Challenging the boundaries between art and furniture

New collaboration between Offecct and Emmanuel Babled.

Babled is a unique collaboration between the French designer Emmanuel Babled and Offecct. The iconic swivel/easy chair that was first made as a work of art has now evolved into furniture in Offecct Lab. World premiere at Salone del Mobile Milano 2018!

Emmanuel Babled’s voluminous and sculptural swivel/easy chair Babled was originally created as a piece of art in marble. Offecct’s Design Manager Anders Englund saw the object in Milan last year and wanted to investigate what would happen if it were transformed into dressed furniture.

“Our design is exploratory, creative and playful. The way we work has many similarities to the artistic process, so it’s natural for us to bring art and furniture together and at the same time challenge the boundaries between the two,” he says.

A dynamic forum for experiments

The collaboration between Emmanuel Babled and Offecct has taken place in Offecct Lab, a dynamic forum where Offecct invites different partners to experiment and test new solutions, materials and ideas. Sometimes the products become part of the standard range, and sometimes they remain important stages of knowledge and development. The work is closely linked to Offecct’s Lifecircle philosophy by constantly challenging and exploring boundaries.

Emmanuel Babled says he was inspired to create Babled when he saw a big butterfly with its wings open. The organic shape makes the easy chair look like different furniture from different angles, both heavy and light in expression standing on a distinct foundation.

“When I started designing it, I also thought of famous Scandinavian furniture from the 1960s shaped like big shells and with rounded and soft shapes. The mission was to make the chair feel welcoming and to inspire people to let their bodies sit or lie in relaxed, comfortable positions,” he says.

Experience Babled easy chair by Emmanuel Babled at Salone Del Mobile 2018, Offecct Pavilion 20, stand E19-F18.

Bio Emmanuel Babled

Emmanuel Babled was born in France in 1967 and graduated in industrial design from the European Institute of Design in Milan. He started as a designer in Paris and moved to Milan in 1992. There he founded his own studio where he worked for 18 years, followed by five years in Amsterdam, before settling in Lisbon in early 2016.He has been a guest lecturer and developed workshops at Domus Academy in Milan and the Design Academy of Eindhoven.