Natuzzi unveils the redesign of the iconic Sound Chair

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) December 26, 2011 --

Natuzzi, a luxury Italian furniture brand, and partners of the Index exhibition 2011, unveiled the redesign of Natuzzi iconic Sound Chair by Students of Manipal University students at its Dubai showroom on Sheikh Zayed Road. Winners of the Student Design Challenge 2011 at this year’s Index exhibition; this design team was awarded an opportunity to re-create the Natuzzi Sound Chair and win an internship program to gain insight and product knowledge of the Italian brand. For the Natuzzi Sound Chair challenge, the students had complete creative freedom to explore and unleash their creativity to remodel the iconic piece. In a bid to support the Dubai Cares “Education Campaign For the Girl Child”, sale proceeds from the campaign will be donated to the organization in an effort to promote talent and education. Organized by DMG Events as part of this year’s INDEX , the students’ challenge received various design schools across the UAE, who competed in the competition based on “Reuse, Reduce & Recycle”, to produce a product in interior design application. Design students from Manipal University scored highest in this Student Challenge to secure their win. Franzita Fernandes, Inshia Shabbir, Tooba Sarfaraz, Tasneem Mustafa, Ummu Habeeba, Jamila Hassanali and Shazia Fazlullah make up the super team from Manipal University.

“Redesigning someone else’s piece of art is a great challenge because you are forced to remain in line with their interpretation and this contest was no different. The team from Manipal did an outstanding job of re-designing the Sound Chair to enhance its essence and we are very pleased with the results. Natuzzi has always been a brand that explores creativity and pushes the boundaries of contemporary design. This partnership is in line with the brand’s philosophy and it allows us to nurture young creative minds. Having this store as a venue to promote talent and education is an encouraging experience and one that we will continue to support” said Mr. Mikdad Bhabrawala, General Manager, Natuzzi .

The Natuzzi Iconic Sound chair is an embodiment of relaxation and hi-fi that brings entertainment to a new dimension; easy listening is now plugged into your seat. The Natuzzi Sound Chair is designed with built-in loudspeakers that can be connected to mp3 players or any other mini-jack plugged entertainment device and with an easy function.

Using Arts and Music as their inspiration the Manipal design team combined the comparison to two formal elements. Just as every 'piece' of art is intentionally and delicately composed-the same can be said about symphony. The Sound Chair gives the designer an opportunity to fuse the dynamics of art and music into a 'piece' of furniture, devoid of rigidity of form or perception! Art forms have seen continual evolvement and here, the abstract composition of the chair, wax lyrically, the principles of organic design, rhythm and harmony! Each curve in the chair, inspired by undulating sound waves and the careful fusion of geometry, has been intended; the burst of colour has been put, because it simply belongs there! Just as music and art transcend all boundaries, the overall impact of the chair is meant to serve as a style statement-“an iconic investment”! This art of composition will be made using a single dynamic silhouette, composed of steel Hex-Bolts, in sizes varying from M2-M12, all along structured profiles. Just as music is coherent, intriguing and satisfying, they have tried to incorporate the finer nuances of one art-form into another. The chair embellished with rhinestones in red, white, maroon or black holds promise to be a true musical compilation from a different sort of artistic viewpoint!

"This was a great opportunity for us to explore our creativity and work on a great brand. Redesigning the Sound Chair was exceptionally challenging as we wanted to maintain the equity of the product yet inject our own influence without taking away the original design. We went through several sketches and alternatives and we are proud with the final design" said The Design team, Manipal University.

The stunning re-designed creation of the Sound Chair will be showcased in Natuzzi’s Store on Sheikh Zayed Road and the sale proceeds of the piece will go to Dubai Cares in support of their international campaign “Education for Children”. Additionally, Natuzzi has also committed to donate a portion of revenue between November to December 2011 to Dubai Cares as part of their CSR commitment to the region.
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