In the lively setting of Milan Design Week 2022, which recently ended with record numbers, we met David Ramos Tarrés and Jordi Bassols Borrell, designers from the Ramos Bassols studio and creators of our Afina collection.
The Afina collection design speaks for itself with its lines, shapes, materials and colours, but it’s always interesting to go behind the scenes and find out how the idea for this modular system of sofas and poufs, designed to generate flexible and functional spaces, came about.
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How did the Afina sofa take shape ? How did you imagine the environment in which you would use it ?
Afina was conceived as a modular sofa, designed from the outset to be placed in different spaces with many configuration possibilities. This linear element can be arranged like a kind of snake, creating different angles and figures. The combination of backrests that appear and disappear is very interesting and give different shapes and angles to the product.
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How did you come up with the design of the backrests?
It was important for the backrest to disappear in a very delicate way and reappear without creating an abrupt division and leaving gaps. This shape allowed us to create a playful and, at the same time, delicate movement. We introduced the 60° angle to give the product dynamism and to make it fit more freely into any kind of space.
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Seat shapes are becoming less rigid : where does this choice come from ?
Less rigid shapes are a current trend in the contract and office world, unlike before, when people were looking for a harder, more technical product. In Afina’s design, we’ve incorporated more rounded, feminine and organic shapes, which give a good sensation of touch and comfort.
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The shape of Afina is very particular, how was it created ?
We gave a lot of importance to the connection between backrest and seat. The challenge was to integrate such a thin metal sheet with a backrest that tends to swell until it disappears. This is partly where the name Afina comes from.
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Over time you have also developed complementary elements.
We completed the Afina collection with small tables and ottomans. Our idea was precisely this: to create a game between the various pieces and to develop a language.
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In your mind was Afina already in two colours?
We wanted to emphasise the presence of two elements. By playing with the fabric tones, an interesting contrast is created between the seat and the backrest. Furthermore, the colours can be customised with reference to the brand.
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What was the experience of working with Frezza like?
It was a very strange relationship because it all happened during the pandemic. Frezza sent us the brief to make a soft-seating element and we collaborated remotely. I think it’s the only product we’ve developed to this point without having seen it.
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Was it a surprise for you too?
We had seen it in pictures but in real life it’s different. The effect it gives when you see it changes a lot. The scale, the details, the stitching… in the end the result is great.
Working remotely was by no means an obstacle to the development of an original project perfectly in line both with the idea of its designers and modern working spaces.
The result was the fruit of true teamwork and a display of great adaptability on the part of all those involved. It’s precisely with this spirit that Afina was born, a collection that stands out for its high level of flexibility.
