The chaise longue has a great tradition in modern design, from Ellen Gray’s rationalist chaise longue that inspired Le Corbusier to Niemeyer’s Rio rocking chaise, it is an object that well interprets the mood of the era. How can it be the chaise longue of our days? There are researches that point out a strong tendency of the new generations to use beds and sofas on a daily basis that turn out not to be completely suitable for these new necessities. An answer comes from the evolution of the Sinuosa collection designed for Natuzzi by Massimo Iosa Ghini, who wanted to experiment the combination of the chaise longue function with that of the sofa. Juno expands its capabilities by providing accommodation for a generous chaise longue measuring 104 cm wide by 135 cm long, creating a new soft space in line with contemporary needs where two people can sit together, an emotional soft place ideal for smart working, indicating the evolution of home spaces, increasingly attentive to comfort and to the possibility of hosting new and different actions and emotions.
The Sinuosa collection, presented in 2021/2022, is designed by Massimo Iosa Ghini for Natuzzi Italia, the lifestyle brand of Made in Italy design. In a world undergoing a process of total evolution, Pasquale Junior Natuzzi, the brand’s Chief Creative Officer, invited Massimo Iosa Ghini, to translate new furnishing needs to redefine objects and functions in view of the new challenges of everyday life. A response to a new concept of harmony as a balance in living the domestic spaces by adapting them to different functions, facilitating the creation of a “new normal” expressed in the motto Live the Transition. A transition that becomes opportunity and substance, comparison and vision.
“We are all living with a feeling of constant change and transition towards something, a destination that appears blurred,” explains Pasquale Junior Natuzzi. “The ability to embrace evolution and change and to be enriched by this evolution is an inherent instinct in Mediterranean culture, an inexhaustible source of inspiration for our collections. It is precisely from this perspective that we have started this new journey, involving new designers to rethink the way we experience our homes, starting from contemporary living needs and enhancing them through the brand’s innovative design vision”.
MASSIMO IOSA GHINI
Wellness Design – Sinuosa Collection
Sinuosa collection is a project that celebrates visual comfort, which has always been a distinguishing trait of the brand’s image. The soft, enveloping design of the furniture reveals an explicit link with the natural world’s characteristic organic forms, reflecting a design vision that prioritises well-being in the domestic space.
The inspiration comes from the rejuvenating and reassuring sensations of the Apulian landscape, such as the sunny Mediterranean coasts where the light breeze caresses the earth and reinvigorates it, as well as from the power of small details, such as a branch that bends in search of the sun, the fluidity and movement of water, and the enveloping shape of a leaf. The lines of the collection thus become features that appear moulded by a vital impulse.
“The study of nature has often influenced architecture and design: I have drawn inspiration from the formal research of Art Nouveau, Jugendstil and Stile Liberty designers, timeless stylistic points of reference, modernising them to meet the needs of contemporary wellness design,” remarks Massimo Iosa Ghini. “The domestic space, as a point of reference for individual expression, requires comfort and rediscovered naturalness. I wanted to rediscover, in upholstered furniture, the idea of the primitive sofa on which you don’t sit down composedly, but rather throw yourself onto it, jumping on it with a dynamic movement because you are sure to find the softness of a natural, welcoming womb. And after launching yourself onto it, you experience it in all its dimensions, certain that it will adapt to you and not vice versa.”
The Juno sofa – available in two-seater and three-seater versions – is a symbol of Mediterranean comfort: with its enveloping shape, it evokes a cosy nest, a refuge that welcomes and embraces. The soft, inviting aesthetic of the seat harmoniously contrasts with the rigid flaps that define the lines of the backrest and armrests, giving the sofa an image of balanced lightness. The abundant covering folds into loops under the weight and shape that it contains. The seams emphasise the natural, almost floral lines along the profile, without interrupting the generous volumes. It is framed by a continuous base, like a slender pedestal, which emphasises the personality of the design and its stylistic refinement.
Beat is a chair that echoes the enveloping concept of the sofa: like a corolla of petals, it contains and supports the seat with generous padding that is both welcoming and reassuring. Available with leather or fabric upholstery, the project is designed to offer a seamless transition between living and dining areas in both large and small spaces.
The Gutta table boasts a timeless elegance: flowing lines that draw organic profiles and define the vision of the designer, who breaks the mould and pushes the boundaries of aesthetics applied to design. Both versions, with a round or oval top, feature a light and elegant solid walnut structure which, like a continuous line, emphasises the sinuous shapes of the design and defines its contours, starting from the foot and completing the profile of the top. The legs seem to have been shaped by their function, while the top – reminiscent of an irregular body of water that reflects its surroundings – is available in exquisite Calacatta Oro marble or American walnut versions.
The Sinuosa collection thus looks to nature which, never aggressive or angular, becomes a model of inclusive beauty that can lead to a renewed idea of balance and harmony.
