Award-winning industrial designer Eugeni Quitllet reviews his career and talks about his union with Roche Bobois to create the Pulp collection, a line of tables, chairs and armchairs.
Eugeni Quitllet presents Pulp, his new collection with Roche Bobois, based on the imaginary universe of the designer. The dissociation of elements, the molecules and atoms of objects or cell division are some of the most important concepts for him. The designer reveals hidden silhouettes of matter and understands nature as part of the creative process.
“The collection has organic, sensual, molecular elements… Components of cells that build and create a body from separate pieces. It is not a single dimension, but each separate volume creates a particular function of its foundation”.
The vindication of Catalan culture is also very important. Eugeni Quitllet talks about “the Mediterranean subconsciousness in the interpretation of things: light, shapes, surrealism, the organic world…”. He argues that the roots of autochthonous design must be nurtured so that it can flourish again and the artistic creativity of the world of architecture typical of Catalonia can be seen once more.
Quitllet is a designer who is involved in all the creative processes in order to have production under control: “I need to know the whole industrial process behind each collection or product so that I can create it in tune with what I’m doing”. But it is also good to value the importance of the unknown and, for this reason, Quitllet always leaves a space for what might happen.
“It’s like a table, maybe a last minute guest comes and you can’t throw him out, maybe he’ll be the funniest. You always have to leave space for what might come, for a positive accident. The vacuum will be filled by something good and that we don’t control but that can always bring its personality.”
Roche Bobois x Eugeni Quitllet
Roche Bobois has been a point of reference for Eugeni Quitllet for the last three years when they met in Paris: “We’ve known each other from afar. I’ve been following him, he’s a very important point of reference in terms of the richness of style and collections”. Mutual admiration and the desire to get to know the creative temperature of the design world led them to join forces at the end of 2019. They created a collection that emerged very quickly and to bring illusion, light and freshness. Quitllet states:
“We looked at the things we could introduce new and how that could bring a fresh style that corresponded to both of us. A collection usually takes a year and a half, two years to make. In this case we did it very quickly and very well. It’s come out at a time when we’re all looking forward to new things.
Details of a table and chair design from the Pulp collection.
The idea was born at the same time as the outbreak of the pandemic, which made it necessary to rethink many things. For Quitllet and Bobois, the confinement was a way of stopping and clarifying their ideas. It was also a way for them to start working at high speed because they had the space, the quiet and the concentration. This resulted in a very complete collaboration, with a clear language and a high level of quality.
Eugeni Quitllet presents ‘Pulp’ with Roche Bobois
Eugeni Quitllet presents Pulp, his new collection with Roche Bobois, which is based on tables, armchairs and, especially, chairs. For Quitllet, the latter is one of the most fascinating objects to design and produce.
“The limits are always the same: height, depth, arms… The human body has not changed, the chair is bound to these measurements”.
Pulp collection designs
That’s why the challenge of building a chair is exciting for Quitllet. You have to be creative, you have to innovate and look for new things to make an object that everyone knows, that has limits and requirements, but that has to be completely different, original and unique: “I am in love with objects. Chairs are a very particularchallenge, I have made many and I always dream of being able to create new and different designs”.
Chair designs from the Pulp collection
Quitllet achieves this with its Pulp collection. His first collaboration with Roche Bobois presents furniture as a whole made up of the different parts of each object, which are joined together to form what we know as tables, chairs and armchairs.
Eugeni Quitllet’s particular focus in a collection of this kind is on comfort, and on making the person and the piece of furniture become a single element.
“The posture, the way the pieces are joined together, the radius of each section, the colour of the wood…. We have to look at how these elements merge together so that we have the final product”.
Pulp collection armchair design
The designer takes nature very much into account when it comes to his projects. Quitllet knows that as human beings we are part of it and believes that sustainability is also about being in harmony with the environment around us: “My inspiration comes from life, from the experience I have with the world. We are part of nature but we want to believe we are outside of it. I like to be inside, for me the environment is part of my creative process”. He not only makes his pieces to be in tune with the human being, but also to work throughout the whole process, from the first drawing to their final use.
Roche Bobois’ 50th anniversary celebration: the iconic Mah Jong sofa gets a makeover
Roche Bobois is a French brand created by the Roche and Chouchan families. The world-renowned company is now celebrating the 50th anniversary of one of its most iconic creations: the Mah Jong sofa. Five decades without ceasing to be at the forefront of design, dressing great names such as Kenzo Takada, Jean Paul Gaultier or Missoni Home, among others.
Mah Jong Jean Paul Gaultier
Design by Mah Jong Jean Paul Gaultier with a design in blue tones and sailor stripes.
Mah Jong Missoni
A combination of vibrant tones and some zigzag print details.
Mah Jong MISSONI zig zag design
In 1971, Philippe Roche and Hans Hopfer produced the Mah Jong, a modular sofa at the cutting edge of design. Simple in appearance, this piece of furniture allows the customer to become a creator: the Mah Jong transforms into an armchair, sofa, chaise longue or bed.
To celebrate 50 years of creation, a new design has been created with elegant platforms that are placed under the cushions so that they appear to be suspended in the air. For the colours, Kenzo Takada has been commissioned to dress the sofa. He has created options to suit all tastes:
Mah Jong Kenzo Takada Umi
With oceanic tones and drawings of flowers and geometric objects, as well as different fabrics.
Design of the Mah Jong Kenzo Takada Umi
Roche Bobois embodies the diversity of French design. The brand takes up the challenge of internationalisation by offering each of its customers a personalised approach to creation and design in partnership with leading fashion houses.
Images courtesy of Roche Bobois.
