10 years of collaboration, 6 collections of chairs, 2 realities with common values: these few numbers tell the story of Passoni Design, a Friulian company that produces high quality wooden furniture, and atelier oï, a Swiss design and architectural firm with a strong interest in natural materials.
Radice, the new collection of chairs evoking nature, was created on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of a partnership that is primarily human rather than entrepreneurial or creative. A preview of it was presented in Milan at the Arena Listone Giordano, the space designed by Michele De Lucchi that has quickly become a meeting point of the cultural life in the capital city of Lombardy.
As the name suggests, the collection Radice evokes woods with majestic trees and above all solid roots, which anchor and support, while wrapping around the plant and promoting its growth.
This concept gave the idea of creating a wooden structure made of three legs, which are ‘rooted’ to ensure stability, while the main axis comes out of the ground and spreads out like branches to form the seat and the arms, in the shape of a tree.
Radice is available in two models: a chair with arms and one without arms, two variations that have been designed to perfectly suit different environments, from restaurants to professional conference rooms.
When we asked Tommaso Passoni, representative of the fourth generation and now CEO of the company born in Friuli in 1948, to tell us something about the meaning of this further step along the brand’s path, he answered:
“The harmony between Passoni and atelier oï is mainly the result of the passion for wood as a material, but also for the beautiful and well done things in general. The commitment towards the environment and the attention to product sustainability are other characteristics that we have in common. We, as Passoni, obtained the FSC certification 15 years ago, when only few people were aware of its importance. Our product philosophy is based on the use of natural materials: certified solid wood, natural oil finishes, natural fibre fabrics, glues free from noxious substances and with zero emissions, packaging free from plastic elements and colours for wood originating from elements such as wine, pomace and natural pigments. However, this approach to production needed to be translated into a fulfilling, charming and communicative design. And this is where atelier oï came into play to create chairs capable of embodying these values.”
Louis Armand by atelier oï concludes by saying:
“As designers, our life is a constant research process. Collaborating with a family-run business like Passoni allows us to build human relationships which become the base for new ways to do things and take on new challenges. The six different collections we created with Passoni correspond to six very different stories. Our signature is invisible, every product has its own identity and its own narration that characterise and make it unique. In this sense Radice too converses with the space through its own exclusive language.”
