Mara presents Icon, new for 2022, the seating collection with a transversal and versatile character
The seating archetype finds a new, evolved expression in Icon, the exclusive collection of chairs by Mara. The company, with the creative contribution of Marcello Ziliani, gives life to a strongly identifiable proposal, original in its simplicity, highly innovative in its design and versatile in its intended use.
The Icon collection represents the formal synthesis of Mara’s profound research and experimentation, also reflecting its linear style and familiar character.
Featuring a refined aesthetic, typical of domestic seating, and a cutting-edge technology that draws directly from the working space, Icon expands the company’s furnishing boundaries, embracing the residential, hospitality and office sectors, and much more.
The experience of Mara – specialised for over 60 years in the production of systems and furnishing elements for the office, the community and everyday life – meets the ‘human-centred’ design of Marcello Ziliani: a collaboration from Brescia that has led to the creation of an exciting new launch.
The Icon collection, in fact, was created to complement Mara’s renowned range of tables, featuring patented systems that allow for space-saving and height-adjustable movements. But its open and dynamic nature makes it ideal for any furnishing environment and architectural space, thanks to its structural comfort and elegant appeal.
Hence the choice of a name emblematic of its revolutionary scope. It presents itself as an ‘icon’ for Mara and the world of design, featuring a classic yet bold character, with clean lines and soft curves.
The minimalist expression, however, encapsulates extreme comfort, thanks to a large, soft cushioning (made of moulded foam) and, above all, thanks to the movement of the back, which is detached from the seat. Icon, in fact, although it is a typical tub seating, is not a mono shell: the seat and back have been deliberately made separately to guarantee independent movements.
A thin slit stands out between these two elements, giving a sense of lightness and an aerial effect to the upper part. Evident from the outside the absence of mechanisms generating the movements of the back and seat (in the version with the swivel base on castors), carefully concealed in the armrests and base respectively, thanks to systems designed by Marcello Ziliani and Mara’s R&D team.
To complete these virtuous qualities, there is also the sustainable aspect of the collection: Icon is made at the company’s production site and through local suppliers. Furthermore, the timeless design makes the chair extremely robust, and therefore long-lasting; also indifferent to the passage of styles or fashions, it provides users with an option to change the look of the chair, thanks to the removable upholstery.
The company and designer agree in defining Icon as a ‘bridge project’, meaning a collection that connects Mara to different spheres of use and even distinct types of furnishing in a single product.
It is a bridge, finally, between past and present because Icon brings back the origins of the company, when Camillo Marchina set up Mara and started the production of metal chairs.
Icon will be revealed in its entirety at Orgatec in Cologne (25-29 October)
For further information, visit marasrl.it
All images courtesy of Mara
