Dezeen Magazine

Martino Gamper's St Mark chair for Moroso is designed to be made from different materials

Movie: in our next exclusive movie for Moroso, Italian designer Martino Gamper explains how he designed his St Mark stacking chair to unify the appearance of indoor and outdoor cafe seating.

St Mark stacking chair by Martino Gamper for Moroso

The Italian designer's St Mark cafe chair features a curved backrest and rear legs made from a single piece of bent ash or tubular aluminium.

St Mark stacking chair by Martino Gamper for Moroso

Gamper says that he wanted to design a simple chair that would allow cafes or restaurants to create interior and exterior seating areas with a unified aesthetic.

St Mark stacking chair by Martino Gamper for Moroso

"There was the idea that this was such a simple chair that it could be used in different materials," Gamper says in the movie. "A restaurant or cafe could have the same chair inside and outside."

St Mark stacking chair by Martino Gamper for Moroso

"The bent wood chair is an indoor chair for cafes or restaurants, but also domestic use," he explains. "The metal version, which also has a perforated seat, is for outdoors."

St Mark stacking chair by Martino Gamper for Moroso

St Mark was launched this year by Moroso at the Salone del Mobile furniture fair in Milan, where this movie was filmed.

The chair is the London-based designer's first commercially produced piece of furniture for Moroso. However, he has previously worked with the Italian brand on a number of installations.

Moroso's METAMORPHOSIS_Behind, After or Beyond exhibition by Martino Gamper
Moroso's 2012 METAMORPHOSIS_Behind, After or Beyond exhibition by Martino Gamper

In 2012, he created a series of frankenstein furniture pieces by mixing and matching different elements from classic designs for an exhibition celebrating Moroso's 60th birthday.

He also collaborated with artist Peter McDonald to create a range of bespoke chairs for an installation in Moroso's Milan showroom in 2014.

"I've been working with Moroso for quite a long time," Gamper says. "Finally, I have a product in the fair!"

2014 Chair Lift installation by Martino Gamper and Peter McDonald for Moroso
2014 Chair Lift installation by Martino Gamper and Peter McDonald for Moroso

Gamper says that working with Moroso is like being "part of their family."


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"It's nice when you enter a place and you know the people and you can collaborate with them," he says. "You feel part of something."

Italian designer Martino Gamper
Italian designer Martino Gamper

This movie was produced by Dezeen for Moroso. The music used is a track called Qix by UK producer 800xL.

It is the latest in a series of movies about the Italian brand's 2015 products, which you can watch on our YouTube playlist: