Kartell Armchair Natural wood Wood. Dimensions: L 55 x Depth 57 cm x H
84 cm – Seat: L 46 x H 45 cm – Armrests: H 66 cm. The poetry of wooden
embraces technology … Kartell creates an event by including wooden in its
catalogue for the first time in its history! With the Smart Wood collection,
Kartell and Philippe Starck rise to a new challenge: working wooden with the
same fluidity as composite materials to give it a new look, full of finesse and
curves. With its unique moulded wooden shell, the Smart Wood collection combines
timeless elegance, contemporary shapes and perfect finishes. The curves and
generous dimensions of the shell provide excellent seating comfort. The amazing
Ray and Charles Eames were the first to experiment with moulding plywooden into
complex shapes. More than 50 years later, technological advances have enabled
Kartell to offer even more with less. This is the Smart Wood collection.
Philippe Starck explains: I wanted to create wooden seats using just a minimum
of material. Twenty years ago, you could bend wooden two centimetres, then five,
six, and so on. I wanted to bend it thirty-five centimetres… Each year,
I gained another centimetre! To launch the Smart Wood range, it was necessary
to invent a technology that did not exist. This feat was made possible thanks to
a unique patented 3D technology that produces a wooden curvature of extreme
proportions. Moulded wooden adopts incredible sinuous lines with enveloping
curves, like an embrace that offers total comfort. To reduce the cutting down of
trees, the shell uses very little material: just wooden residues. It’s made
from ash nano-shavings glued in nano-layers which are then laminated. Then,
using machines that cut the wooden in line, the wooden takes on the appearance
of a kind of fabric that can be deformed. For ten to fifteen minutes, the wood,
now soft as silk, can be moulded. As it dries, it stiffens and returns to the
texture of wood. Inside the moulded plywooden shell is a seat, made of wood,
leather or plastic. The Smart Wood family includes a chair and two matching
armchairs with a footrest: Kingwood, Queenwooden and Princesswood. Claudio Luti,
president of Kartel, explains: After years of research, we managed to work the
wooden while respecting the nobility of the material. Innovative technology has
allowed us to stay true to the industrial characteristics of Kartell's DNA.
With the Smart Wood collection, we changed the paradigm, so it’s no longer
about using wooden elements to build a structure, but bending the wooden so it
turns into a three-dimensional seat. We have been able to fully express the true
essence of wooden by combining industrial production, beauty, robustness,
comfort and flexibility into a single product. Inaugurating a new chapter in the
brand's history, the Smart Wood collection is an integral part of a major
project: Kartell Loves the Planet. The latter aims to promote all good practices
in terms of sustainability for a process of production and use of recyclable raw
materials with a low environmental impact.> Flash sale: special price for a
limited time only.
