ARPER BOWL CHAIR DESIGN BY LINA BO BARDI
EDITION: ARPER BOWL
CHAIR DESIGN BY LINA BO BARDI
What does it mean to
make an edition? Is it necessary to recreate the object identically? Follow the
steps of the past in lockstep and forgo the innovations of the present? Is it
more important to keep the spirit of the original or its original technical
attributes? How closely linked are ideas and ideals to technical processes?
In the spirit of
this unique creative collaboration and Lina’s design philosophy of open
engagement with culture, place and people, Arper embraced the unique
opportunity to investigate and interpret one of the designer’s most celebrated
creations with the aim of evoking the spirit of her creation, while at the same
time expanding the design to suit Arper’s modern methods of production.
Designed in 1951 in
Bo Bardi’s adopted home of Brazil, the Bardi’s Bowl Chair is an icon of Lina Bo
Bardi’s adaptive style. Like much of Bo Bardi’s work, the Bowl Chair was not
created to be a staid luxury product, valued for its design value alone, but as
an affordable and flexible object created to seamlessly integrate into any
environment.
With the combination
of the bowl and base, the modular chair could be positioned to perform myriad
functions. Upright and gathered round a coffee table, the chair becomes a
catalyst for social interaction; angled downwards, a nest to submerge into with
a good book. When set with opening perpendicular to the floor, the chair
becomes a cradle for a sheltered nap. Balancing the worlds of industrialized
fabrication and the individualized object, Bo Bardi envisioned the Bardi’s Bowl
Chair as flexible in structure while universal and essential in form. But, as
with all of Bo Bardi’s designs, the ultimate emphasis remains on the human
interaction with the object.
Working with
the Instituto Lina Bo e P.M. Bardi – that
after Lina’s death in 1992 became the guardian for the copyright of her
designs-, Arper has created a limited edition reproduction of the Bardi’s Bowl
Chair dedicated to continuing the designer’s legacy. In the spirit of the
designer, Arper has attempted to integrate the same precision and sensitivity
in this interpretive reproduction that are evident in Lina Bo Bardi’s
renovation of historic buildings like the Historic Centre of Bahia and the legendary
SESC Pompéia.
Entering into the
collaboration, there was little concrete documentation available on the
production specifications of the chair. Only impressionistic and conceptual
sketches existed beyond two original iterations—a single black leather bowl
chair produced in 1951, considered most representative of Bo Bardi’s vision,
and another, probably fabricated later, with a slightly smaller transparent
plastic bowl seat and vibrant red patent pillows. Both now reside in São Paulo,
at Bo Bardi’s home, the Casa de Vidro, the Glass House.
Bo Bardi did not
leave instructions on the precise measurements or details of the design. With
the Instituto as design partner standing in for Lina, Arper assumed a creative
approach, balancing an interpretation of the original design with contemporary
advancements in technique and manufacturing, one reflective of Bo Bardi’s
original vision, but better suited to fit the abilities and advantages of
industrial production.
Through the course
of collaboration, it became clear almost immediately that fabrication processes
native to Brazil at the time the Bardi’s Bowl Chair was conceived were almost
entirely artisanal. Dimensions, interior structure, upholstery detailing, the
density of the foam and the softness or spring in the seat were all up for
consideration.
A conversation
between Arper and the Instituto ensued through every possible means. Director
of the Instituto, Anna Carboncini and design historian, Renato Anelli were
critical partners from the beginning. Communication was almost exclusively via
digital means. Even so, the universal language of hand gesture, perhaps the
deepest cultural link shared between Brazilian and Italian cultures, prevailed.
The Instituto communicated the qualities and dimensions of the original in
relationship to the hand and the body, physically conveying its relative
proportions and qualities, thickness, depth, firmness, softness.
In turn, Arper
created a template of considerations to guide the Instituto through the
information collection process to capture the data necessary to “reproduce” the
original and create construction drawings. A small-scale prototype was made to
explore processes and possible improvements. Most immediately, the
materials and processes for the interior bowl were up for debate. The original
was hand-forged iron, rendering the form heavy and inflexible, incompatible
with the demands of contemporary industrial production and quality control.
Arper recommended that the bowl be fabricated in plastic to build lightness,
strength and flexibility into the structure. A plastic bowl would receive the
complex structure of foam and upholstery smoothly and archivally and facilitate
the adequate malleability necessary to construct and fit the leather.
Patterning was produced to cut and assemble the upholstery. Every detail–down
to the small leather covers placed around the round steel frame of the chair to
hold the bowl in place–were reinterpreted.
As an Italian
architect who embraced the ideals of the modern movement, Lina’s design
philosophy was always one of accessibility, engagement and generosity. In her
own words, “To standardize means to extend the possibility, to make it possible
that something for a few may be extended to many, means to ‘improve,’ because
it is much easier to deeply study a basic organism than it is to study an
indefinite, countless series of them.” (1951).
Sharing these
values, Arper embarked on the journey to fulfill this ambition: to standardize
the production of the Bowl Chair to make it available and accessible to the
public. In the words of Arper President, Luigi Feltrin and Claudio Feltrin,
Arper CEO and Vice President, “In doing this, we wish to give the Bowl Chair
and Lina’s way of thinking a future. The limited edition creates a link between
the past and the future.”
After three months
of conversation, collaboration, design and testing, Arper and the Instituto
presented a single version of the industrialized Bardi’s Bowl Chair in London
at the opening of the exhibition “Lina Bo Bardi: Together” in
the fall of 2012, while during the Salone Internazionale del Mobile 2013 in Milan,
Arper introduced “Edition: Bardi’s Bowl Chair – A Dialogue Between Arper
and Lina”, a Fuorisalone exhibition at its Milan showroom in via Pantano 30 to
present the making of the edition of Bardi’s Bowl chair.
Though the only
traceable original that exists is in black leather, there is evidence that the
Bardi’s Bowl Chair was produced in many finishes and colors as is reflected in
Lina’s many sketches. Similar to Arper’s Catifa, the Bardi’s Bowl Chair was
initially conceived in many different colors and finishes that could be
recombined in many variations, a very simple and essential idea which still has
relevance and usefulness.
For this reason,
Arper is continuing to develop the material palette of the Bardi’s Bowl Chair,
working to refine the interpretation further with a suite of fabrics that
reflect the vivacious spirit of Lina as well as the creative symbiosis of
Brazilian and Italian cultures.
With the
reproduction of the Bardi’s Bowl Chair, Arper hopes to bring to light the
inspiring work of Lina Bo Bardi. Through an examination of this singular and
versatile design, we see not only the mark of the designer and her socio-centric
philosophy, but also the influence of her work from a historical perspective.
We are able to see both the evolution and the continuity of forms only visible
through the lens of time.
Finally, in the
spirit of Lina Bo Bardi, Arper is donating a number of chairs of the limited
edition to support the Instituto Lina Bo e P.M. Bardi. A portion of the profits
of the remaining chairs will be used to reinvest in cultural and social
programs. As Bo Bardi always intended, for the people.
For more information
and updates about Bardi’s Bowl Chair visitbardisbowlchair.arper.com
Photo credits: Marco
Covi, Varianti, Matteo Imbriani, Instituto Lina Bo e P. M. Bardi
http://www.arper.com/stories/en/culture/edition-bardis-bowl-chair.htm
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BIOGRAPHY OF LINA BO BARDI
( Rome 1914 – São Paulo, 1992 )
( Rome 1914 – São Paulo, 1992 )
TRAINING AND ACTIVITY AS AN ARCHITECT AND JOURNALIST IN ITALY
(1914-1945)
After obtaining a degree in architecture in Rome, she moved to Milan and worked in the studio of architect Carlo Pagani. She then opened her own studio, which however was destroyed in the Allied bombing of 1943.
At the same time she worked intensely as an illustrator and editor: collaborating with Gio Ponti for Lo Stile magazine, she was also an editor for the magazines Grazia, Bellezza, Vetrina andL’Illustrazione italiana. Subsequently she became, together with Carlo Pagani, deputy editor of Domus and of Quaderni di Domus (Domus Notebooks) until the magazine’s suspension in January 1945, by order of the Salò Republic.
After obtaining a degree in architecture in Rome, she moved to Milan and worked in the studio of architect Carlo Pagani. She then opened her own studio, which however was destroyed in the Allied bombing of 1943.
At the same time she worked intensely as an illustrator and editor: collaborating with Gio Ponti for Lo Stile magazine, she was also an editor for the magazines Grazia, Bellezza, Vetrina andL’Illustrazione italiana. Subsequently she became, together with Carlo Pagani, deputy editor of Domus and of Quaderni di Domus (Domus Notebooks) until the magazine’s suspension in January 1945, by order of the Salò Republic.
In the years following the conflict Lina toured Italy
as Domus’s correspondent,
with Pagani and the photographer Federico Patellani, documenting and assessing
the state of the country’s destruction. She was also a founding member of
“Movimento Studi Architettura” (MSA), a group for rationalist reconstruction
established in Milan, and participated in the “First National Conference for
Reconstruction”, denouncing the lack of public interest in the issue.
In those years she continued her editorial activities: with Pagani
and Bruno Zevi she founded the weekly magazine ‘A’ – Attualità, Architettura,
Abitazione, Arte (News, Architecture, Houses, Art) (published in
Milan) and she collaborated with the newspaper Milano Sera, run by Elio Vittorini.
THE PARTNERSHIP WITH BRAZIL (1946 – 1992)
LINA IN SAO PAULO: ARCHITECTURE, DESIGN, JOURNALISM, TEACHING
In 1946 she moved to Rome and married the famous journalist, art critic and gallery owner Pietro Maria Bardi. The journalist and Brazilian entrepreneur Assis Chateaubriand invited Pietro to found and direct an art museum in Brazil. Lina and Pietro had already moved when by October 2 the MASP- Museum of Art of São Paulo was opened; its first structure was renovated according to Lina’s instructions.
In 1946 she moved to Rome and married the famous journalist, art critic and gallery owner Pietro Maria Bardi. The journalist and Brazilian entrepreneur Assis Chateaubriand invited Pietro to found and direct an art museum in Brazil. Lina and Pietro had already moved when by October 2 the MASP- Museum of Art of São Paulo was opened; its first structure was renovated according to Lina’s instructions.
In 1948 Lina founded with Giancarlo Palanti the Palma Studio of Art
and Architecture, devoting herself to design and interior design. The design
for the Bowl chair dates to those years.
In Brazil she continued her work as a publisher, founding the magazine Habitat – Revista das Artes no Brasil and directing its first 15 issues.
In Brazil she continued her work as a publisher, founding the magazine Habitat – Revista das Artes no Brasil and directing its first 15 issues.
In Brazil Lina Bo Bardi found her happiness and in 1951 she
obtained citizenship by naturalization. In the same year, she designed and
built her home known as “Casa de Vidro”, where she would live for the rest of
her life, with her husband. A modernist building that still stands today,
immersed in the greenery of Jardim Morumbi in São Paulo, currently it is the
home of the Instituto Lina
Bo and PM Bardi, the custodian and
promoter of Lina’s valuable work.
The most important architectural works of the São Paulo years are:
the MASP’s second headquarters, a project started in 1957 and inaugurated in
1968, the Valeria Piacentini Cirell house.
In the São Paulo years she also dedicated herself to teaching: having founded and directed together with her husband the Industrial Design Course at the Institute of Contemporary Art (IAC), she was a professor at the Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning of the University of São Paulo.
LINA IN SAN SALVADOR DE BAHIA
In the São Paulo years she also dedicated herself to teaching: having founded and directed together with her husband the Industrial Design Course at the Institute of Contemporary Art (IAC), she was a professor at the Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning of the University of São Paulo.
LINA IN SAN SALVADOR DE BAHIA
From 1958 to 1964 Lina moved to San Salvador of Bahia, the poorest
and most desolate part of Brazil. At the governor’s invitation, she headed the
Modern Art Museum of Bahia (BA-MAM), designed the renovation of the Solar do
Unhão and its subsequent adaptation as a museum. In 1963 she founded
the Folk Art Museum of Unhão, which also hosted the Centre for Studies and
Craft Work and the School of Industrial Design. It was the first example of a
museum-school, a place to produce and promote a design attentive to the
country’s folk and craft traditions.
In 1964 the MAM BA was overrun by the military. Lina resigned and
returned to São Paulo.
More than twenty years later, she would resume relations with San Salvador, when invited by the municipal administration to draw up the recovery plan of the old town, not completed in its entirety, but of which some individual works were carried out.
More than twenty years later, she would resume relations with San Salvador, when invited by the municipal administration to draw up the recovery plan of the old town, not completed in its entirety, but of which some individual works were carried out.
SESC POMPEIA, SAO PAULO, 1977 - 1986
Photo by Cristobal Palma
Photo by Cristobal Palma
THE LAST YEARS IN SAO PAULO
In 1977 she began designing – with André Vainer and Marcelo Ferraz
– the recreational centre SESC – Fábrica Pompéia, to be created out of a disused factory. The project was completed
in 1986. This architecture of extraordinary expressive force welcomed multiple
activities into a single place without organizing them hierarchically, mixing
people of different ages, interests and walks of life, in the name of
conviviality in diversity.
Other notable architectural works of these years are the church of
Espírito Santo do Cerrado (Uberlândia) and the restoration project of the
Palácio das Indústrias, which would host the new City Hall of São Paulo.
Throughout her life, Lina amazed people with her versatility, even
working intensely as a curator, designer and scenographer. Her productions are
never characterized by magnificence or a preponderance of technology, but by a
strong desire to break down the boundaries between art and life, artist and
audience.
Lina died on March 20, 1992 in “Casa de Vidro”.
You may see SESC – Fabrica Pompeia project’s photographs to visit
Conceptions of Space at MoMA exhibition news to click below link.
