By Luigi Colani, Rosenthal
Located in bergen op zoom, NL
Extremely rare and huge modular 'Pool' sofa by recently deceased German Space Age designer pioneer Luigi Colani (1928-2019).
The 'pool' sofa was designed in 1970 by German designer Luigi Colani for Rosenthal's avant garde 'studio line' design range and is the epitome of cool Minimalist Space Age design, very '2001' a space odditiy.
This complete Living Landscape 'Pool' modular set has a total of 37 elements!
This amazing set comprises 12 standard seating elements, 3 corner elements and 10 flat cushion elements. and also includes 8 of the rare optional removeable headrest cushion elements which simply hang over the top of the seating elements and 4 'half moon' elements which can either be used as under leg support elements which make lying down in the 'pool' more ergonomic and comfortable or they can equally be used as lumbar supports to effectively alter the angle of the seat back. These rare loose and removeable elements are usually missing or lost.
Additionally this set also includes the super rare original matching white 'Pool' sofa drinks table with lower storage compartment for magazines etc .
This set has just been recovered in our inhouse upholstery atelier in a special high quality quilted, double layer 'Febrik Gentle 2' stretch fabric for Danish textile manufacturer 'Kvadrat'
We spent a lot of time and effort in selecting this special and suitable fabric, It is extremely difficult to find a fabric today which has an extremely high 90,000 Martindale rub wear rating that such a seating environment requires and which also has enough three dimensional stretch in it to take up the shape of the elements without wriinkling and that also has a deep enough velour type pile to closely match that of the origjnal 'pool' fabric range. The outer layer of the fabric is 70% new wool.
We have installed zippers exactly, as per the original fabric , so the fabric can easily be removed.
We have kept photos of the complete reupholstery process, please see images 19 and 20 to give you an idea of the amount of work required to get this set to the condition you see it in today, a real labour of love.
The 'Pool' modular sofa is completely flexible and the elements can rearranged into any configuration the user requires, the 'pool' can also provide a wonderful sunken "conversation pit" environment too. Please see vintage photo of a blue 'pool' sofa sunk into the floor.
A large and complete set of 'pool' elements such as this complete with the matching table is extremely rare, a unique opportunity.
Dimensions:
Each seating/corner element measures:-
Width 31.5 inches X Depth 31.5 inches X Height 23. 62 inches with a seating height of 5.9 inches
OR
W 80cm x D 80cm x H 60cm with a seating height of 15cm
Literature:
'CHAIRS -1000 masteroieces of modern design,1800 to the present day' by Fiell, page 569
Orignal 'Rosenthal' brochure 1970,
'DOMUS' June 1972
'Contemporary Furniture'by Sembach, pg. 144.
FABRIC DESCRIPTION AND REASONS FOR USING THIS SPECIAL TEXTILE :
Below are a description of the fabric taken from the KVADRAT website, plus full technical specifications for the fabric plus a brief résumé on why we selected this particular fabric for this project. It is 75% new wool plus 25% synthetics which are required for the stretchability in both directions , a quality hard to find in modern fabrics and essential for the 'pool' as it is designed to be walked on etc.
This fabirc is manufactured by the dutch company 'FEBRIK' who produce the fabric for the renowned Danish textile company 'KVADRAT'. The fabric is called 'Gentle 2' and the color code is '0203'. it is not a pure white but a white with a tiny amount of grey in it, that is how I would describe it, a bit like snow, please see colour plate photo taken directly from the KVADRAT website
. This is a special high quality, thick double layer knit fabric which stretches in both directions and is extremely hard wearing (90,000 martindale rub rating) , both these attributes are required for the 'pool' and are specifications which are hard to find in modern fabrics. We took a lot of time researching the right fabric for this restoration project, it had to have the right qualities and also have a surface finish as close to the original velour originally used as possible. The manufacturer 'FEBRIK' also make the textile used on the Bouroullec brothers' iconic 'ploum...
Category
1970s German Space Age Vintage Rubber Living Room Sets
MaterialsWool, Fiberglass, Foam, Rubber, Canvas