strengths of the Italian design industry: to bring craftsmanship and know-how to an industrial product.

CMP Design: Observing the bee that weaves the cell, the spider's web, the blackbird that weaves its nest, Stone Age man’s construction technique involving the weaving of branches, stems, plant filaments and animal fibres – weaving expresses a strong link between nature and artefact, and occurs in similar forms regardless of the different cultures in which it is practised. In the Mediterranean, weaving gives shape to the pots and the fishnets of the sea, the baskets of fruit left out to dry, the cultivation of the vine, and the resulting demijohn bottle on the table that cultivates conviviality.

Photo Credits:
Enigma Suites, Santorini Greece: George Sfakianakis
Room Mate Macarena Hotel, Madrid, Spain: courtesy of Room Mate Macarena Hotel

© Architonic