For several years now, also thanks to the rediscovery of outdoor spaces connected with the pandemic, the outdoor furniture sector has been going through a moment of great vitality in terms of market offerings and design, with a focus on increased versatility. This is the direction taken by the Maximo sofa, presented by Nardi as a new entry at the Salone del Mobile.Milano 2024 and designed by Raffaello Galiotto.
With a structure in regenerated resin, Maximo is actually a modular system with infinite possibilities of combination, ready for configuration (and reconfiguration at will) in a simple way, for the residential and contract sectors. Versatility is a key to its success, together with sustainability, because it comes from recycled products and is easily recycled in turn. Making it a winner of the Innovation Award in Best of NeoCon 2024.
“The design is an evolution of Komodo, the first seating system we created with Nardi,” Galiotto explains. “We have expanded the basic module, from 70×70 to 80×80 cm: a larger, more impressive seat, implying a different user experience, less vertical, more relaxing. This is already an important qualitative difference, which has steered us toward a more linear, sophisticated design.” It’s a system formulated for outdoor living (materials and workmanship capable of standing up to rain and salt air).
Raffaello Galiotto
The designer continues: “Maximo is for use in the open air, but it can also be featured in an interior, as in areas with large windows that permit movement of furniture between inside and outside, perhaps in settings like verandas or greenhouses, for contact with nature.” The materials of Maximo have been studied on two parallel levels: practicality of use and sustainability. The structure is in regenerated resin and stands up to weather. All the upholstered pieces have removable covers for easy cleaning. The covering is in water repellent acrylic Sunbrella® fabrics, with 50% recycled and recyclable material.
The versatility and easy reconfiguration of Maximo are also sustainable traits. The system, in fact, lends itself to different, variable needs. Its adaptability facilitates reuse, even in private contexts, for people moving to a different home or rearranging their current décor and layout.
The attachment system for the various modules permits positioning of backs and armrests: it is fundamental, but also invisible. The designer remarks: “It is a solution that fills us with satisfaction; the design is functional, but it also displays very clean forms. We had to develop an attachment system that would be aesthetically integrated with the forms of the sofa: it seems simple, but it was actually very complicated to resolve.”
