|
Barcelona
Flos
Flos fulfills the luminous visions of Patricia Urquiola and Martino Berghinz at B&B Italia in Barcelona
By William Weathersby, Jr.
 |
|
| |
Photo © Rafael Vargas |
| |
|
Since she founded her own multidiscipline studio in 2001, Spanish-born architect Patricia Urquiola has become a major force at the Milan Furniture Fair—the design star to watch. Each year she orchestrates trendsetting furniture lines for more than a half dozen leading manufacturers, in addition to plotting multiple temporary installations and showrooms. Expanding from her home base in Milan last spring, the prolific designer created a new flagship in Barcelona for the furniture manufacturer B&B Italia, for whom she has designed 11 series of tables and chairs over the past 5 years. Working with her frequent collaborator architect Martino Berghinz, Urquiola has created a space with a polish that matches the precision of her industrial designs. The showroom’s white stone flooring, floating staircase, diamond-faceted walls, and mirrored surfaces create a fluid backdrop for high-style, contemporary furniture.
For the lighting of the 1,800-square-foot showroom, the architects collaborated with Flos, the Italian fixture manufacturer that also operates a commercial lighting design consultancy. In addition to illumination for B&B showrooms, the Flos team frequently collaborates with and works for the manufacturer’s contract division that supplies furniture for hotels, restaurants, and offices.
As part of a recent expansion into lighting and accessories, B&B Italia has introduced several lines of table and floor lamps created by renowned European designers, such as Ettore Sottsass and Jean-Marie Massaud, that are showcased here. But the workhorses of the venue’s display lighting are two highly tooled, low-voltage fixtures manufactured by Flos, their sleek profiles becoming a strong component of the overall aesthetic effect.
Encompassing 1,800 square feet within a historic building that was previously rehabilitated by architect Carlos Ferrater, the Barcelona showroom is centrally located on Paseo de Gracia in the Eixample district, a popular shopping destination for fashion and design. The new store is a step in B&B Italia’s corporate strategy to open single-brand stores in international cities; other locations with new flagships include Munich and Dubai.
Want the full story? Read the entire article in our August 2006 issue.
Subscribe to Architectural Record in print, or get Architectural Record digitally
|
print
this page
e-mail
this page
