Pushing Envelope of Design

Italian furniture manufacturer Edra offers challenging options in his unique inventions

In 1966, young architect and designer Massimo Morozzi was disheartened with the state of design in Italy and, indeed, around the world, so he enlisted the help of fellow architects Andrea Branzi and Paolo Deganello. The trio formed Archizoom, which set out to challenge the prevailing modernism of the era and to promote the idea that good design should be available to all, regardless of income. The Archizoom project was largely an exercise in design criticism, but in 1969 the trio produced a parody of a Mies Van der Rohe chair design which ironically became a design icon itself.
In 1998, three decades later, the now veteran Morozzi was heading up the creative direction of Edra, a small Pisa-based manufacturer gaining a reputation for producing designs which were expanding the boundaries of furniture design. He happened across the designs of Fernando and Humberto Campana of Brazil and decided then and there that Edra had to produce their work. The Brazilian brothers' use of found materials - a striking and colourful salute to their native roots - was a perfect antidote to the minimalist modern design trend of the late 1990s. It's almost as if Morozzi the mentor recognized his contrarian roots in the work of the Campana brothers.
There is nothing clean-lined about the Brazilian designers' work, to be sure. Seven years ago, it was their Vermelha chair that Morozzi discovered and knew he wanted Edra to produce. The chair's steel frame is enveloped in twisting strands of red cotton rope, an homage to homemade design solutions found in their native city of Sao Paulo. The brothers' new Corallo chair is a variation on the same theme, but this time the material that twists and turns over the frame is steel. Their most popular and critically acclaimed design for Edra may be the Favela chair. Introduced in 2003, the wood chair appears as a happy accident of timber offcuts though its design is actually as precise as one would expect from a world-class manufacturer. "Edra brings the handcraft, humanity, emotion to industry, which is something so different from what's happening everywhere else," says older brother Humberto. He and Fernando are probably two of the most sought after designers on the planet as we begin 2005, and their acclaim is helping to spark worldwide interest in Brazilian design generally.
Nearing its 20th anniversary, Edra, along with competitors such as Alias, Driade and Magis, represents a small group of Italian furniture manufacturers which explore new avenues of design and collaborate with the current generation of acclaimed designers such as Alfred Haberli, Ross Lovegrove, Christophe Pillet and Toronto-raised Karim Rashid. Edra's single most famous design may be their Flap sofa by Francesco Binfare, which makes an excellent prop for lifestyle advertising. Morozzi is still active as a designer as well. His Paesaggi Italiani storage system "embodies the flamboyancy of modern Italian design" says an American writer. From tilting at windmills with Archizoom to promoting challenging designs through Edra, Morozzi's work is a reminder of the possibilities of design. It can make our lives more comfortable physically, but design can also be a source of creative and spiritual inspiration.

Publication Date: 2005-01-09
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=4802