Leave it to the Spanish to combine old world gambling with old world art, and leave it to Madrid-born Jamie Hayón to decorate said digs. Hayón recently updated the restaurant in the renowned Casino de Madrid, but not before he deftly fused his somewhat baroque ethos with the vaunted lineage of Danish design, as seen in the Favn sofa, a new piece for Fritz Hansen.

Favn Sofa. Designed by Jamie Hayón. Manufactured by Fritz Hansen.

The Favn Sofa Feels Like a Welcoming Embrace

Favn is the second hug-themed piece on 3rings this week (see Tuesday’s Hug Chair), but it’s the first to combine Hayón’s signature flair with exquisite Danish craftsmanship. The sofa has a slightly gothic aspect, its sharply tapered arms and back evoking the eerie vestments of certain rumored denizens of the Carpathian mountains.

But the dark side of Favn’s character ends there, for the rest of the story is comprised of an engaging palette of bright colors (light grey, sage green, clear beige, taupe, chocolate, moutarde, red, violet, dark blue and black) and a sunny collaboration between Hayón and Fritz Hansen. Says Hayón, “FAVN is picking up from the long tradition of Arne Jacobsen in the sense that I wanted to create a form that was based on a shell, like the Egg and the Swan which looks equally beautiful from all angles.”

Ditto for the multifarious Favn, which synthesizes the different materials to create an intriguing dialogue between hard and soft, as manifest in the progression from solid shell, to firm but comfortable seat and backrest, to downy-soft cushions. Favn—which translates as “Embrace”—thus functions as a metaphor for the very same: “I wanted the sofa to be based on a shell. A shell being hard on the outside, soft and welcoming on the inside. I wanted to create a form that embraces you, something really organic – that’s why we named it FAVN.”

Via InteriorsFromSpain.

About the Manufacturer: Approximately one hundred and twenty-five years ago, cabinet maker Fritz Hansen secured workshop space in the Copenhagen burb of Christianshavn. Some forty-five years later, son Christian began to experiment with steam bending beech. Fast forward to the new millennium and manufacturer Fritz Hansen has parlayed the under-pinnings of modern design into one of the most visible and renowned furniture brands worldwide. The roster of past Fritz Hansen designers includes such luminaries as Hans Wegner, Arne Jacobsen, and Verner Panton. Today, count on products designed by Kasper Salto, Morten Voss, and Jamie Hayón to bear the Fritz Hansen name.