Marcello Ziliani: how to experience the outdoors in all seasons

24 September 2024

“A living space tout court”: this is the definition of outdoor by designer Marcello Ziliani who, in designing the Kilt collection for Ethimo, has conveyed emotions and functions. The former arise from a journey through the African savannah to discover a primordial sense of being. The latter arise from a reflection on the use of outdoor domestic space and the need to identify innovative materials and technologies to experience it in every season. Without neglecting sustainability, which is expressed, first and foremost, through the quality and durability of the furnishings.

What inspired the Kilt collection for Ethimo and what guided the choice of materials used?

Kilt was born on the wave of emotions experienced in the savannah of the great African parks, where you feel incredibly at ease because everything there is somehow traced back to the origins, to your origins. There is something primordial, sensual, profound. The senses are involved and attracted by the concreteness of what surrounds you, there are no filters, screens, interfaces.

I tried to make these sensations perceptible in Kilt through the materials, the shapes, the sensorial dimension, hoping to succeed, at least partially, in bringing back those atmospheres, those emotions.

The wood of Kilt is rough, to the touch and to the sight, the joints of the structure are elementary, “ancient”, the use of raw rope for the seat takes up the concept and the flavor of hand weaving, while on the backrest and the front legs it refers to the handles of the Masai spears. The shapes are also deliberately simple, the back legs that rise straight, converging, to fit into the pure arch of the backrest, the front ones that open welcomingly to support the armrests.

The frame under the seat also makes the structure extremely robust and resistant over time (durability is a primary quality in terms of sustainability), while at the same time allowing excellent stackability, an important quality in terms of functionality of use and reduction of spaces.

The entire collection, recently enriched by the generous daybed, is guided by the same concepts and the thing that I really like is that the result is surprisingly refined, elegant. Like the movements of animals in the savannah.

From the point of view of performance, are there any innovative characteristics in the materials and processes used?

There is the wisdom of craftsmanship applied using contemporary materials, with high performance and responsibly attentive to the environment, the teak used by Ethimo is FSC certified. A special feature of Kilt is the high level of comfort obtained without the use of cushions or padding, thanks to the dense weave of the seat and backrest ropes. This means not having to worry in case of rain and bad weather.

What are the priorities today when designing an outdoor space?

The experience of the lockdown, and at the same time the new sensitivity towards nature, have generated a strong desire for outdoor life as a means of well-being, relaxation and regeneration, but also an opportunity for activity and meeting.

This changed attitude towards outdoor space, which is increasingly conceived as a living space tout court, brings with it the concept of a sort of extension of living spaces, both private and shared, and this has led to a healthy contamination that has broken down the rigid barriers that separated the indoors from the outdoors, making typological, expressive and functional elements flow in both directions.

In this new scenario, we designers must be able to take up the challenge of responsible and innovative design, capable of interpreting and sublimating this desire to be outdoors also thanks to the availability of new and innovative materials and technologies, but also from a performance and expressive point of view but also, above all, in terms of concrete environmental sustainability.

Related articles