Lazzarini Pickering’s Furniture Collection for Marta Sala Éditions.

T3 Mathus coffee table.

P5 Dudotta armchair.

SG1 Pedro stool.

S2 Murena chair.

Claudia light.

Miro table.

Rome-based Australian architect Carl Pickering and his partner, Claudio Lazzarini, have designed some of Europe’s most extraordinary, contemporary residences through their joint studio Lazzarini Pickering Architetti. With a discerning client base, the pair have developed an impressive collection of bespoke furniture pieces over the past 20 years of practice.

Several years ago, they were approached by Milan-based Marta Sala, who in 2015 launched a furniture company Marta Sala Éditions. Sala is the daughter of Maria Teresa Tosi, who in 1947 co-founded iconic Italian brand Azucena with her uncle, the architect Luigi Caccia Dominioni and Ignazio Gardella, two of the country’s most prominent modern architects.

Like her famous uncle, Sala believes architecture is the foundation of all design, and furniture is much like a dialogue. Claudio Lazzarini and Carl Pickering, who share this same vision, were the perfect choice for the brand’s first three collections, which include seating, tables, lighting and several home objects. In the spirit of iconic Italian design, the range marries modernist lines with opulent details, a strong sense of colour and unexpected materials. It’s a hybrid that Sala refers to as “the secret soul of useful things”.

LT1 Guya Classic standing lamp.

T3 Penelope table.

P6 Silla armchair.

Harry side table.

12 Megan Lamp with drawer.

Lazzarini Pickering had previously designed all the pieces in the collection for real people in real projects, to address real briefs. As such, all the pieces carry the names of the clients for whom they were designed. Given her background, Sala functions as the curator and connector, realising the brief of the architects, and finding the right craftspeople to create the world-class collection.

Many of the collection’s pieces are tailor-made to contemporary life, some combining multiple functions in a single piece. “Before design used to instruct people how to sit, stand and eat. Now we have to offer a product that is useful and modular and able to answer different needs and spaces,” says Sala. The pieces echo the ethos of Sala’s uncle Caccia Dominioni, who saw design, architectural and urban planning as an integrated whole. According to Sala, this approach “gives each piece a unique solution and strength.”

Much like the rest of Lazzarini Pickering’s projects, their collection for Marta Sala Éditions bears modern lines and elegant details, elevating functional items to luxurious new heights, effortlessly marrying luxury with purpose.

[Images courtesy of Marta Sala Éditions.]