Alfredo Häberli Design Development

In architecture, the terms «floor, wall and ceiling» are used frequently. Space is defined by these elements; surfaces limit volumes and surround us. Feet touch floors and walk across them, thus lending them a special role – not least because, consciously or not, we look at floors when finding our way. Architectural plans also define the size of a space, primarily, by determining the size of a floor. Seen from this perspective, floors are the decision-making element of rooms. A floor needs to have an impact, trigger a feeling, and emphasize the character of a room. For me, it is very important to ensure a sound balance between character and neutrality. A successful design is also an ambivalent one: it needs to simultaneously adapt and exert restraint; it needs to be in place and also be recognizable.

In my quest for motives, observing and researching, it became increasingly clear to me that I did not want a computer-generated design. I did not want a graphic designer’s draft on a screen; a draft easily recognizable as such. I wanted to refrain from any such associations with designer floors. Thanks to several experiments carried out in a corresponding kitchen and the testing of innumerable color and painting support combinations, I was able to define a distinctive graphic structure. Often, this process involves not thinking but simply going with the flow, observing and continuing with the work. The result were structure pictures that served as a basis for geometric graphics.

One of the most iconic plastic floors is the «Pirelli Floor», designed in the 70s. I have been looking into dots and their spread for quite a while now, which is why, I wanted to pick up on this point. Thanks to the irregularity of the pattern, however, my reinterpretation reminds you of domino pieces that were placed next to each other. In wood parquet floors, the geometry of dots is ensured in form of depressions, grooves of very low depth. This ensures order within the chaos – only visible at second glace. Moreover, the pattern never becomes boring and hopefully also never perfectly clear.