Contemporary archetypes

Ten years of Tense and Flow! MDF Italia celebrates the tenth anniversary of two iconic products in its catalogue that have evolved over the years and have been able to tell new stories, keeping pace with the changes in places and people

What makes a product an icon? We asked two designers, and not just any two designers. We talked about this question with Piergiorgio Cazzaniga and Jean-Marie Massaud, respectively, the designers of Tense and Flow. Two MDF Italia products that celebrate their tenth anniversary this year, fearless in questioning their historicity and in confronting new experiments that have accompanied their process of affirmation.

Ten years after the original project, Tense and Flow collections share the scene with new expressions of their design, but the points of contact between the two products go far beyond: in fact, both were born from an idea of profound simplicity – on the one hand, the representation of a large table with four legs at the corners, on the other, a chair that was universally unique as well as comfortable – from which to undertake research on materials that could be developed that would be able to elevate the product beyond the known standards.

Tense fine wood with Flow slim color, Tense material (brass) with Flow stool by MDF Italia
Tense Fine Wood with Flow Slim Color; Tense Material (brass) with Flow Stool 

“Tense was born when MDF Italia considered the need to develop the table element (which has always been one of the company’s core products), which surpassed their previous way of doing things based on exposed structures – says Piergiorgio Cazzaniga – With my son Michele, co-designer of the project, we therefore thought about a hidden structure able to maintain the pragmatism of the design, but with an indispensable objective: it had to have a length of at least 4 metres by 1.5 metres, a dimension that had never been seen before for such a model.”
Experimentation therefore began with the use of aluminium, a material that could guarantee extreme lightness and flatness, despite having such large dimensions; it was followed by a study on the profile and the joint system. Thus, in 2009, the first Tense model in white Solid Surface was created, perfectly homogeneous, followed by a finish in Fenix matt grey and black, allowing us to have more colour options. “Both finishes guarantee not only the right opacity, but also extreme softness to the touch, a factor that creates wonder and evokes ancestral emotions”.

Tense intarsia and Tense material by MDF Italia
Tense Intarsia and Tense Material 

Emotionality given by the material and its profound naturalness plays a key role in the subsequent developments of Tense Material, in the finishes of stone (reconstructed from slate), wood (oak) and metal (a slab of brushed brass); Tense Carbon in black charred natural oak; up to Tense Intarsia, which applies Kandinsky’s “Point, Line, Surface” theory on a marble powder surface, to create a play of lines that generates ‘internal sounds’, therefore emotions, that are different for each person.

And it is always art that leads to the tenth anniversary milestone that is accompanied by new versions of the Tense table: starting with Diamond, which draws inspiration from Renaissance painting for the application of colour (red), subsequently refined with different layers of polished transparent resin; Tense Fine Wood in walnut, in addition to the new white Carrara marble powder finish. The family is completed – on the occasion of the Salone del Mobile – with the new Tense Outdoor proposals, the four new heights (in addition to the original 73 cm) for compositions of consoles, benches and coffee tables, concluding – for now! – with the exclusive Tense Curve with slightly arched edges.

 

Flow collection by MDF Italia
Flow collection by MDF Italia

A similar path, made up of experimentation and evolutions, is the one followed by Jean-Marie Massaud for the creation of Flow: “I yearned to create “The Chair” for MDF Italia: universal, since it is emancipated from the stylistic dogmas of an era; comfortable, thanks to its enveloping but pure shape; singular, that is, with a unique character due to the choice of an industrial solution and to the quality.” The result materialised in a sculptural seat characterised by a polycarbonate shell in white or black, which over the years has created an ever richer collection dominated by the concept of variety: from the version with internal padding, to the multiplicity of bases and finishes available (legs, sled, legs in steel or oak, LEM legs, 5-spoke with wheels or fixed, and lastly, one shaft), to the new color range.

From Flow Chair, the evolution to the Flow Slim, Flow Armchair, Flow Eco and Flow Stool models came naturally, thus defining the general character of the collection that, according to the ‘Massaunian’ concept, “seeks to escape from the diktat of the form to propose an elegant, timeless solution thus breaking the rules of standardisation.” A sensitivity that today perfectly meets the heterogeneous character of today’s spaces, no longer rigidly divided between public, private and office.

For the ten year mark, Flow has been celebrated with the new Flow 10th model with a methacrylate base, and Flow Textile, a completely upholstered version.The latest novelties make their debut at Salone del Mobile: Flow Filo (in steel wire with nickel or black chrome finish) and Flow Leather. The result is the answer to the initial question, extraordinarily shared by the designers of the two products: icons become icons over time, when the element maintains its usefulness and presence, continuing to offer functionality and emotions, creating stories.

Flow 10th by MDF Italia
Flow 10th