George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg on their ‘Surf’ sofa for Molteni & C. The company has released a video interview with the Canadian designers, discussing their work and inspirations
Yabu Pushelberg discuss their inspiration and design journey
From their beach retreat, Yabu Pushelberg discuss the origins of their collaborative practice and their design ethos, based on a ‘building block’ system, starting with simple ideas and essential concepts and adding visual complexity from there.
‘It’s curiosity that drives us,’ says Yabu, noting how growing up in Canada helped develop their aesthetic from something humble that ‘resonates with people around the world.’ Starting out as a two-person company, Yabu Pushelberg have gone on to design some of the most sophisticated interiors as well as elegant furniture, lighting and objects. ‘Our passion is not business, our passion is design,’ adds Pushelberg, noting how this passion has become the driving force that helped them achieve more complex projects since the studio’s founding in the 1980s.
The ‘Surf’ sofa by Yabu Pushelberg for Molteni & C, photographed at the designers’ beach house
‘Growing up in Toronto, at that time it was pure modernism, that really inspired us,’ says Yabu: the relationship between design and architecture has been very important to the duo, who, as Pushelberg puts it, their focus has been on ‘making things that are complete and this is part of the symphony of music of architecture and design.’
The designers mention their ‘Surf’ sofa, designed for Molteni & C, as a perfect embodiment of the current flexibility around life and work. ‘People want options for where they live, flexibility, and so that’s how we came up with ‘Surf’,’ says Yabu. ‘We live in a more fluid way, this is really like a piece of sculpture,’ echoes Pushelberg.
Yabu Pushelberg’s beach house, nestled within the dunes of Napeague Beach
The sofa is perfectly at home in their beach house: designed in collaboration with Stelle Lamont Rouhani Architects, the seafront home is nestled within the dunes of Napeague Beach and is defined by custom wood cladding that submerges the house in the natural landscape.
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