Take a tour of Minotti’s modernist virtual retreat
Set on the Californian coast, Minotti's resort offers a virtual escape while presenting the company's new 2020 collection in a summery light
Every year, Italian furniture company Minotti creates a virtual setting to present its new 2020 collection to architects, interior designers and creative professionals. Conceived by the company’s Co-CEO, Roberto Minotti, who trained as an architect before joining the family company, the imaginary environments serve as a context to the new pieces as they are presented to the world.
‘I come from an architecture background, that was my passion way before furniture, so for me it is most interesting to present our furniture inside an architecture,’ explains Minotti. ‘Every year we have worked not only on the collection, but also on the atmosphere through which to present it. We have given different moods to these environments, offering new ways to interpret the product: a virtual exercise that enhances each product’s function.’
Californian virtual resort
This year, the concept has acquired new meaning, becoming a tool for escapism as people were confined at home, offering a way to show the collection to design professionals worldwide as travel restrictions took place, but also offering an important insight into the company’s world.
The backdrop to the resort are the hills, cliffs and beaches of Carmel by the Sea, and the rich Californian vegetation surrounding it. It’s an area that has traditionally offered inspiration to Minotti as an architect, who has admired the modernist structures of Richard Neutra (and also looking further afield, to Mies Van Der Rohe and Frank Lloyd Wright) and the simplified forms that are in constant dialogue between the indoors and outdoors - a poigniant theme for Minotti.
The architectural creation is titled The Club, and is conceived as a Seaview Resort and Lodges, featuring a space that blends indoor and outdoor, hospitality and residential spaces, bringing to life the versatility of the new range. It’s a structure of pure volumes and clean geometries, which develops over a cliffside with split levels and views over the sea.
‘This year we created something that is very close to our historical savoir-faire,’ explains Minotti. ‘With an architecture that is linear, square, and using materials such as stone, wood and glass. Like our furniture, it features simple forms that are enriched by quality materials and finishes: from an essential shape we create something that has a strong depth of quality.’
New Minotti 2020 collection
Terraces, decks and pools set the stage for the outdoor collections, while the indoor pieces are displayed across lounges, restaurants and cocktail bars overlooking the sea. ‘The backbone of the collection itself is the fluid and continuous passage between indoor and outdoor,’ adds Minotti, citing a strong aesthetic coherence between the pieces – something the brand has developed carefully throughout the recent collections, and that is brought to life by the carefully considered architecture.
The Minotti 2020 collection shown across the resort features new pieces by the brand’s creative director Rodolfo Dordoni, as well as furniture by Nendo, Marcio Kogan / studio mk27, GamFratesi and Christophe Delcourt. They are well-crafted, considered pieces that bear the signature style of their creators brought together under the exquisite, serious craftsmanship of Minotti.
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Blending into the environment, the pieces complete and complement the spaces of The Club. Highlights include the Daiki chairs, by Marcio Kogan / studio mk27, inspired by his travels to Japan and featuring 1960s-inspired silhouettes, new sartorial sofas by Dordoni, and the Fynn collection of chairs by GamFratesi, merging Scandinavian sensitivity with Italian savoir faire.
‘The collection is characterized by simple volumes, which have been enriched by the special attention to details and materials,’ observes Minotti. ‘We have created an architecture to reflect this.’
INFORMATION
Rosa Bertoli was born in Udine, Italy, and now lives in London. Since 2014, she has been the Design Editor of Wallpaper*, where she oversees design content for the print and online editions, as well as special editorial projects. Through her role at Wallpaper*, she has written extensively about all areas of design. Rosa has been speaker and moderator for various design talks and conferences including London Craft Week, Maison & Objet, The Italian Cultural Institute (London), Clippings, Zaha Hadid Design, Kartell and Frieze Art Fair. Rosa has been on judging panels for the Chart Architecture Award, the Dutch Design Awards and the DesignGuild Marks. She has written for numerous English and Italian language publications, and worked as a content and communication consultant for fashion and design brands.
-
Lito’s ‘Paris 1925’ jewellery collection lightens strict art-deco codes with a shimmer of sensuality
Athens designer Lito Karakostanoglou adds a modern dimension with dancing chainmail earrings, tactile gold layers and an all-round deft touch
By Caragh McKay Published
-
Introducing Flora Danica, a new Danish perfume house bottling the philosophy of hygge
Flora Danica is a newly launched fragrance house rooted in Danish culture both past and present
By India Birgitta Jarvis Published
-
The future of Salone del Mobile: new report quantifies impact of the world's biggest furniture fair
For the first time, Salone del Mobile reports on its size and impact. ‘Milan Design (Eco) System’ puts Salone into numbers, allowing its future and challenges to be addressed
By Cristina Kiran Piotti Published
-
Vipp Palazzo pop-up hotel opens inside Brescia’s historical Palazzo Monti
Scandi minimalism meets Baroque maximalism in Vipp Palazzo, a pop-up hotel by the Danish brand in the heart of Brescia
By Rosa Bertoli Published
-
B&B Italia celebrates 15 years of outdoor furniture
From a woven design by Patricia Urquiola to an aeroplane-inspired collection by Piero Lissoni: we look back on exceptional B&B Italia outdoor furniture
By Rosa Bertoli Last updated
-
Michele De Lucchi unveils latest furniture design for Stellar Works
Italian designer Michele De Lucchi and Stellar Works present a new furniture collaboration consisting of a modular sofa with a floating silhouette that merges Italian and Japanese design sensibilities
By Cristina Kiran Piotti Last updated
-
Marble table pushes the boundaries of furniture manufacturing
The sinuous forms of Roberto Lazzeroni's Infinito table for Poltrona Frau are defined by a rare marble and an innovative design approach
By Alice Morby Last updated
-
Luigi Caccia Dominioni’s iconic chairs for Azucena get a chromatic update
Azucena and Serapian collaborate to instill new life into Luigi Caccia Dominioni's Catilina chair, a legendary design now updated with a distinctive leather mosaic motif
By Rosa Bertoli Last updated
-
All aboard! Immersive design museum on a cruise ship celebrates Italian icons
The mobile museum is housed inside one of Italian company Costa Smeralda's cruiseship, featuring a selection of design icons and a futuristic set by Tihany Design
By Rosa Bertoli Last updated
-
Natuzzi and ByBorre's Mediterranean-inspired upholstery fabrics
Italian furniture company Natuzzi joined forces with Dutch textile innovator Borre Akkersdijk to create a collection of textile upholstery to complement Natuzzi furniture collections
By Rosa Bertoli Last updated
-
Japan as seen through the lens of Marcio Kogan
Brazilian architect Marcio Kogan recalls his Christmas tradition of traveling to Japan and how that inspired a new collection of seating for Minotti, referencing the original 1960s design of hotel Okura by Yoshiro Taniguchi
By Scott Mitchem Last updated