Versatility and softness in form: this is Arflex’s Marenco, a timeless sofa
Unmistakable design, wide modularity, comfort, softness, experimentation and style. It is these characteristics that make the Marenco sofa, designed by architect Mario Marenco for Arflex, still a must-have in contemporary furniture.
Born in 1970, its creator in making it wanted to combine strength and comfort with the possibilities given by the use of metal tubing coupled with polyurethane padding. Each back, seat and armrest cushion is individually padded, upholstered and has a tubular support frame that simply slips onto the fixed poplar wood base.
Arflex Marenco and its Revolutionary System.
In fact, Marenco introduced a revolutionary system of assembling the cushions and armrests to the base. The cushions are simply tucked into a metal frame that increases rigidity and strength.
Although on paper it shows rigidity the large rounded shapes of the cushions, they hint at Marenco’s comfort and the fact that once you sit down you are enveloped as if in a hug.
The non-deformable, differentiated-density polyurethane foam padding allows the body to sink in comfortably, while the internal tubular metal frame ensures proper support.
Practical fully removable cover for the fabric version. Each individual element (back, seat and armrest) is individually upholstered and easily removable with the exception of the leather version.
In 2007 Marenco won the Wallpaper Design Awards Best Reissues.
The lesser-known face of Mario Marenco
Known to most as the face of television on irreverent and successful programs such as ‘High Appreciation’ and ‘Indietro Tutta,’ alongside Renzo Arbore, the designer from Foggia has left a remarkable contribution to the world of architecture and design. He graduated in architecture in 1957, in Naples, then obtained research fellowships in Stockholm and Chicago.
In 1960 he opened his own architecture and design atelier: the DEGW Studio, based in Rome. His activity in these areas, which he always pursued along with his artistic career, is evidenced by projects developed for well-known design brands.
Marenco also collaborated with major Italian automakers such as Fiat, Lancia, Alfa Romeo, and Ferrari on their exhibition stands. His design reflected this, simplicity and brilliance of form, the vision of environments and objects still linked to the Bauhaus purity of lines and ideas.
Marenco sofa produced by Arflex is its best portrait. Elegant, comfortable, affectionate. Eight pillows and an almost invisible structure, the quintessential design of the second half of the twentieth century.
Arflex, the perfect marriage of industry and creativity
It is a company that is the child of technological research, a brilliant expression of that encounter between industry and creativity that marked the birth of design.
The history of Arflex began in the 1950s, from the project of a group of professionals and technicians who grew up within Pirelli. Aldo Bai, Pio Reggiani and Aldo Barassi, these the founders, understood the potential of certain new materials, particularly foam rubber.
Production potential, first of all. But also expressive: many of the designers who began working with Arflex then, very young, are now considered masters. Others include Marco Zanuso, Franco Albini, and Cini Boeri. In 1995 the company-now a big name on the international design scene-was taken over by the Seven Group. Many historic pieces in the Arflex collection are periodically reissued, confirming the product’s unalterable value.
Arflex, an all-Italian story that began in the 1950s in a small factory in Milan, at Corso di Porta Vittoria, and immediately became a symbol of artisanal culture, experimentation and innovation, thanks in part to collaborations with top designers, who created iconic and timeless pieces that have entered the history of world design.
Arflex’s great strength has always been its ability to synthesize design, quality, use and color, which has made its furniture must-haves in the home.
