Named best new design from an emergeng talent at last year’s international Furniture Fair of Valencia, the stackable and 100 percent recyclable chairs are part of the Air Chairs Collection created by Ebualà. The collection has been featured in several Canadian and US magazines lately, including Metropolis and Intérieurs. Although they praise its looks, not much more is known about what and who is behind it.
Valencia-based, Ebualà, is an award-winning multidisciplinary design firm formed by Javier Herrero, Lluïsa Morató and Marcos Martinez. Despite the language barrier, Marcos Martinez graciously accepted to answer some of our questions.
What was the motivation, inspiration and/or design process behind the Air Chairs Collection?
Air Chairs was born with the idea to create a light collection with a contemporary aspect, but with a sense of humour! We believe that it has turned out to be a fresh and young design. A surface that contains its own structure. We hope we’ve achieved this.
Are there any special features that you would like to highlight that might not be visible at first glance?
Air Chairs pieces are voluminous and light at the same time. When you pile them up, you acquire so much space. The most important material in our design is the air - a very important factor to keep in mind when it needs to reach many markets around the world.
What would you say differentiates or sets apart contemporary Spanish design from today’s European design as a whole?
Every day it becomes more difficult to differentiate the different products as an “international style” has emerged. Information travels around the world faster than ever thanks to the net. We try to create concepts that will be integrated into our products, the form being a result of a concept. It doesn´t mean that the form isn’t important. But we like to offer a different way to see the world around us - a language that will translate our view of the world into our products by how they function and how they appear.
In these uncertain times, many designers have no choice but to adapt to the new realities. How does ebualà plan on participating in this ‘new’ era?
It certainly seems that the times are changing, but probably not as fast as we would like them to. So we are trying to adapt ourselves to these times. It would be a mistake to change slower, but if you change faster, success is not assured either. For instance, one of these changes for us has been to offer more sustainable products and in a more responsible manner.
Who’s work do you admire?
Bouroullec Brothers, Haeberli, Urquiola, La Granja, J. Morrison, ...
Worth repeating is the fact that the entire collection is recyclable and each piece can be used inside as well as outside.
Their website - http://ebuala.com/ - showcases some of their other great projects.
