Transforming the mundane into a joyful playground for the imagination, Brazilian design studio Alva (founded by architect Marcelo Alvarenga and artist/stylist Susana Bastos) forms furniture that offers both fun and function.
Producing a mini poolside world, Alva’s Piscinas collection features five designs created for use as tables/seating, each of which are tiled and shaped to mimic swimming pools. Including unusual shapes, such as sunken interiors and sloping sides, Alva seeks to encourage exploration and creativity around standard everyday objects, twisting reality and inspiring invention.
The tiles that decorate the surfaces of the Piscinas collection are all sourced from ’tile cemeteries’ (cemitério dos azulejos) in Brazil where discontinued patterns and vintage tiles are stored, with plain blue and white squares selected for a pool-like look.
Four of the five designs – Piscina Azul, Quadrado Amarelo, Rampa Cinza, and Raso Rosa – are designed for use both indoors and out, whilst Fundo Azul with its natural wood veneered MDF top is only suitable for use indoors.
A new post by Hanna Simpson, Diary of a Tile Addict, November 2023.