The Edition

Moroso has opened a new showroom in Manhattan designed by Patricia Urquiola, marking the 70th anniversary of the Italian brand.

The 4,300 square-foot showroom (400 square metres) has a double-height space that was previously occupied by an art gallery.

Despite its scale, Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola sought to replicate the feeling of a home, by setting up the furniture in smaller configurations that could be seen in a living room or another intimate setting.

The space is located at 105 Madison Avenue, in central Manhattan. It replaces the brand’s previous showroom in the SoHo neighbourhood, which opened in 2007.

“The new Moroso showroom in New York transcends the concept of the exhibition space,” said the Italian brand founded in 1952 by Agostino and Diana Moroso.

“[The showroom] introduces visitors to the company through a series of appealing domestic settings in which interiors in restrained colours heighten the appeal of the furniture on display,” Moroso added.

The team refinished the interiors with colourful pink finishes, new wooden floors and curved surfaces rather than corners.

“The interiors are reinterpreted with an emphasis on their gently curved contours and lack of sharp angles, while particular attention is paid to colour,” said Moroso.

Large columns within the space were finished with shiny, handmade terracotta tiles, complementing the prevailing colour palette.

Along the walls at the periphery of the space, Studio Urquiola created plant-filled alcoves, which help break up the space into smaller sections.

“Everything is studied in detail, and even the lighting is designed to make the space elegant and welcoming, while plants and niches create focal points in the different rooms,” said Moroso.

In addition to the main exhibition space, the showroom includes a smaller mezzanine at the back, where the brand can host architects or other design professionals for meetings.

The mezzanine space is divided into a lounge area, workstations and a glass structure with meeting rooms and a private office.

A blue staircase connects this level to the ground floor and to the cellar, which has larger pieces.

“Studio Urquiola’s architectural design alters the existing structure while maintaining its spatial characteristics, perfecting and emphasizing their soft, enveloping language with warm tones of terracotta and wood,” said Moroso.

The inaugural collection on display at the showroom includes a sofa that is meant to look like moss-covered rocks by Sofia Lagerkvist and Anna Lindgren of Swedish design studio Front, and a series of colourful furniture that was designed by Patricia Urquiola called Pacific, which is finished in wool upholstery.

Patricia Urquiola founded her eponymous studio in 2001, with her partner Alberto Zontone. The studio takes on architectural commissions, as well as designing furniture, products, and exhibitions.

Other projects by the Spanish designer include the Haworth Hotel in Michigan, which was revamped to become a “design showcase” and a table with mix-matched legs for Cassina.