sovrappensiero design studio: office + retrofit

suspended chest of drawers

‘office + retrofit’ is a collection of furniture created by a recovery intervention developed by italian design studio sovrappensiero. the series of objects is built by furniture company manerba as a means of reusing their stock of old office furniture, rethinking the aesthetics and formal reinterpretation of products.

designer’s own words: ‘the word retrofit suggests the installation of new devices or components into production systems that were not originally designed to receive them. this process arises in environments with large availability of old products and allows not only to retrieve the obsolescent object, but also to implement an upgrade of the product, that will be able to respond to new needs. the project idea is the balance between two different objectives: the first is to create a strong contrast with the traditional image of impersonal, institutional and rigorous offices, and the other is to make the production easy and cheap. the products are marketed through alternative retail channels, consistent with the spirit of the retrofit. the collection of furniture ‘office + retrofit’ is created by outdated structures from manerba stocks – natural wood, polypropylene fabric and standard components. here, the original function and aesthetic of the product is converted so as to give variety in home-offices.’

panelled desk

waiting bench

waiting bench 2

planter

vase

bookcase + desk with trestles

from left to right: paperbin, panelled desk, suspended chest of drawers

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions’ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication.