Atal stool

The Basque furniture manufacturer Alki will launch a collection of seats in partnership with the studio Form Us With Love for the Milan Furniture Fair.

Founded in 2005, Stockholm-based design studio Form Us With Love creates items of furniture, lights and other objects used in daily life. The studio works on projects with meaningful designs that are accessible to a wide number of people. The breadth and depth of their approach and pure appeal of their creations were determining factors in Alki’s choice.

The challenge put forward by the Alki cooperative was to design a chair combining solid wood, their favourite material, with metal tubing. The objective was to create a broad range encompassing a lounge chair, stools and various models of stackable chairs.

Form us With Love came up with a family of items based on a single wooden shell that, tilted and positioned differently, fulfils all these functions… So, the Atal range is made up of a straight, high stool, a welcoming armchair, a simple chair and an inviting, comfy lounge chair.

Nowadays, communal spaces need to be flexible. Getting together or keeping yourself to yourself, working or relaxing: the range of possibilities and seating positions expected from these places is increasingly broad. The Atal Collection meets these changing requirements.

“Design of the Atal series was guided by two major factors,” explains Jonas Pettersson, CEO of Form Us With Love. “Firstly, the Alki cooperative’s outstanding expertise in working with wood and, secondly, the changes observed in how communal spaces are used. So we considered different postures and, therefore, seat angles from the on-task, upright working position to the casual, stretched-out position.”

With this new collection, Alki continues to develop its offering for communal spaces, especially areas of intense use. The different pieces in the Atal Collection smoothly cohabit to create an elegant, cohesive set. The oblong metal tubing is designed for heavy use and, in this collection, is combined with solid oak and upholstery.

“Today, interior architects look for seating solutions that fit numerous types of spaces and functions. With the five pieces in the Atal Collection, we believe that we meet this wide range of needs. From the company cafeteria to the meeting room, from the hotel lobby to the restaurant: they can be easily integrated in both private and communal areas. Especially since the range can be easily customized thanks to numerous combination possibilities: lacquer on metal frames, tinted wooden shells and upholstered coverings.”

Peio Uhalde, CEO of the Alki Cooperative.