For its 70th anniversary, Moroso moves from its long-term location in Soho – once the home of the gallery of Murray Moss – into a new home in the city, in the heart of the design district of NoMad (105 Madison Avenue).
Opened on 14 October 2022 by the president Roberto Moroso, the art director Patrizia Moroso and the designer Patricia Urquiola, and festively greeted by the design community in New York, the flagship at 105 Madison Avenue reinterprets the spirit of the existing space, thanks to the inimitable approach of the Spanish designer and architect.
A project that stands out for soft forms, delicate hues of clay and wood, and a light stylistic touch that permeates every detail, transforming the showroom into a welcoming, sophisticated domestic setting.
Upon entering, one is immediately impressed with the large two-story open space, supported by structural members covered in handmade ceramics and organized in scenarios that immerse the viewer in a narrative of contemporary living.
This new reference point for the design community has three levels, connected by an electric glue metal staircase. Visitors are welcomed at the entrance by the “Gallery of Wonders” by More-So, an in-house division of Moroso – co-directed by Patrizia Moroso and Ron Arad – focusing on research projects to develop limited editions or one-offs of collectible design.
The name selected by Arad has a dual meaning: not just a reference to Moroso, but also the intention of making design enter a dialogue with philosophy, art, scientific research and architecture.
Avant-garde creations like the Nature Furniture Collection by the Swedish designers of Front, Sofia Lagerkvist and Anna Lindgren – presented for the first time at Design Miami/Basel 2021 and now on display in the Manhattan showroom – where natural settings are painstakingly and three-dimensionally transcribed in a large sofa and three ‘rocks’ of forceful visual impact. The idea is to shift natural beauty into furnishings.
In a tribute to diversity, the tableaux of the flagship store reveal the essence of the company, with areas set aside for professionals, workstations, meeting rooms and offices, filled with the collections that have written the long history of Moroso and its future: from the reception counter made in Paper-Factor – a material based on recycled post-industrial cellulose – to the chair and table designed by Jonathan Olivares; from the new Pebble Rubble system by Front – an evolution of their experimental works in terms of industrial production – to the Diesel Living with Moroso collection, as well as the historic products, the creations of Patricia Urquiola and other famous design stars, guided by the farsighted intuition of Patrizia. And by her unstoppable vision of creativity.
All photos, unless otherwise stated, © Alex Kroke
