The collaboration between Hannes Peer and Minotti has brought the Italian architect’s work to new horizons, elevating and distilling his sculptural and architectural approach into a refined, ultra-engineered series of designs that bear signs of both the creative gesture and the accuracy of the production.
Seen through the lens of Minotti’s sense of clarity, Peer’s designs have been among the most striking examples of translating an artistic sensibility into a functional, elegant furniture object.
Their latest collaboration, unveiled at Salone del Mobile 2026, features the ‘Blaine’ table, an object that speaks to both parties’ sensibilities while adding a new direction to their respective practice. Featuring a sculptural, cast aluminium base, the table nods to the work of Henry Moore and the modernist approach to casting that was recurrent in Florence Knoll and Ray and Charles Eames’ work.
‘It has always been a dream of mine to design a piece that works in that direction, that on one side is very organic, but also rather restrained in form,’ Peer tells Wallpaper* ahead of the launch. The architect's collaboration with Minotti has resulted in pieces such as the ‘Emmi’ chair or the ‘Nico’ table, both bearing signs of a sculptural, free-handed thinking while working perfectly within the company’s portfolio.
With ‘Blaine’, Minotti’s painstaking approach to refining its projects took a new direction for Peer, who started with what he describes as ‘wild forms’, which were then ‘reduced, edited, talked about’ with the company’s team over several months, ‘without ever losing sight of the original idea. It’s amazing to work with the Minotti team, sometimes there are up to 30 people in the room, five engineers, the whole family shows up, I see it as a sign of love and respect for us designers,’ he says.
The pieces’ final perfection, he explains is the result of ‘many hours, many conversations, many people working together. It’s more similar to a bottega than a big company, there is something so beautiful about that environment.’
The two trestle-like legs forming the base feature a gentle curve and an opening that looks carved, rather than moulded, exuding a sense of artistic elegance that looks much closer to a piece of art. ‘To create a cast object is a huge responsibility,’ says Peer. ‘I was always intimidated by it because the matrix that you use to cast, it's forever. You cannot [mess] it up. You have to be very sure that that is the one.’
As the son of an artist, this language comes naturally to Peer: ‘I think I've known Henry Moore before I've learned to count,’ he recalls. ‘I am very proud of my roots, and I think that is something that I always bring to a project.’
The table’s base will be available in polished or painted cast aluminium, with a top in either marquetterie wood or marble. It is not an object that is visually quiet: its presence holds a room’s attention, like an artwork. ‘I think that we're all storytellers. It's very, very important that each and every design comes not just as a single furniture piece, but rather with an idea of a home or an environment, that approach is super important, and that's where we connected so much with Minotti, who share this vision completely.’