Milan 2016: Danish design brand Hay has unveiled its 2016 furniture and homeware collection as part of a huge exhibition in Milan, which includes hole-punched chairs by Scholten & Baijings and a customisable sofa by the Bouroullec brothers (+ slideshow).
Hay is debuting the collection in an installation at the city's La Pelota venue, where British designer Sebastian Wrong is also launching his new lighting brand in partnership with the Danish company.
Also among pieces in Hay's latest range is a flat-pack customisable sofa designed by French duo Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec.
The 13Eighty plastic moulded chair by Dutch designers Scholten & Baijings is named for its thousands of perforations, designed to help water drain off. The seat is stackable, and comes with either powder-coated steel or wooden legs. It can be purchased with or without arm rests.
"The tiny holes give the chair a characteristic aesthetic, where the transparency and play of light and shadows add to the chair's expression, while the variations in the sizes of the holes bring a sense of movement to the visual appearance," said the designers.
Copenhagen studio Iskos-Berlin's Soft Edge series features stackable moulded plywood chairs with curved backs.
"It is a very light chair, there is really nothing, no meat," said studio co-founder Boris Berlin. "The way we bent three dimensionally, closing from all sides, gave us the possibility to make very thin items."
Items from Hay's existing line include London studio Doshi Levien's 2014 Uchiwa lounge chair. It features a foam-upholstered seat with seams finished in piping, and an injection-moulded shell. It takes its name and shape from a hand-held Japanese fan.
Other pieces on show include Inga Sempé's ribbon-wrapped mirrors, the Bouroullecs' slatted Palissade outdoor furniture, and Lars Beller Fjetland's self-extinguishing Moment candlestick.
Everything is displayed in the 2000-square-metre La Pelota exhibition space, which has been divided into individual "rooms", connected by steps.
"Doing Pelota is like climbing a mountain, and we decided not to do a mountain but dig into the space," co-founder Rolf Hay told Dezeen.
"We decided to level out the space and then we created staircases, which you can walk down and look at the products," he added. "In that way we have created ten independent environments, all quite different."
The space also includes a Mini Market, where visitors can buy a selection of Hay accessories, textiles, and other products curated by the brand.
The entire collection is on show at La Pelota, Via Palermo, during Milan design week from 12 to 17 April 2016. Other furniture-focused exhibitions around the city include Gufram's 50 Years of Design Against the tide, which brings together classic pieces alongside new work, and Dutch brand Moooi's 2016 collection, which includes an upended sofa.
Hay was founded by husband-and-wife team Rolf and Mette Hay, along with Troels Holch Povlsen, in 2002. During a recent interview, the duo told Dezeen that Chinese consumers are developing a taste for western furniture and lifestyles thanks to Ikea.
For job opportunities at Hay, visit their company profile on Dezeen Jobs.