Softcrete modular sofa by Ross Lovegrove - Gufram
Designer: Ross Lovegrove
Brand: Gufram
Color: Gray
Material: Polyurethane foam and Guflac
Dimensions: Small module: 45 x 45 cm / Corner and central modules: 70 x 70 cm / Large module: 140 x 70 cm
Availability: 3 - 4 weeks
Learn more about the designer
Ross Lovegrove (1958, Cardiff, Wales) is a British industrial designer.
He graduated from the University of Manchester in 1980. He received his degree in design from the Royal College of Art, London in 1983. In the early 1980s he worked as a designer for Frog Design in Altenstig, Germany. 'West, for clients such as Sony and Apple. He then went to Paris as a consultant at Knoll International, where he established the successful
Allessandri office system.
He was then offered a place at the Atelier de Nîmes with Jean Nouvel and Philippe Stark, creating for Cacharel, Louis Vuitton, Hermès and Dupont. Returning to London in 1986, he had already created numerous industrial designs, products and furniture such as: Ceccotti, Cappellini, Idee, Moroso, Luceplan, Driade, Peugeot, Apple, Issey Miyake, Vitra, Olympus, Yamagiwa Corp., Tag Heuer, Hackman, Alias, Herman Miller, Japan Airlines and Toyo Ito.
He has received numerous international awards for his work, which has been published and exhibited at the Center Georges Pompidou, the Museum of Modern Art (New York), the Guggenheim Museum (New York), the AXIS Design Center (Tokyo) and the Design Museum of London. In 1993, he held his first independent exhibition there and received the World Technology Award from TIME magazine in 2005.
In 1986, he opened an office with his partner Julian Brown in London and in 1990 his own studio: STUDIO X in Notting Hill. His visually captivating and technologically compelling designs, such as Organic Cutlery (1990), Alfi Zitzmann Thermos (1990), and Olympus Digital Camera (1996), are inspired by the natural world and the world at large. His understanding of ergonomics, materials technology and technical construction of curves.
Lovegrow is aware of the ecological issues of the time, and many of its creations such as the
Solar Bud , Luceplan's solar-powered garden lighting system, immediately address these concerns. He also worked on a project known as
Solar Seed , also based on solar energy and inspired by cactus mold. These sustainable and evolving products embody a new organic sensibility and have laid the foundations for design in the 21st century.
The elegant style with which he designs luggage, lamps, cameras, office products and furniture allows him to be recognized beyond the boundaries of industrial design. Whether creating a luxurious collection of leather bags or a plastic thermos, Lavgrov's humanitarian approach and organic sensibility shows the design direction of the next century. The iMac is a prominent example.
Learn more about the brand
Gufram is an Italian furniture manufacturer based in Barolo (Piedmont region). Founded in 1966 by the Gugliermetto brothers, Gufram, acronym for "Gugliermetto Fratelli Arredamenti Moderni", takes the form of a creative laboratory: they combine their knowledge of local craftsmanship with emerging architects and artists of the time. Their sculptured art objects revolutionized the aesthetics of 1960s furniture. From 1965, Gufram followed the artistic direction of designer Giuseppe Raimondi, who associated the company with emerging artists and architects of the time.
They study new choices of materials and mainly choose polyurethane foam to pad and structure their sculptural creations. Polyurethane will become their trademark. In addition to mastering the processing of flexible polyurethane, Gufram has developed and patented a special finish: Guflac®, the true essence of the company's artisanal spirit: this special and unique paint job makes surfaces more uniform, consistent and elastic . Soft, elegant shapes are thus created, innovative shapes that would otherwise be impossible to cover.
Gufram icons, regardless of the collection they are part of, are made by sculpting flexible polyurethane foam which is then finished or decorated by hand with the Guflac® backing.
Their creations, in the wake of pop art, are anchored in the avant-garde movement of the 1960s.
In 1968, Gufram presented its products under the name Multipli: industrially reproduced art objects in limited edition. Gufram then enjoyed considerable success with the public and the international press. Among their most remarkable creations: the Bocca sofa, originally designed by Salvador Dali, the Cactus coat rack, the majestic Pratone seat or even more recently the grotesque stools in the shape of a tombstone The End from the Toiletpaper collection, or the Broken Mirror imagined by Snarkitecture.
These “domestic sculptures” now appear in the most beautiful homes and the most renowned museums in the world.
The Gufram company was bought in 2012 by entrepreneur Sandra Vezza and her son Charley as artistic director. They were able to breathe new life into the company, notably on the occasion of the company's 50th anniversary celebrations in 2016 but also with new collaborations such as that with Moschino “Moschino kissed Gufram”.