Design Miami/Basel - 2017

Basel, Switzerland

A very rare collection of furnishings designed by BBPR – the group of Italian architects formed in 1932 by Gian Luigi Banfi (1910-1945), Lodovico Barbiano di Belgiojoso (1909-2004), Enrico Peressutti (1908-1976), Ernesto Nathan Rogers (1909-1969) – becomes the core feature of the setting of Nilufar for Design Miami/Basel. Most of the pieces come from a private apartment in Milan on which the architects worked from 1950-51 to 1966. These furnishings stand out for their rationalist rigour, expressed through sophisticated forms and refined harmony. They include a precious console table from the 1950s with a structure in cast brass and walnut plywood, and a top in Verde Alpi marble.

Far from being a mere complement, this piece is a symbol of the design approach and poetics of BBPR, where the functional parts of the piece become simultaneously expressive, fluid and elegant. The setting is enhanced by a selection of contemporary projects: two low tables from the Atollo series by Massimiliano Locatelli, the Crossette floor lamp and the Parachute suspension from the Fontana Amorosa collection by Michael Anastassiades, and the Petra carpet designed by the Colombian atelier Hechizoo of Jorge Lizarazo.

Photo credits by James Harris