One size fits all: S•CAB

Only a couple of kilometres from Lake Garda, located at the foot of the Alps, lies the historic city and province of Brescia which dates back as far as pre-Roman times. Renowned for its well-preserved buildings and monuments, it is also a region known for its innovation and technology, with a particularly strong presence in the mechanical engineering sector. S•CAB has been located here, in the small town of Coccaglio, since 1957.

Francesco Battaglia, still President of the company, established S•CAB and it continues as a family story – now with his two daughters and nephew leading the way. Concerned about the needs of the market, S•CAB has always found great pride in bringing out products which echo the requirements and necessities of contemporary everyday life, while rethinking and widening their production potential. Perhaps for that reason, they recently decided to invite the Milan-based designer-duo, Meneghello Paolelli Associati, to set up a collaboration.

Sandro Meneghello and Marco Paolelli are industrial designers to the very core of the definition. Together they have run their studio for 15 years, building up an impressive portfolio of clients. It seems too fitting to be a coincidence that the duo set up shop in a former steam engine factory, Fabbrica del Vapore, the epitome of modern industrial evolution and mechanical production. Both a cultural centre and co-working space, the factories’ red-brick walls, grand ceiling structures and illuminated spaces, provide an excellent shell for a simmering and creative atmosphere.

‘We create products for production, not for image or concepts’, say the designers, ‘which is probably why our primary design is often so close to the final product’. Spending substantial time at the actual production site, gives the designers the best possible input to identify and recognise the challenges they are facing. ‘You have to understand how things are done – that’s the basis of the design,’ the duo specifies. They do not see themselves as artists, nor as engineers, rather somewhere in between, working simultaneously with innovative ideas, aesthetics as well as production optimisation.

In order to develop a chair, affordable to the end-consumer and advantageous in terms of production and logistics, the duo introduced an adaptable system rather than a stand-alone product, ‘one-size-fits-all’. The Si-Si chair consists of a frame and one single body – the body designed in a shape which functions both as a seat and as a backrest, the same element repeated twice. With this strict basic set of modules, they further-developed the aesthetics, designing the seat in various patterns, finishes and colours. It is the content, the very idea of meeting the industry and market needs, which makes this chair.

As a matter of fact, the new collection, Si-Si, was an idea born of the production process. The company, experienced in developing products made out of recyclable plastic, this time wished to unfold the possibilities of a collection in galvanised steel – a material new to their production, but fully in line with the market demand for furniture suitable for both indoors and outdoors. Meneghello Paolelli Associati perceive the restraints in production as the key to their creativity, to them the alchemy occurs when they are able to create opportunities within these parameters.

With the lines between indoor and outdoor increasingly blurring, and with the current obligations of more outdoor social activity, a cost-effective, durable and versatile furniture collection like Si-Si is most welcome.

© Architonic