Ricardo Casas Design interprets the iconic Acapulco chair into an installation of light fixtures at the Mexico pavilion’s restaurant during Expo Milano 2015.

When tasked with the nation’s pavilion at Expo Milano 2015, brand agency Liquen opted to pay homage to Mexico’s glamorous retro design era. Over the decades, a no-name designer chair came to represent not only the destination city of the same name where it was most prevalent – Acapulco – but also the fashion of 1950s interiors. To execute Liquen’s vision, Ricardo Casas Design selected the Acapulco chair to depict the nation’s cultural image. RCD pared down the design to its most visually striking component – a rope seat – and inverted it into an interior element for Besame Mucho, Mexico’s pavilion’s restaurant which offers gastronomy by 30 of the country’s best chefs.

With the legs removed, the minimal seats are turned upside-down with a light source inserted within a central ring to realize a series of umbrella-shaped fixtures. Hanging from a metal framework, dozens of lamp shades form whimsical installation above a dining area on the restaurant’s outdoor terrace. The canopy’s conical components were hand woven by local artisans of the Akele workshop in Mexico City.

Design: RCD – Ricardo Casas Design / Ricardo Casas / Isauro Huizar / Victor Miranda / Leonel Terres / David Vivanco / Alma Lopez / Juan Pablo Zugasti
Photography: Maria Salvi
Brand and Graphic Design: Liquen

via Frameweb