For those of you asking what that fossilised-ammonite-looking sofa was at our storage last week... its actually made from polyurethane foam and is one of the most flexible sofas you could imagine (in concept). Designed by Cini Boeri, in 1970/71, whose focus on living flexibly lead her to design multiple pieces for Arflex (founded by a group of engineers from the tyre and rubber manufacturer Pirelli). The Serpentone (Big Snake, for obvious reasons) was made up of multiples of a single-mould-produced, lamella, structure that could be multiplied and glued together to form a sofa of any desired length. It could curve in any which direction, of varying radii, "from one room to another, from the house to the garden, going round corners, surmounting obstacles”. On display at Milan’s central Via Borgogna in 1971, where Arflex was based, and the following year at MoMA’s show in New York, ‘Italy: The New Domestic Landscape” the sofa caused a sensation. However, it was neglected by the market and never went into serial production (so says, The Design Museum), only ever produced for display at the shows mentioned. Quote and Image from: Domus Magazine, no. 505, December 1971. #ciniboeri #arflex #serpentone