Is a chest of drawers just a box?

Robot, designed by architect Mario Botta in 1989 and reissued by Alias for this year’s Salone, challenges the notion of containment inherent among most storage furniture.

The very personable Robot, to the contrary, is free-form and free-flowing. A pared-down concept in which the only supporting structure is a central steel column, Robot shows you the drawers beyond the casing, offering, in the process, a dramatically different aesthetic.

Alias describes it as “deconstructed,”: “an object that doesn’t have a predefined shape, it may acquire a variety of shapes when you take out some or all of its drawers in various combinations… like a smart game of decompositions.”

Robot also offers a nice topper, of sorts, the superior end of the piece opens up to form a convenient writing desk.

Alias’ 2023 iteration of Robot is available in colored, stained solid ash. Get further details at Alias.