Roger – Minotti’s new multifunctional, multifaceted seating system

The evolution of design history from the modernist period of the 20th century until today is punctuated by era-defining furniture. In the 1930s, Finnish architect Alvar Aalto reinvented seating with his Paimio armchair that provided a human, ergonomic alternative to the hard-edged tubular-steel furniture of the 1920s. In the 1940s, Charles and Ray Eames pioneered a new kind of furniture with their mid-century, fibreglass-shell La Chaise chair, an asymmetric, sculptural seat allowing the sitter to sit, sprawl or curl up in it. In the 1950s, the great Gio Ponti dreamt up the ultra-lightweight, portable Superleggera chair ideally suited to the postwar era’s uncluttered, open-plan homes.

Today, our lifestyles are changing radically and rapidly. As such, our furniture needs to be commensurately adaptable – suited to a multitude of activities, from working or studying from home to the pure pleasure of kicking back and watching movies with the family or socialising with close friends. Intelligently designed furniture works hard today to meet many requirements – it needs to be simultaneously functional, robust, ergonomic, seductively comfortable and preferably good-looking. In short, it must be multi-faceted.

One design that effortlessly accommodates today’s fluid lifestyles is Minotti's Roger seating system, designed by Rodolfo Dordoni, the high-end Italian furniture brand’s long-established art director, in collaboration with Minotti Studio, Minotti’s creative department. This articulated, modular seating system is not only conducive to a wide spectrum of activities but embodies many virtues associated with mid-century modern furniture – versatility, comfort and style – qualities Minotti wholeheartedly embraces.

Launched at Milan Design Week in 2021, Roger is a multifunctional, exceptionally open-ended seating system whose flexibility renders it suitable for different functions and contexts ­in both the residential and hospitality sectors. It can extend across entire rooms or form cosier configurations, such as generous L shapes, suitable for convivial gatherings.

Roger's exceptional versatility – its comprehensive family of modular components – makes it highly original, says Dordoni: ‘Roger is proof of what can be achieved today at Minotti. Creating such a multi-faceted design has been a real challenge for the company. It is one of the most complete and versatile sofas currently on the market, with unusual characteristics for a collection of seats. It represents an even bigger improvement on our past designs.’

There are three versions of Roger that enhance its versatility – Roger Suite, which has a cushioned 101cm-deep seat; Roger Spring, featuring a quilted seat of the same depth, and Roger Spring Sofa, an armless version with a 94cm-deep seat. Roger’s upholstery – expertly devised and crafted by Minotti – greatly enhances its appeal. Its immaculate stitching and sewing techniques inevitably draw parallels with haute couture – a signature of Minotti’s upholstery.

While the overall silhouette of Roger is geometric, sleek and contemporary, its contours and surfaces are palpably soft to the touch; the same goes with a coordinating bed, part of the Roger family. Indeed, Roger is firm and supportive yet gently yields to the body, providing luxurious comfort. Its quilted surfaces, forming linear, horizontal bands, are visually pleasing, while their undulating fabric is satisfyingly tactile.

Roger can be easily reconfigured by adding extra seating units, high or low backrests, different types of armrests or auxiliary, elegantly compact tables serving various functions. These last ones are called Case, boxy coffee tables projecting from the end or the back of the sofa – useful surfaces for drinks, books or magazines that double as a storage unit – as well as standalone side tables.

The cantilevered style of Case contributes to the airy, anti-gravitational aesthetic of Roger, which stands on slender legs, and so appears to hover above the floor. This counterbalancing of solidity and transparency enhances Roger’s contemporary feel. Its protean qualities are a major asset to interior designers seeking different variations of the seating system adaptable to a huge variety of environments. It can adopt another guise too – separate but coordinating upholstered benches can be grouped with or near a more permanent configuration, resulting in a looser, more informal arrangement.

Roger's versatility is further enriched by a choice of finishes, inviting yet more creativity when customising it. Subtle differences in detail give Roger even greater individuality. The slender, aluminium base features a rich, black coffee-coloured varnish, while Case is available in dark brown-stained palisander Santos wood, striped, open-pore black lacquered ash veneer or with a lacquered finish in Ice, Cappuccino or Moka. Its storage compartment is lined with aluminium with a brandy-coloured satin finish.

The name Roger even gives the design an anthropomorphic quality. Dordoni affectionately perceives it in human terms – ‘personal’, ‘putting people at ease’, ‘intuitive’, ‘casual’, ‘serious’… These thoughtful descriptions emphasise its approachable, inviting qualities. In fact, it is part of Minotti’s DNA to take human requirements and ever-changing lifestyles as the starting point for its designs and Roger’s mutable character perfectly embodies this philosophy.

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