“The Cassina Perspective”, a warm and inviting living room with the modular Dress-Up! sofa by Rodolfo Dordoni, completed with an icon from the Hommage a’ Pierre Jeanneret collection and enhanced with lighting and accessories by the Cassina R&D Centre, welcomed visitors to the 2020 edition of imm cologne fair.
Cassina’s annual appointment at the imm cologne fair this year features several important novelties presented for the very first time.
Surrounding this invitation to relax, a complete garden setting has been recreated for the launch of the company’s very first and complete Outdoor Collection.
Cassina Research and development has been carried out on the seating by the late Kazuhide Takahama: Tulu, Jano LG, Gaja, Gaja Bar and Ljin LG.
The Tulu chair with its strong graphics and pure lines, was, for example, one of the first models to open the way for production with chrome-plated drawn steel rods. This was considered a design evolution compared to the bending of metal tubes as the rods created a tighter bend.
2020 also opens celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Vico Magistretti. The Milanese designer had a very special relationship with the Cassina family who he collaborated with from the early 1960s creating over the years masterpieces including the award-winning Maralunga sofa.
Cassina supported An itinerant exhibition on Vico Magistretti’s works - presented from the 13th of January until the 3rd of February 2020 in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute of Cologne- with the loan of the Maralunga 40 Maxi armchair, 905 chair and the Nuvola Rossa bookshelf. The exhibition will continue to travel throughout the year to a number of cities including Stockholm, New York, Strasberg and Berlin.
The pioneering and free spirit that for over 90 years has placed Cassina ahead of its time, tracing a unique path through the world of interior design and architecture, today leads the company to expand its philosophy to external spaces.
Cassina, therefore, transfers its exclusive ability to completely furnish living and dining situations to the outdoors, combining the innovation of new products with the icons from the Modern Movement to create original and welcoming atmospheres. The Cassina Perspective Goes Outdoor places the icons from the LC Collection and the elegant style of Charlotte Perriand aside three great contemporary designers, Rodolfo Dordoni, Philippe Starck and Patricia Urquiola. New outdoor lighting, rugs and accessories are incorporated to enhance and complete the offer which is characterised by warm and inviting finishes, fabrics with a range of rich colours, three-dimensional materials and elaborate jacquard patterns with a tropical feel.
Philippe Starck: in harmony with nature
Defined by Starck as a “lifestyle collection of laid-back elegance”, Fenc-e Nature includes an armchair, a two-seater sofa, a three-seater sofa and a coffee table available in two different heights.
Philippe Starck celebrates harmony and osmosis with nature through an outdoor collection inspired by and extremely respectful of its environment. The selection of the most natural materials and high quality create a durable and timeless collection. The Fenc-e Nature seating collection is characterised by organic, almost primitive, forms and tactile elements like its ample armrest in solid teak sandblasted to create a natural, rough effect.
Each seat’s backrest is handwoven with a rope according to a specific pattern studied specifically for this project; the backrest is also available in natural willow, a living material never used in this context before, to further strengthen the bond with nature.
Fenc-e Nature is particularly comfortable thanks to the innovative material SoloSoff® used in the cushion padding: made from air blown polyester fibre and memory foam, the non-deformability of the fibre’s crystal structure together with the elasticity of the polyurethane offers absolute softness. This is the result of long research carried out to find a material fitting for external use that could guarantee the same characteristics as feather padding.
Rodolfo Dordoni: a sophisticated urban terrace
Rodolfo Dordoni takes his inspiration from the spirit of the 1950s holiday resorts for the outdoor sofa project Sail Out. Extremely comfortable, this modular sofa is reminiscent of the soft shape of the inflatable canvas mattresses created thanks to the individually padded strips inserted into stitched pockets in the upholstery.
Versatile and functional, Sail Out is composed of three modules for the seat and three related elements that together create an infinite variety of combinations
A revolution for outdoor furniture: the sofa boasts visual elegance thanks to sartorial details like the border in grey gros-grain or in the same fabric as the sofa which outlines its profile, in addition to the great comfort created by the air blown polyester fibre and memory foam in the SoloSoff® material used in the padding.
Sail Out is accompanied by a round pouf, available in two sizes, made up of triangular segments that converge in the centre into a little hidden hole that allows water to drain, avoiding stagnation.
The family is completed by a single low table in yellow-white or green-white terrazzo or cement which is supported on teak feet.
Patricia Urquiola: a convivial and scenographic outdoors
Patricia Urquiola interprets the joy of living in the open air of small private paradises with Trampoline, a love bed with a strong personality that becomes the hero of any outdoor space.
The soft and playful curves of this relaxing island have been designed for large and welcoming spaces. Trampoline boasts an unbeatable sensation of comfort thanks to the set of three cushions for the backrest as well as two types of additional cushions making it impossible to not want to dive straight into this soft, inviting nest.
The handwoven polypropylene rope is a distinctive decorative feature in this project too: mélange or multicoloured, it is woven around the base and the backrest of the love bed.
Trampoline is a simple island or it can also feature a spectacular canopy to shelter from the sun.
An outdoor version of the Bowy coffee table by Patricia Urquiola has also been launched for the living area. With great respect for nature, its base in textured taupe or ivory Aisi 304 stainless steel has an RFM® recycled material top in red and white or grey and white.
Charlotte Perriand: Modern icons to complete outdoor settings
The Doron Hotel armchair was designed in 1947 by Charlotte Perriand, an avid lover of the mountains, for the winter sports’ resort in Méribel Les Allues and the Hôtel Doron, one of the first chalet-hotels in the same resort.
Pleasant to the touch, Cassina presents an outdoor version of this comfortable armchair with soft and rounded forms in teak in collaboration with her daughter Pernette Perriand Barsac.
Charlotte Perriand had always had a special relationship with nature with which a profound bond was born. She was, in fact, one of the first to take an interest in the relation between man and nature seeking natural materials to integrate into her projects.
The Table à Plateau Interchangeable, currently part of the Cassina I Maestri Collection, has also been developed for outdoor use.
The first example of this low coffee table was produced in 1937 for Charlotte Perriand’s atelier in Montparnasse, Paris; it was later developed for various projects in different materials.
The coffee table has a solid teak structure made up of three circular section legs that are united by three crosspieces on which a Carrara marble top in an outdoor hydro oil finish is placed.
LC Collection by Le Corbusier, Jeanneret, Perriand: from culture to nature
In 2011, through a profound study with the Le Corbusier Foundation and the heirs of the co-authors, Cassina updated the materials and constructive details of some of the icons from its collection to withstand water, humidity and heat in the open air.
Today the LC Collection has been relaunched with a new range of fabrics and finishes to enhance the living and dining areas proposed for outdoor use.
The frames’ colours have been replaced with five new tones, textured black, brown, green, ivory and taupe, while the fabrics have been extended with a selection that boasts aesthetics and quality comparable to those for indoor use.
Like all of the pieces in the Cassina I Maestri Collection, the respective outdoor versions also feature the designers’ signature, logo and progressive production number: the unmistakable sign of rigorous authenticity.
Zoe Miles