During Milan Design Week, Bottega Veneta collaborates with Cassina and Fondation Le Corbusier and presents the installation On the Rocks inside Palazzo San Fedele. Under the Creative Direction of Matthieu Blazy, the installation focuses on LC14 Tabouret Cabanon, a timeless icon by Le Corbusier, reflecting the excellence of Cassina’s joinery. Designed in 1952, but reinterpreted in a contemporary key by the company in 2010, it demonstrates the foresight of this great theoretician of inhabitable space and architecture, capable of being a pioneer in revaluing anonymous design and inventing the true minimal complement in aesthetics and maximal in function.
Tabouret LC14 was originally designed in 1952 for the Cabanon, a cabin built by Le Corbusier in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin on the Côte d’Azur, where, alongside numerous fixed furnishings, movable furnishings are all conceived as boxes. A Spartan seat, yet refined thanks to the dovetail joints that emphasize the connections between the solid wood surfaces. The oblong hole on each face makes the historic Tabouret particularly manageable. On the Rocks showcases a selection of the special edition Tabouret LC14, first commissioned by Matthieu Blazy for the Bottega Veneta Winter 24 runway show, along with a new tribute in limited edition crafted in Bottega Veneta’s iconic woven leather workmanship. The wooden versions feature a special burned wood finish, inspired by a traditional Japanese technique that provides natural protection to the wood while revealing the characteristic grain patterns.
Simple, sophisticated, and versatile, the Tabouret is inspired by a wooden whisky crate that Le Corbusier found washed up on the rocks below Le Cabanon.
The name of the installation—where an original model of this box is displayed—recalls the origins of the Tabouret. The design features dovetail joints that emphasize the connections between the solid wood surfaces. The oblong hole on each face makes the historic Tabouret particularly manageable. The leather models are available in four colors: red, yellow, blue, and green. Each of these pieces is entirely covered with Bottega Veneta’s foulard Intreccio technique, handcrafted by artisans in the Montebello Vicentino atelier. A special brush technique coats the leather with colored paint, followed by a layer of black paint that is partially removed to create a unique and textured finish, making each piece a unique specimen: indeed, within the simple box-like volume, there is much more, and therein lies the synthesis of Le Corbusier’s idea of equipping living space.
On the Rocks is open to the public from April 16th to April 20th at Palazzo San Fedele, Milan.
For further information bottegaveneta.com.
