French citizen born in Austria, Marc Sadler currently lives in Milan, Marc Sadler is a curious and eclectic citizen of the world and lovers of painting. Sport design is the origin of his specialisation and experimentation with plastics has key part of his activity.
Four times awarded Compasso d’Oro ADI for the lamps Drop (Flos, 1994), Tite and Mite (Foscarini, 2001), Big bookshelf system (2008, Caimi Brevetti) and ice cream display-fridge Bellevue Panorama (IFI, 2014). He has also won many others international design awards over the years.
Is your planning model the same everywhere in the world and with all kinds of companies or design products or does the approach change to the different situations?
Often the relation with the customer starts from the company’s question I’m asked to give an answer to; I found out that it’s stimulating to work inside the company. Usually I propose something impossible and then we compromise. So it’s a sort of journey full of adventures we make together.
The old-standing customers include Caimi Brevetti, after Big I have designed for them two sound absorbing products that make use of the same Snowsound technology yet with a quite different language. Pli is the answer to an impossible challenge: to use an innovative technology to create an object perfect for my grand mother’s home a screen held together by elastic straps with details inspired by saddle makers. On the other hand Baffle is a technological product closer to Caimi Brevetti’ identity.
Are there any conceptual “contaminations” and common elements between the many design areas you deals with?
I often use solutions coming from other fields. These are cultural and technological migrations, for example a chair carried out in polyurethane, a material and technology I know very well because I was “born” as designer of ski boots.
Are there any Masters who have inspired your way of working?
I like to mention Buckminster Fuller, who created a shape through technical choices. I share this aspect of bricoleur that marked his work. However, now it’s absolutely necessary to have a know-how in fashion, to know what’s going on in the world.
How has the workspace vision changed in the past few years? and have these changes an impact on the new interior design and furniture products?
Cellphones are changing our society, but we can only design “normal” objects not reflecting smart technologies that run too fast..
Is there a sign, a “griffe”, that identify and characterize your products?
Not a sign, these solutions are against signs, they are products formed by many small solutions. (He touches his temple with a finger, to show his brain, editor’s note).
What scenarios and evolutions do you expect for the office and the ways of working in the near future?
When we sit down in our car we adjust the seat, the wheel, the mirrors, in the most advanced models the car starts automatically. Something like that should occur at the workstation; we have the technologies and we could customize everything, yet this link is missing because nobody organizes a project as an integrated solution.
Captions
1, Marc Sadler.
2, 3, Caimi Brevetti, Baffle (design Marc Sadler) patented system that allows to hang the sound absorbing panels Snowsound. The joint system between panels and cables is totally hidden.
4,5, 6, Caimi Brevetti, Pli (design Marc Sadler) sound absorbing screen made by Snowsound panels joined by belting and with details inspired by saddle makers. Available in 9 colors for panels and 3 for belts.
7,8, Caimi Brevetti, Big (design Marc Sadler), a metal bookcase that features solid uprights in extruded aluminium, “T” section, and shelves. Awarded Compasso d’Oro ADI 2008.
9, Calligaris, MS4 (design Marc Sadler) a one-piece chair in glass fibre reinforced polypropylene. The honeycomb surface is the visible face of a complex underlying structure and makes the seat feel as supple as a cushion.
10, IFI, Bellevue with Panorama technology (design Marc Sadler), ice cream display-fridge awarded Compasso d’Oro ADI 2014.
11, Pedrali, Tweet (design Marc Sadler), chair for contract made by bi-injected moulding polypropylene shell and steel tube frame. Available in one-color or two colors versions.
12,Gaber,Terrasse (design Marc Sadler) injection thermoplastic chair.
13, Dainese, motorcyclist’s back protector (design Marc Sadler)it is housed in the permanent collection of design at the MOMA in New York.
14, Foscarini, Mite (design Marc Sadler), this standing lamp is part of the design collection of the Beaubourg in Paris.