It might seem like a paradox, but after having reached six decades of existence, Mara is becoming even more dynamic, flexible and farsighted. The remarkable heritage of the firm’s first 60 years offers a launching pad and a sturdy foundation, permitting the company to stand out in the panorama of furnishing systems and elements, driven by a force whose main factor is ongoing innovation.
Starting from a consolidated culture of product design, the company run by Luciano and Laura Marchina – respectively of its second and third generation – has now unveiled a ramified strategy of brand reinforcement and identity that reflects its avant-garde design approach and its vision projected into the future and new habitat trends. An image capable of narrating and accompanying a new chapter in the brand’s history, rooted in the founding concepts of “research and technology, quality, sustainability and service” within a perspective of growth, internationalization and digitalization.
A clear manifesto of this new direction is the renewal of the corporate showroom, in the historic headquarters at the gates of Brescia. A project of restyling and interior design by the architect Francesco Barbi (already a presence in the roster of creative talents of Mara) and by Matteo Salvi, Art Director and Marketing Manager of the company.
The theme “Moving Colors” defines the conceptual and spatial approach of the displays: delicate pastel tones create a setting in which the products of Mara stand out, with monochrome walls organized in labyrinthine inlets to capture the gaze, drawing attention to new creations and bestsellers for the office, the corporate world and collective facilities. All around, the pale glow of the architectural perimeters blends with the geometric lines of large full-height display blocks, which can be easily reconfigured to produce different, mutable tableaux.
Laura Marchina & Matteo Salvi
“For Mara, the showroom is a space of work and sharing, in which to live and with which to interact. Everything has been honed down to the smallest details: from the choice of materials, colors and finishes to the effects of light and shadow that bring out the stylistic particulars, generating a pleasing visual effect in an emotional environment – says Matteo Salvi. – In spite of the period in which we are operating, where the leading trade fairs have been canceled, we felt it was important to create an appealing location for encounters and interactions with clients and architects, a place to discover all the new developments in a condition of total safety.”
The space is not just a gallery of products, but also an inspirational setting for professionals, in which to combine the multiple expressive possibilities of Mara products, or to draw on the various suggested contexts of use. The showroom even makes it possible to observe the “immobile motor” of the company, thanks to a wide overview of its production.
Dynamism and flexibility are the corporate values that come alive in this exceptional location, as in the Mara collections themselves. One outstanding example of this semantic approach is Follow, the innovative line of tables featuring a built-in, patented mechanical system for height adjustment of the top (from 680 to 1180 mm) in total silence, without the use of electrical power. Other emblematic offerings include the space-saver systems – with vertical, pivoting and folding configurations – such as Argo, Timmy and Savio: solutions that adapt to the hybrid conceptions of workspace today, responding – as Mara already has in the past – to the increasingly timely needs of the home office.
“Our whole collection adapts perfectly to the new concepts of working space, but for us it was not necessary to adapt our production to this evolution, because our creations already have the versatility required in both the home and the office – says Laura Marchina. – For Mara, the innovation lies precisely here: foreseeing trends, investing in machinery and applied intelligence to create projects of exceptional complexity, which can help people to live in new ‘hybrid’ environments, improving health and performance.”
Another remarkable area is the educational division, where patented Mara systems applied to single-student desks (on wheels, with folding tops) have provided a timely solution during the current health crisis.
A snapshot of this phase of renewal of corporate image can be seen in the new Mara advertising campaign: 60 years summed up in a composition in black and white, in a tribute to the new creations and the iconic achievements; an installation that is apparently simple in its form, playing with pure geometric lines and neutral colors, while concealing a patented universe of technological innovation, the true heart and soul of Mara.
Photo credits © Mattia Pagani
