New York, New York, USA
“Kvadrat is the Danish word for square, and the name was derived from the squares on gridded point paper, which was used to record textile patterns before computers,” states Jonathan Olivares.
“This history was important for me when designing of Kvadrat’s first New York Showroom, which I wanted to be a three-dimensional embodiment of the company.”
California-based industrial designer Jonathan Olivares’ new Square Chair is a small upholstered armchair designed for the new Kvadrat New York flagship showroom and made by Italian furniture manufacturer Moroso.
The project takes inspiration from Olivares’collaboration with the Danish textile manufacturer as the designer reworks the geometry of the square through versatile, flexible, and essential shapes.
Likewise, the new showroom furniture was conceived for the space, which Olivares developed together with Moroso.
Olivares viewed the seating as an opportunity to carry Kvadrat’s textiles into the space and allow the showroom to spotlight the full range of colors in a specific textile.
The result is the Square Chair—a flexible work-oriented chair that allows a variety of informal postures that are convenient for working and meeting.
Upholstered in every color of Twill Weave and Broken Twill Weave the array of Square Chairs offers a range of colors that interplays with the hanging textiles along the showroom’s perimeter.
The chairs’ textiles covers can be easily removed and replaced, and Kvadrat imagines that they will introduce new textiles on the chairs over time.
Conceived as a work chair, Square Chair is notable for its essential geometric forms and precise lines, combining comfort with the flexibility of use.
“Square derives its formal language from the basic square unit that makes up the warp and weft of a woven textile. Enlarged and abstracted, the armchair’s shape represents the textile used to make it: it is square on a micro and macro level. As textiles are some of the most flexible products, the seat is also conceived as an adaptable object”, says Olivares.
The chair is designed for collaborative and agile workspaces.
Square Chair is light and can be easily repositioned as spaces are reorganized.
Project: Square Chair
Designer: Jonathan Olivares
Client: Kvadrat A/S
Manufacture: Moroso SpA
Photographers: Gianluca Vassallo
