Poliform Magnolia seating

A frame that thickens where the load is

Gallina took the flow of branches as the starting point, and unlike most furniture that claims a natural inspiration, this one carries it into the engineering. The frame is not a constant section: it swells where the joint takes force and narrows where it does not, so the eye reads lightness while the wood does the work. Stand behind the armchair and the taper is obvious.

The sofa pairs that visible wooden structure with soft cushions, which is a harder balance than it sounds. Too much padding and the frame disappears; too little and the piece is a bench. Magnolia sits close to the frame end of that range, so it suits a room where the furniture is meant to be seen from all sides rather than pushed against a wall.

The chairs repeat the same lines at dining height. Ordered in six they make an unusually light dining room, and because the structure is the design, they look better in a room with space around the table than in one where chairs are tucked in tight.

The sunbed is the piece that surprises people: iroko, with a reclining backrest whose mechanism is hidden in the frame, discreet cushioning and wheels at one end so one person can move it. Iroko is a dense hardwood that tolerates sun and rain, which is why it appears here and not in the indoor pieces.

The frame thickens exactly where a branch would, and thins everywhere else.