For many years, Danish textile brand Kvadrat had a presence in the US market through a close 18-year partnership with heritage brand Maharam, which ended in January 2021, after Maharam was acquired by Herman Miller. Kvadrat has been building its US presence with a partnership with Haworth, Inc. to provide a textile offering that coordinates with Haworth’s global product portfolio, and by building up its line of A&D sales representatives. The company has entered the U.S. market with a new strategically located headquarters in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and flagship showrooms in Los Angeles and most recently in New York.
During New York Design Week 2022, Kvadrat opened its new flagship New York showroom in midtown Manhattan, on tony Park Avenue, near design iconic buildings such as the Seagram Building and Lever House, and not far from the D&D building. The main area of the 8,000 square-foot space was designed by California industrial designer Jonathan Olivares. Combining two connected showrooms, each with their own entrance at 475 Park Avenue and 58th Street, the new flagship takes inspiration from the company’s ethos and emphasis on creative collaborations across the disciplines. An adjacent library-inspired area is designed by Belgian designer Vincent Van Duysen. “The opening of our showroom in New York marks our third space in the US and it is a very proud moment to see Kvadrat on Park Avenue,” said Kvadrat CEO Anders Byriel. “Jonathan has really embodied the Kvadrat spirit in the showroom; it is a space for our clients to meet, have conversations, work on projects; we will host workshops and exhibitions – it is a dynamic space.”
Olivares was inspired by the idea of a square in the design of the New York showroom: “Kvadrat is the Danish word for square, and the name was derived from the squares on gridded point paper, which was used to record textile patterns before computers,” Olivares said. “This history was important for me when designing Kvadrat’s first New York showroom, which I wanted to be a three-dimensional embodiment of the company.” The designer created an overall layout of the showroom based on a 6 foot x 6 foot grid, corresponding roughly to human size, and programmed the space to include the showroom, a textile sample room, corridors, stairs, meeting rooms, offices, and rest rooms, which are all set in a logical succession and within convenient proximity to one another. “I wanted to achieve an intuitive choreography of the space,” he noted.
The showroom is an open two-story light-filled space, outlined by an aluminum catwalk, and Olivares points out that in plan, the catwalk is square. The catwalk, as well as making an aesthetically pleasing showcase for the company’s upholstery textiles, curtains, and rugs, also invites visitors to consider art projects and exhibitions on show in the gallery area. Textiles can be easily hung and re-arranged in the space, simply draped over the catwalk’s guardrail. “The catwalk carries the metaphor of aircraft, flight, and blue skies—a gesture of optimism that I wanted to give Kvadrat for its foray into the US market,” said Olivares. The catwalk is built from solid aluminum plate, and bolted together like an aircraft body, and it is also painted with aircraft-grade paint in a shade of sky blue. “Sky blue is also the color of our atmosphere,” Olivares explained, “which is symbolic of Kvadrat’s commitment to sustainability, and the aluminum that the catwalk is built with is 100% recyclable.”
The showroom furniture, designed by Olivares and developed together with Moroso, was conceived for the space. The seating is an opportunity to carry Kvadrat’s textiles into the space, and allows the showroom to spotlight the full range of color in a specific textile. The resulting Square Chair—which also derives its shape and name from Kvadrat—is a flexible work-oriented chair that allows a variety of informal postures that are convenient for working and meeting.
Upholstered in every color of Twill Weave and Broken Twill Weave the array of Square Chairs offers a range of color that interplays with the hanging textiles along the showroom’s perimeter. “The chairs’ textile covers can be easily removed and replaced,” said Olivares. “And we imagine that we will introduce new textiles on the chairs over time.” A ground floor conference room is positioned with a view to 58th street and the upstairs offices and conference rooms are positioned with views to the showroom. “The offices and conference rooms are imagined as calming and restful places, and in contrast to the colorful showroom are somewhat neutral in color, adding to the sense of repose,” Olivares added.
The residential showroom with a separate entrance on 58th street, is connected to the contract showroom designed by Olivares, and is based on the idea of a library. The interior of the showroom, which conveys warmth, intimacy, and wellbeing, draws on the idea of the New York loft, as an open space with metal columns, typical of a Manhattan space. It showcases Kvadrat’s residential collections and brands: Sahco, Kvadrat/Raf Simons, Kvadrat curtains and rugs.
North America Key to Company’s Global Presence
In an exclusive interview, officeinsight asked Kvadrat CEO Anders Byriel about the company’s aim for the US market, which Anders seesas the last part of their full global reach: “We are market leaders in Europe and the biggest in Asian countries. Many of our most important relationships are American, so North America is key in our global presence,” Byriel said. “We opened a flagship showroom in Los Angeles in November and in New York last week. We have a full warehouse and customer support team in Grand Rapids, so we can ship samples and a part of our collections directly to our North American clients.”
The company plans to formally open a showroom in Fulton Market in Chicago, and will preview the new space during NeoCon this June. “Thereafter, in the coming years, San Francisco and Miami, to give the best service for the US design community,” said Byriel. “Besides sales, we look forward to continuing our dialogue with the art, design and architectural community in the US and to inspire and get inspired and create amazing projects together, both commercial and cultural.”
Officeinsight asked Byriel what were some of the strengths that Kvadrat has in comparison to other textile brands: “First of all, we are deeply imbedded in creative culture and trying to create cutting- edge design products,” said Byriel, who pointed out that the company has a very extensive product offering. “We design and create upholstery and curtain textiles of the highest quality, and through our different product lines we offer textiles for both commercial and contemporary spaces but also richer designs for high-end residential homes and boutique hotels.” He believes that Kvadrat offers “the best high performance metalized textiles that will help you control the climate indoors and lessen the need for either heating or cooling,” he explained. “Furthermore, we also offer acoustic solutions, architectural products made out of upcycled textiles, rugs, and bedlinen.”
Byriel also stated that another of the Kvadrat’s advantages is that it has a global network of 47 showrooms and an extensive team of knowledgeable salespeople to provide their clients with local support for their projects all around the world. Byriel shared that Kvadrat will soon launch a line of lifestyle accessories with Raf Simons.
When officeinsight asked Byriel how he saw the market shifting as we all come out of the pandemic, he pointed out that the company has seen a growth of 20% in business compared to last year. “We have all seen investment in residential spaces and this will continue to grow but slower,” Byriel said. “A lot of companies are investing in creating appealing, inspirational offices where their teams come together to collaborate and create. In general, we see a permanent interest in creating beautiful interiors with stronger aesthetics, and that is driving our growth,” he added.
Kvadrat Product Showcases this June
For many years, Kvadrat’s launches have been a must-see for anyone visiting Milan during Salone del Mobile. This year will be no exception. At the Kvadrat showroom on Corso Monforte (June 7-12, 2022), the company will be launching Quotes—a high-end residential curtain and rug collection exploring urban and organic experiences through bold graphics and vibrant material in contrasting color expressions. They will also be showcasing designs by Belgian artist Alain Biltereyst called Untitled – which translate the iconic graphic language of his paintings into the medium of fluid textiles. Also look for a new textile launch by Kvadrat and Raf Simons called Vanir, and a new rug called Dashes by Daniel Costa for Kvadrat Rugs.
Kvadrat Febrik is also collaborating with high-end Italian furniture maker Moroso to co-create a dramatic scenic installation, entitled Forest Wandering, to celebrate the launch of the Arda upholstery textile by the Swedish design studio Front at the Teatro Dei Filodrammatici (June 7-10, 2022). At the Moroso showroom on Via Pontaccio (June 7-12, 2022), visit the Kvadrat Really installation by Patricia Urquiola, showcasing Really materials made from textile ‘waste’ and shedding new light on creating balance in the environment. If that isn’t enough, during NeoCon next month, the Kvadrat pop-up at 1040 West Fulton Street in Chicago, will feature a selection of core Kvadrat products, the Square collection by Jonathan Olivares which were designed for the New York showroom, and Really.