20/03/2024 - Alki is celebrating two decades of its iconic Emea collection, designed by Jean Louis Iratzoki. With its precision assembly, the range of tables, chairs and stools features smooth, curved wood with a visible grain that reveals the material's natural beauty. The collection's archetypal design, merging contemporary ergonomics with a minimalist, subtly Scandinavian aesthetic, ensures its enduring relevance.
The built-to-last Emea collection embodies Alki's core values and commitment to elegance, comfort, durability and quality materials. Founded in 1981 in the Basque Country as a furniture manufacturing cooperative, Alki witnessed the sector's decline in the early 2000s, prompting the brand to pivot from traditional manufacturing to design-focused production.
Under Iratzoki's artistic direction, the Emea collection became the first of this new era, symbolising the metamorphosis of the cooperative. He describes the design as a "declaration of intent", a testament to Alki's transformation. He envisioned the Emea collection as "a sculptural exercise in simplicity", with soft, flowing lines resembling a figure carved from a single block. This was, according to the designer, "the first step towards a new universe that combines the know-how of woodworking with the language of emotions".
Exhibited at the Maison&Objet fair in Paris in 2004, it immediately attracted attention and quickly became a classic, with its first installation in the restaurant of the Chateau de Versailles. Since then, designers have used it in such prestigious venues as the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris, the Château de Fontainbleu, the Quiksilver Europe headquarters, and many more.
Former Alki CEO Peio Uhalde notes that although the Emea Collection celebrates its 20th anniversary, "it is still as stylish as it was in 2004".
Happy birthday, Emea!
Alki on Archiproducts.com
