Biennale: Back to the Essence
A decade later, the Biennale chair remains a symbol of pure design – where wood, form and time converge in a timeless seating icon.
Architecture and Design: Material, Geometry and Sustainability
In 2015, architect Josep Ferrando designed the Biennale chair in collaboration with Figueras Seating, exploring the relationship between material, geometry and sustainability.
Inspired by nature and crafted entirely from wood, the Biennale was first unveiled at the Venice Biennale 2014 as a work of balance between origin and modernity.
Ten years later, Figueras relaunches this iconic chair, reaffirming its commitment to responsible design and the optimisation of space in cultural and architectural projects worldwide.
Nature in Design
The Biennale chair is a unique creation, based on fractal geometry and inspired by nature – a geometric structure repeated across different scales.
Crafted exclusively from Flemish and Melis wood slats sourced from certified forests, the Biennale contains no foreign elements – just wood, assembled using the finger joint technique, with no additional materials. The result is an organic, durable design that stays true to its origins.
Thanks to its modularity, each chair can function independently or as part of a larger configuration, making it ideal for auditoriums, cultural venues and meeting spaces.
The Biennale chair received the Catalonia Ecodesign Award 2015 in the product-in-development category, as well as the Delta Opinion Award 2016 for excellence in industrial design.
Josep Ferrando, Barcelona Architect
Architect from Barcelona and director of Josep Ferrando Architecture, he embodies a polyhedral vision of architecture that unites craftsmanship, academia and cultural management. He is Dean of the La Salle Barcelona School of Architecture (ETSALS) and was also Director of the Open Centre of Architecture at the Architects’ Association of Catalonia, a period during which the institution received the National Culture Award and the Creu de Sant Jordi.
His work has been exhibited internationally, with solo shows at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2014, the prestigious Aedes Architecture Forum in Berlin, and the Museum of Modern Art (MAM) in Rio de Janeiro. In 2016, he took part in the Unfinished exhibition at the Spanish Pavilion of the 15th Venice Architecture Biennale, which was awarded the Golden Lion. His international recognition includes the FAD Awards, nominations for the Mies van der Rohe Awards Europe and Americas, the Spanish Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism XV Award, the Buenos Aires International Biennale of Architecture BIABA’15 Award, and he was a finalist for the Iakov Chernikov International Award.
Alongside his practice, he has developed an extensive teaching career since 1998, serving as a professor of architectural design at numerous European and American universities. He has also lectured at prestigious institutions such as Harvard GSD, MIT, Cornell University, The Cooper Union, and at international congresses such as UIA’11 Tokyo and BIAU’19 Asunción.
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Design, comfort, and excellence come together in the Biennale chair, created to deliver a unique experience in prestigious cultural and architectural spaces.
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