Catalan designer Eugeni Quitllet defines himself as a ‘disoñador’ – a dreamer who shapes matter to give form to new realities and an optimistic vision of the future. His approach synthesizes form and function with an explosive and sinuous elegance, creating international bestsellers. His long and fruitful collaboration with Pedrali represents a path of continuous evolution that has given life to iconic chairs like Soul, Remind, and Souvenir. At the latest Salone del Mobile, this partnership was enriched with a new chapter: the Libre chair. A project that, as the designer explains, is the synthesis of a decade of technical, aesthetic, and emotional research, and which embodies a deep and tangible concept of freedom. A freedom that is not only expressed in the object’s versatility of use but is also rooted in the creative process itself. Indeed, Quitllet champions the value of ‘feeling’ over ‘thinking’ – an emotional intelligence that, in an era dominated by AI, stands out as the only force capable of generating true originality. It is the ‘magic’ of inventing what does not exist, a pure creative act that stands against the world of copies in order to remain, precisely, free.
PedraliGentleHabitat – Photo © Ottavio Tomasini
What is the inspiration behind the Libre project?
The inspiration comes from who we are: from humanity, creativity, the present, and the future. But it also responds to a practical need: to create a new design that offers a freer way of using it. For this reason, the chair’s design was born simultaneously with its name, ‘Libre,’ which represents the very concept of freedom. It’s the freedom of movement, the freedom of space, and the freedom of the place where you will use it. It is neither an indoor nor an outdoor chair; it serves both purposes naturally. We wanted to create, with a single object, a freedom of movement that would allow us to handle it freely from any angle. The structural element of the chair thus also becomes what gives it agility and comfort. It creates a more generous space; it protects and envelops you. In all my chairs, I try to include this roundness that welcomes you, that creates a cocoon of comfort and sensuality. In this case, this element is precisely what drives the innovation: it connects the front to the backrest, providing rigidity with a very light element, which reinforces the organic idea of something that grows from the ground and forms around you.
From a production standpoint, is it a complex project?
It is very complex. We have been collaborating with Pedrali for 10 years, from the first Soul chair to Remind and Souvenir. The Libre chair is somewhat the culmination of this journey, a project where we have concentrated all the elements of innovation developed over these years, on an aesthetic, emotional, and technical level. Technically, it is one of the most complex chairs we have ever made. It required one of the most challenging molds to achieve such organic and harmonious lines in a single monobloc piece. Every part is designed with the same care, even the underside that you don’t see. It is stackable up to seven high, which is very practical and also ecological because it reduces volume for transport. The key element, however, is what gives us this freedom: being able to grab it from anywhere and take it with you to the space you prefer. When you ask if a chair is free, this chair is free. It gives you the freedom to go wherever you want.
Libre 595 by Pedrali, design Eugeni Quitllet – Photo © Omar Sartor
Libre 590 by Pedrali, design Eugeni Quitllet
How important was Pedrali’s role in the industrial development of the product? Did you push their technologies to the limit?
Absolutely. This is the type of project I prefer because it responds to the most demanding challenges: resistance for outdoor use, lightness, technique, and the quality of a material that allows for the creation of a timeless product, one that lasts. The style and beauty of the product also make it ecological, because it is an object you will keep and use for a much longer time. A project like this can only be realized with companies that have Pedrali’s technical capacity, which possesses an extremely high level of industrial knowledge in monobloc injection molding. With this technique, we pushed the limits of what is possible. I always like to work on that line where the impossible begins, where they tell you, “this can’t be done.” It is right there that we perfect the details to make it feasible. For me, the void is as important as the solid part; it is a material part of the object. Being able to combine voids and solids with this harmony is something few companies can do. Today, reinventing an everyday object like a chair, bringing something new and meaningful that improves our daily lives, is very difficult. This is one of the chairs in my entire career that has made me ‘suffer’ the most to achieve this freedom. But I believe freedom is precisely that: an exercise, a journey.
Libre collection by Pedrali, design Eugeni Quitllet – Photo © Omar Sartor
You speak of an almost instinctive process, based on ‘feeling’ rather than ‘thinking.’ In an era dominated by Artificial Intelligence, what is the value of this emotional approach?
My creative process is not an evolution toward a goal; the goal builds itself in my mind or my heart, and when it is mature, it emerges already finished, in its final form. I simply follow that exact image that appeared to me. I don’t want to ‘think’ about things; I prefer to ‘feel’ them. The name illuminates the path, and the path illuminates the name; they go together. It is freedom that gives the form, and it is the form that gives freedom.
Artificial Intelligence cannot do this. This is emotional intelligence (EQ), which has more value today because it allows you to adapt, to correct, and to create freely. We are not conditioned by an information core like AI; we have the freedom to invent something that doesn’t exist, and that is the magic. Today, it is fundamental for a designer to create in a 100% original way. Otherwise, we are flooding the world with copies and imitations, killing what can be born organically and naturally, which is what we are. I hope this chair will open a new path for us to continue to be free.
