Virtual Salone Milano 2020: KETTAL, timeless sophistication for unique outdoor spaces

Founded in 1964, the Barcelona-based KETTAL has turned over the years into one of the most internationally renowned companies in the outdoor sector. Its product range, which is suitable for both home and commercial use, stands out for being timeless, innovative, expressive, and functional – all of them features that merge to create charming yet comfortable settings in the outdoors.

KETTAL BAND dining set | Patricia Urquiola

Excellence in design and quality is crucial to the brand and is pursued through important collaborations with big names of the international design scenes – Patricia Urquiola, Doshi Levien, Jasper Morrison, Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, Hella Jongerius and Rodolfo Dordoni, among many others. All of them have contributed to enriching the brand’s catalogue with products that are expression of the contemporary culture and provide solutions to the emerging need of modern lifestyles.

KETTAL PAVILION. Pavilion H | KETTAL Design Studio| KETTAL BOMA outdoor lounge collection | Rodolfo Dordoni

Yet KETTAL’s ambitions are not only limited to launching gorgeous design pieces: with each new collection, the firm also strives to discover and deploy new materials and finishes, while remaining true to its central credo of caring for the environment by using 100% eco-friendly paints and wood coming from forests protected by the Perurn Perhutani certification.

KETTAL METEO parasol | Konstantin Grcic | KETTAL ROLL outdoor lounge furniture | Patricia Urquiola

The firm is constantly launching products that adhere strictly to the brand’s identity and harmonise with each other, offering real value to their customers. In new collections architecture, landscape design, colours, textures and quality, weather-resistant materials combine to create unique, very personal experiences in the outdoors while providing spaces with a timeless, sophisticated charm.

VDL Penthouse and Pavilion. By Dion & Richard Neutra

Based on the Glass Penthouse crowning architect Richard Neutras’s VDL Research House II in L.A.’s Silver Lake neighborhood, KETTAL has produced two replicas of the building working in close collaboration with Neutra’s son Dion: a true-to-form building called the VDL Penthouse, and another version with no glass sliding doors called the VDL Pavilion.

KETTAL PAVILIONS. VDL penthouse | Dion & Richard Neutra

The replicas align with Dion and Richard Neutra’s original design and Neutra’s architectural theory of Biorealism that fostered the interconnection between architecture and natural environment, a link that he believed fundamental and requisite to human well-being. KETTAL’s renditions reproduce the original interior layout while bringing the house technologically up to date. An automated smart home system has also been designed to control the lighting, air conditioning and heating, among other things.

KETTAL PAVILIONS. VDL pavilion | Dion & Richard Neutra

Both replica structures are designed to be ordered and installed in a variety of spaces, such as gardens, on rooftops or as part of existing properties. They will be a perfect setting for some of the latest collections of the brand, namely the BAND, MOLO, VIMINI, ROLL and BITTA collections, with the BELA and HALF DOME lamps setting the mood…

KETTAL BAND chair family. By Patricia Urquiola

The new BAND seating collection is both attractive and comfortable; it stands out for the great personality and the authentic charm that all Patricia Urquiola’s creations instill.

KETTAL BAND lounge chairs | Patricia Urquiola

With BAND the ingenious designer has achieved to deconstruct the form of a classic chair by breaking down the structure into individual pieces and then reassembling them as a schematic presentation of its core materials: aluminium, teak wood and the amazing Terrain fabrics.

KETTAL BAND chairs | Patricia Urquiola

BAND is available as a club armchair and a dining chair, both in multiple finish and upholstery options.

KETTAL MOLO collection: modular sofas, deckchairs and centre tables. By Rodolfo Dordoni

Designed by Rodolfo Dordoni, the KETTAL MOLO seating collection for outdoor spaces emphasizes modularity and geometry through its strictly rectangular pieces. It is formed by modules which are both aesthetically minimal and intentionally oversized, providing a clean-lined and comfortable setting.

KETTAL MOLO outdoor lounge collection | Rodolfo Dordoni

Adaptable to evolving spaces, each piece can be taken apart and re-organized easily, creating new uses and configurations. Manufactured in aluminium, teak, concrete and durable Terrain fabrics, the series includes sofas, a deck chair and a low-slung centre table.

KETTAL METEO parasol collection. By Konstantin Grcic

Formerly launched in 2018 and aimed at unleashing the parasol’s potential, the METEO parasol marked the first collaboration with German industrial designer Konstantin Grcic who created a renewed approach to this specialized product category – which, by the way, are once again on-trend for the furnishing of modern cityscapes, recreational resorts and private terraces.

KETTAL METEO parasol | Konstantin Grcic

With the new update to the collection, Grcic has banished once and for all the cumbersome base that characterised so many designs and has cleverly made use of the dead space below the sunshade, creating a sleek daybed, table and planter that can be attached to the base. Each of these components come in a wide range of finishes, and are available in all of Kettal’s cheerful, pigmented colourways.

HALF DOME lamp. By Naoto Fukasawa

Based on his perception of the moon’s shape and its fluctuating dimensions, Japanese industrial designs Naoto Fukasawa’s HALF DOME lamp suspends its light source from a slender arm and is a perfect option for an outdoor lounge area.

KETTAL HALF DOM floor lamp | Naoto Fukasawa

The aluminum lamp is available in two versions and 34 colors.

BELA indoor/outdoor lamps. By Doshi Levien

Back in 2017, when Doshi Levien designed BELA ropes, an outdoor material for Kettal, the designer had a hunch that the handwoven material could be applied to other products. Two years later, from the same material the design studio created the BELA lamps, a line of lamps available in 17 colours that can be placed directly on the floor, suspended or used as a standing lamp in both indoor and outdoor contemporary spaces.

KETTAL OBJECTS. BELA standing and floor lamps | Doshi Levien

Levien was inspired by an annual kite festival in her native India made up of wooden kites that are illuminated from within.

More information: www.kettal.com