The Cassina Perspective 2020

Cassina Lab. Analysis and research to design the future of Cassina and the future of the home

We are thinking about the future, to find conscious alternatives and develop products that promote both sustainability and well-being. Cassina LAB is a collaboration between the Cassina Research and Development Centre and Poli.design at the Milan Polytechnic born with the aim of improving the quality of life in the home.

A one-of-a-kind scientific research has been launched to fully evaluate Cassina’s production, industrial and logistic system in order to map the principal areas where the company can carry out research and development, this includes sustainability, innovation, technology, comfort and experience.
The main objectives of the project are to identify innovative and sustainable materials to use in the creation of products, both new and existent, and to develop new projects capable of offering original functions that favour well-being.

The core principles of the research are founded on three levels, three pillars to start building our future, presented in a first selection of products for the 2020 Collection.

Luca Fuso

Cassina Chief Executive Officer

Davide Bruno

Professor Politecnico di Milano

Sustainability

To define a product sustainable, a simple principle should be applied: minim environmental impact + maximum performance. In addition, the sustainability of a product or material also goes hand in hand with its ability to perfectly fulfil the characteristics necessary for the product throughout its whole life cycle. Poli.design started the research with an in-depth analysis of Cassina’s products

to evaluate materials, manufacturing processes and technologies in order to better understand Cassina’s status quo and define a starting point.
Cassina also carefully analysed its logistics, distribution and supply chain policies that contribute, together with the products, to a holistic approach to carbon print reduction.

It’s also important to remember that the best sustainability starts from a project made to last a lifetime, a design that doesn’t follow fashions or trends but that can be considered timeless, thus making it an integral part of a responsible consumption cycle.

Research of new
materials

Innovation is key, especially in a historical moment like this when it is important to reconsider our relationship with the environment. This exploration stimulated research and development of different materials, also used in other sectors, to find innovative solutions to be used in the furniture field.

This has already resulted in the use of some new materials in the 2020 Collection such as a 100% recycled fibre, made from PET mainly recovered from the sea, that has been incorporated in the cushion padding of the Sengu Sofa by Patricia Urquiola, the Duc-Duc sofa by Mario Bellini and Mex-Hi sofa by Piero Lissoni.

Well-being

Well-being is a factor that can enhance the value of a project, especially if it is generated by innovative and eco-compatible solutions that can guarantee new functions that optimize the concept of comfort and environmental quality.

Thanks to the analysis carried out by Poli.design, the first tangible intervention has been introduced in ‘The Cassina Perspective at Night’ collection where air purification and sound absorption features have been applied.

Air purification
Cassina’s new collection for the sleeping area proposes an air sanitisation mechanism that can be integrated in the fabric headboard of the Bio-mbo bed by Patricia Urquiola and in the fabric headboard cushions of the Acute bed by Rodolfo Dordoni. theBreath® purifying fabric is the first patented technology with zero emissions for air purification that works without energy sources. The fabric captures and disintegrates pollutants favouring the natural circulation of clean air to create a healthy and safe habitat.

Sound absorption
Noise pollution was also examined for the new Cassina bedroom collection. A sound absorbing panel has been integrated in the Bio-mbo headboard by Patricia Urquiola to respond to problems created by noise and make the space around the bed more comfortable from an acoustic and, as a result, physiological point of view. This is made with Soundfil®, a hygienic, breathable and non-toxic sound-absorbing thermal insulator that contains and decreases the reverberation of sound frequencies.

LC2 and LC3 Fauteuil Grand Confort Durable: a new environmentally friendly edition

These models, designed almost 100 years ago, have undergone a thorough analysis, in collaboration with the Le Corbusier Foundation and heirs of the co-authors, to be renewed in a new version that has a low environmental impact and high level of comfort: these icons in fact represent a new era of avant-gardism.

The new LC2 and LC3 Fauteuil Grand Confort Durable editions by Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand feature a 100% recycled fibre, made from PET mainly recovered from the sea, in the cushion padding and environmentally friendly polyols, deriving from bio renewable sources, integrated into the foamed elements.