Ramón Esteve has always worked with Cartesian geometry. With Mel, he follows the curve, and the new modular family puts the upholstery center stage.
The first Mel was born from rotomolding and tubing, with large frames that borrow their proportions from traditional rattan furniture. The expansion keeps the name and starts from a different place. Ramón Esteve wanted the upholstery to lead, “because it feels much warmer.”
Cushions on a Frame
The new Mel is modular. A rotomolded base serves as the frame and the upholstery sheathes it, so the piece reads as a classic sofa. In fact, in the designer’s words, it is made of “cushions simply dropped onto a frame.” Behind it is a highly technical solution that, once you sit down, feels warm and empathetic.
Esteve talks about two kinds of comfort. Physical comfort is a given in any sofa; visual comfort depends on form, and Mel pursues it through enveloping volumes and carefully judged proportions. For him, proportion is what decides whether a piece is beautiful, and Mel’s are meant to stay with you.
From Grid to Curve
“I’ve always worked with a very Cartesian geometry, and now I’m exploring curves.” Mel is where that search leads: arms that round off until they wrap around the body, and a presence Esteve calls “almost voluptuous.”
Here the curve has a job to do. In the geometric, architectural spaces the studio tends to design, Mel brings “that touch of flow, of fluidity, that is so warm and so necessary for living.” That is why he describes it as an empathetic, easygoing collection.
