컬렉션: Goula / Figuera Studio
Pablo Figuera (Madrid, 1988) and Álvaro Goula (Barcelona, 1989) are graduates in Design from the Elisava school and Bachelor of Arts from the University of Southampton. After working for a number of design studies in Barcelona, in 2011 they founded Fáctil Design and, a year and a half later, the Goula / Figuera studio. They also collaborate with digital magazine Obsessive Collectors and with the Trendhal trends observatory. The work of Pablo Figuera and Álvaro Goula focuses on an intermediate point between conceptual and commercial design, where industrial and business values come together with creativity.
When they design, Álvaro and Pablo hold fast to an inalienable principle throughout every project: obsessive care for the shape of the object, which manifests in its aesthetic values, according to them, through expression of the material, respect for the manufacturing process and, of course, utility. Their pieces are designed to be elegant and easy to understand, but always staying away from fun references, superfluous decoration and an effect seeming to go beyond their usefulness. Pablo Figuera and Álvaro Fernández-Goula have been recognised with several nominations and awards, among which are the Lexus Design Award (2013) and first prize from the Crítica Red-AEDE (2013) and the Injuve Prize (2012).
One often thinks of conceptual and commercial design as two contradictory terms, but the work of Pablo Figuera and Álvaro Goula finds itself in that intermediate point where commercial values and creativity meet and complement each other, creating a beauty business. “At the end of the day, people need beauty in their day to day lives, and businesses, as suppliers or creators of necessities, should provide beauty”. When designing, from the very beginning, Álvaro and Pablo anchor themselves in an inalienable principle: the obsessive care of the object's form, which manifests its aesthetic value in the expression of the material, the respect for the manufacturing process and, of course, its use. Their pieces strive to be elegant and easy to understand, with great care to detail, and honest but always avoiding fun references, superfluous decoration, and an appearance that goes beyond the use. They have never claimed to change the world through industrial design, but maybe, to make it a little more beautiful, a little easier to live in.
