NATUZZI ITALIA @ DOWNTOWN DESIGN DUBAI 2022
Natuzzi Italia reflects on the theme of timeless and sustainable furniture with the new Terra pouff by Marcantonio; presents the new set up of the Natuzzi Italia store in Dubai and participates in The Forum with Pasquale Junior Natuzzi.
DOWNTON DESIGN DUBAI, November 9th-12th, 2022, Booth 32, D3 Waterfront Terrace, Dubai Design District, Dubai, NATUZZI ITALIA STORE – Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai
On the occasion of the Dubai Design Week 2022, Natuzzi Italia, the Italian design brand that unites a highly international calling with a deeply Mediterranean identity, participates to Downtown Design Dubai, the Middle East leading design fair and the region’s most important creative festival, presenting the pouf Terra, designed by Marcantonio and presented for the firt time in Dubai after the preview at Milano Design Week 2022. A real statement piece, Terra is the essence of this year’s collection The Circle of Harmony – Second Life as it embodies the research on sustainable materials the company is developing. Together with this new piece, some of the brand’s bestsellers at the pavilion located on the D3 Waterfront Terrace.
At the same time, the Natuzzi Italia store in Sheikh Zyed Road will be displaying a new set up, showcasing new products and icons of the Natuzzi Italia catalogue, as well as a custom-made version of the installation Germogli by Marcantonio together with 15 Terra pouffs.
Finally, within The Forum – Downtown Design Dubai’s talks platform – Pasquale Junior Natuzzi, chief creative officer of Natuzzi Italia, will participate to a panel of discussion on “experiential design”.
The presence in Dubai is, for Natuzzi, a way to strengthen its relation with one of the most dynamic markets, more and more interested in connecting with global creativity and especially with the new wave of made in Italy: brands which value heritage and craftsmenship and which evolve this know-how mixing it with state-of-the-art sustainable techniques and materials.
This has been the main goal for Natuzzi Italia in the creation of the 2022 collection The Circle of Harmony – Second Life.
The proposal, conceived by the creative direction of Pasquale Junior Natuzzi and involving designers like Marcel Wanders studio and Marcantonio, is the third chapter of a broader project to establish an ideal space which accommodates various creative interpretations of Natuzzi Italia’s DNA. Second Life is a reflection on a theme with serious modern-day implications: how to orient the production of furnishings toward a level of sustainability which is consistently more coherent and definitive. Natuzzi does so by focusing on timeless furniture, on pieces which can last for generations and actually have a “second life”, as well as on material with lower impact on the environment which has been one of the research topics of the past few years.
NATUZZI ITALIA @ DOWNTON DESIGN DUBAI
Natuzzi Italia showcases some of its bestselling furniture alongside new products at Downtown Design Dubai, in a signature space which recalls the atmospheres of Apulia, the Italian region the brand comes from.
Subtle colours, natural materials and welcoming and warm environments are the frame within which the products are displayed: a living room with the new Terra pouf by Marcantonio together with the Infinito sofa, the designer’s first piece for Natuzzi Italia; a second living room and a dining room furnished with the Deep collection by Nika Zupanc and, finally, a bedroom where the Ema bed by Patrick Norguet is the protagonist.
A whole home furnished by Natuzzi Italia where different creative interpretations blend together harmonically to create a perfect Mediterranean atmosphere.
The first living room is dedicated to Marcantonio with the new Terra pouff, the designer’s second collaboration with Natuzzi presented at Milano Design Week in 2022. Terra is a smooth piece of upholstery, a statement piece representing the synthesis of the brand’s new design philosophy ushered by Second Life and based on the need to reconsider the world of furniture with greater awareness, taking into account the materials, the process, and the context.
A project designed to have zero environmental impact, Terra sports chamfered form, rounded lines, and a softness evoking the shapes of an olive on the red soil of Apulia. The seat and the backrest are connected by light straps which create an unanticipated circularity and underline the entire project.
The inner core of the product, without structures and frames, is made of recycled polystyrene, considered one of the most recyclable and circular materials.
In the same space, the Infinito sofa, taking its inspiration from the homonymous mathematical symbol, one of the most powerful shapes from the collective imagination.
Perfect as a centrepiece or as a corner seat, Marcantonion’s Infinito underlines on the one hand the strong propensity for innovation, which is typical of the brand, and on the other it highlights the great know-how of Natuzzi craftsmen and their ability to develop complex projects with high added value.
The metal tubular structure gives the sofa a dreamlike and unmistakable shape, while the elastic polyurethane padding of varying density that surrounds it gives this piece of furniture maximum comfort, combining softness and support. Thanks to the non-slip feet hidden by the structure, Infinito stands solidly in its space while maintaining its sculptural aesthetic.
The sea is the inspiration for Nika Zupanc, at her first collaboration with Natuzzi in 2020. The Deep collection is, in fact, inspired by the beauty of the Adriatic Sea which reaches all the way down from Slovenia to the very tip of Puglia, The fluid shapes of the water can be seen in the endless curves and circles which are transformed eclectically, flowing throughout every object in the collection.
The result is a timelessly elegant set of products, which incorporates a retro edge reinterpreted in a contemporary and cosmopolitan tone. The collection breaks free of the past in terms of taste and refinement.
The shapes resembling the movement of the sea waves and the enveloping curves of the backrest and cushions creating an inviting, intimate space can be found in the modular upholstered system Deep, with seats and features of various shapes and depth which can be configured in different compositions. Its ground base and wide seating arrangement make it the perfect sofa to relax on.
The iconic, sensual Adore armchair really highlights the style of the collection, thanks to its molded seat and its tall, voluptuous back. The armchair is supported by a swiveling, techno-glam matte light gold metal single leg.
Deep also showcases its refined lines in the dining area with the curvy, sculptural Voyage table which comes either as oval or round and in coffee table size, characterized by metal-covered monolithic pedestals in light gold matte metal combined with Stardust – Terrazzo Stone tops, an exclusive mix of precious marbles. The accompanying single legged swiveling armchairs resonate the distinctive features of the set with their shapes and materials.
And finally, the Vortex rugs, which blur the lines between interior decoration and art with their optical graphics and the mix of gold and platinum colours.
The protagonist of the sleeping area is Cala, the bed designed by Claudio Bellini: its original shape is a reference to the splendid seascapes, with its soft headboard and tailored details on the front and back that make it perfect also as a center of the room.
NATUZZI ITALIA STORE – NEW SET UP
The Natuzzi Italia store in Dubai is one of the reference point for design in the city: measuring more than 1500 sqm on two floors, this flagship store is the epitome of the approach Natuzzi has when furnishing homes. The Dubai Design Week is the occasion, for the brand, to present a new set up focusing on some of the most famous and iconic products, as well as on some of the new proposals the company has been developing in recent years with a prominent space dedicated to the puff Terra, part of the 2022 collection.
This piece is part of a special treat for the Dubai public, a custom-made edtion of the installation Germogli by Marcantonio, which celebrates the concept The Circle of Harmony – Second Life, welcoming guests into the flagship store.
Natuzzi Italia has entrusted the artist and designer Marcantonio with an evocative, picturesque installation – presented for the first time during Milan Design Week in the courtyard of the Palazzo Durini Caproni di Taliedo, which houses the brand’s showroom in Milan – with the goal to spread to the visitors the spirit of the Circle of Harmony, a croassroad of experiences, influences and creative blendings.
Based on the idea of rebirth and aiming at emphasizing the narrow link which connects us to nature and the environment today more than ever, Marcantonio decided to transform one of the most significant courtyards in the center of Milan into a fairytale-like world where gigantic sprouts shoot from the ground, or better said, from the earth.
Three gigantic sprouts (2,3 m tall), covered with a reflective golden surface, are placed in the central round stage at the entrance of the store, surrounded by 15 Terra poufs so as to highlight the strong relation between Natuzzi’s new products concept and nature. Germogli, in facts, represent a tribute to the union between man and nature and, at the same time, focus the spotlight on an urgent problem facing olive groves in Puglia which requires incisive action: Xylella. This pesty bacteria, which arrived in Apulia in 2013, is rapidly destroying thousends of hacteres of olive trees and might also expand in the rest of the Mediterranean.
Among the most recent pieces on show, the Block sofa by Sabine Marcelis. For her first collaboration with Natuzzi Italia, Marcelis brought her highly experimental imagination to the Circle of Harmony, in which art, design and architecture come together in constant research into the forms and potential of materials, which are always used in unexpected and original ways.
The Block sofa, available in three-seater, armchair and ottoman versions, is a project with a sculptural aesthetic, in which the soft, abundant forms of the upholstery combine with the essential, square lines of the monolithic natural bamboo base that appears as if it were moulded from a single block of material.
The sofa, available in linear versions of different sizes, with leather or fabric upholstery, is characterized by a marked lightness, offering the option to move them about according to one’s needs thanks to the wheels in the front part of the base. The pouf version responds to the search for multifunctionality: by removing the padding it can be transformed into a coffee table with a practical support surface.
Block thus responds to the need for versatile, multifunctional furniture, embracing the philosophy of liquid, mobile space, where what is needed is always where it needs to be.
Like all Marcelis’s work, the project stands out for its innovation: the exploration of materials, the study of geometries and the attention paid to the relationship with light give rise to an experience that amazes, from its unprecedented visual effect to its surprising dynamism.
The collaboration with Marcelis represents a perfect synthesis between the designer’s vision and the identity of Natuzzi Italia, a brand that has always been oriented towards combining maximum comfort and functionality, through research aimed at satisfying the rapidly evolving needs of contemporary spaces.
Timeless by Lorenza Bozzoli is a modular sofa which, with its rounded and elegantly asymmetrical design, seems to open like a flower with an elegant, light effect. It is an image of freedom and rebirth that the designer manages to capture and fix, almost stopping the passing of time.
Welcoming and inviting, featuring soft, deep seats, Timeless enhances the visual comfort and the idea of slow Mediterranean living – linked to the beauty of nature and the pleasure of contemplation – which have always been unmistakable elements of Natuzzi Italia style.
The modules with an organic design are covered on each side so to be also set in center of the room. They can therefore be used to create countless configurations, adapting to the most varied spaces and needs. The great versatility is also expressed through different corner elements which at the same time allow a high level of customization.
Available in leather or fabric, Timeless can be considered an “instant classic”, a project with a sartorial design combining classic and contemporary vibes, resulting in a sofa that symbolizes the idea of harmony that has always distinguished Natuzzi Italia’s vision and research.
Eufolia is a modular seating system which, with its elegant and minimal design, evokes the lightness of one of the most characteristic elements of the Apulian landscape: the olive leaf. An excellent interpreter of contemporary needs, the Dutch studio imagined a compact sofa in which the slightly flared design of the armrests and backrests gives the project a welcoming aesthetic, while responding to the need for multifunctional living areas with limited dimensions. A surprising interpretation of the new suggestions and needs of contemporary livingwhich require a different way of thinking about the proportions between objects.
As Marcel Wanders says: “Good design empowers limited circumstances mobilizing unlimited imagination”.
The challenge of bringing harmony even in “micro” spaces becomes an opportunity to explore new furnishing solutions such as the table tops that can be integrated between the seats amplifying the modularity of the project, available in numerous configurations, from two seats to the sectional. To complete the light and harmonious silhouette of the sofa, the base made of glossy black metal.
Marcel Wanders studio thus confirms its most poetic inspirations, integrating them with the typical characteristics of Natuzzi – comfort, harmony and the Mediterranean lifestyle – and the needs of cosmopolitan and contemporary lifestyles. Compact spaces define micro-living not as a limitation but as an opportunity to explore innovative home solutions without having to sacrifice quality and design combined with a distinctive and personal taste.
