Italian furniture brand Natuzzi Italia will be debuting Ergo, the latest bedroom collection designed by Ross Lovegrove, for the first time in the UK during London Design Festival 2019. Winner of a Red Dot Award: Design Concept in the furniture category, the collection will be showcased using a new Augmented and Virtual reality tool to demonstrate the brand’s new vision led by Pasquale Junior Natuzzi, on the occasion of the brand’s 60th anniversary.
First launched at its New York store earlier this year, the Tottenham Court Road showroom will be the second Natuzzi store to be equipped with this new cutting-edge technology. The New Customer Journey concept has been developed in partnership with Microsoft and Hevolus Innovation to optimise the physical retail experience and customer satisfaction by using multiple advanced technological solutions, such as VR, holographic display and 3D modelling. Situated in a dedicated space in the store, visitors will be able to examine the products from every angle on a real scale and walk around the VR site, which will recreate Puglia’s iconic natural landscapes as well as a selection of interior settings.
As well as making the shopping more enjoyable and informative for potential customers, the virtual reality experience will allow interior designers to test different colors, materials and textures, whilst bringing every detail of the interiors to life in an accurate, realistic manner. Designers will be able to generate bespoke recreations for their projects to fully appreciate the detail of each product and choose best design solutions for their homes.
As part of the virtual reality experience, the Natuzzi Augmented Store will feature Ergo, the latest collection designed by Ross Lovegrove. Demonstrating the brand’s evolutionary journey Ergo includes a bed, chaise- longue, chandelier, valet stand, chest of drawers, floor lamp, rug and mirror, which has been made without the use of lead-based paints. Each element draws on the surfaces and motifs of nature and is designed to be the perfect companion for everyday living.
Recognising the seamless fusion of excellent design and distinct aesthetics, the collection has been distinguished with the prestigious Red Dot under the Furniture category at the Red Dot Award for Design Concept 2019. As part of this recognition, the Ergo prototype will be showcased exclusively at the Red Dot Design Museum in Singapore, where a temporary exhibition will be presenting this year’s award-winning products. Established in 1954, the awards are considered as one of the most sought-after seals of quality for outstanding design, appraising the best products created every year by the design community from across the world.
Pasquale Junior Natuzzi, Creative Director and Stylist says: "We want to celebrate our 60th Anniversary using our origins as a starting point to look into the future. Natuzzi has a strong bond with its homeland and its extraordinary resources. This feeling inspire us and encourages us to look at nature, translating this into organic design and ethical production. The Red Dot Award for Design Concept is a prestigious distinction, a recognition of Natuzzi's evolving design path and dedication to keep the environmental impact to a minimum, in terms of both choice of materials and energy consumptions."
Ergo uses responsibly-sourced, renewable and recyclable materials, including FSC®-certified wood from sustainably-managed forests adhering to strict environmental, social and economic standards. Its components interlock seamlessly, so that each piece can be put together with no need for metal parts or screws. The water- based adhesives used are formaldehyde-free. All finishes are made with natural wax. The only metal used is aluminium, an endlessly recyclable material. The textile fibres used for the upholstery are organic – linen, wool and cotton. The mattress is in 100% natural latex and the light bulbs used are low energy consumption LEDs.
The Natuzzi Italia collections aim at embodying the pursuit of beauty, in its most authentic and profound sense, on the long uninterrupted path towards discovery, seeking a renewed understanding of identity. The underlying message is that beauty cannot be achieved unless ethics and aesthetics coincide. The perfect shape, the most creative solutions, the most harmonious system of rules belong only to Nature, where the true essence of beauty lies.
“Ross Lovegrove says: “We have tried to define a new and studied meaning of ecology and sustainability, through the intense research of the evolution of sustainable materials for the development of each micro-element of the collection. It is also important to communicate and assure people that Natuzzi as a brand of global dimensions is experiencing an important evolutionary moment in a vision made of tangible and intangible values which speak to the contemporary world, enabling us to play our part in a significant cause for life of each one of us.”
Official results for the Red Dot Award will be announced on the 25th September 2019 during the Awarding Ceremony where winning designers will be flying in from all over the world to Singapore to receive their awards on stage from initiator and CEO of Red Dot, Prof. Dr Peter Zec.
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