Based on a sofa designed by Sydney Opera House architect Jørn Utzon and created in collaboration with the Utzon family, this first to market, eight-piece outdoor furniture collection is a celebration of enduring design and family legacy. Originally created as a private piece for the Utzon family’s residence on Mallorca, Jørn’s teak-based sofa has inspired a sophisticated and refined range that includes a sofa, lounge chair, dining table and bench, gallery bench, daybed and stools.
The creative lineage of the Utzon family has delivered a multidisciplinary artistic legacy that transcends mediums and countries. Artist Mika Utzon Popov – grandson of Sydney Opera House architect Jørn Utzon and creator of the bronze sculpture Illuminate at Eco Outdoor’s Melbourne showroom – calls it a conversation, a discourse between people and places that has inspired an unparalleled output. That’s something his grandfather held dear: “He was more interested in the creative process and the collaborative dialogue around creating than anything else.”
“It’s a bit like being able to be part of a conversation and adding another word or phrase. It’s a really lovely extension of something beautiful that’s already there.” Mika
Inspired by the original sofa after a visit to the Utzon family home on Mallorca, the Eco Outdoor team started the collaborative process to bring the collection to life. Meticulously fine-tuned, the fine-sanded, solid, natural teak pieces combine simplicity, function and timeless modernity with genre-defying everyday style. “I tried to keep as many of the original details and proportions as possible, using them as a kind of library for the new pieces,” says Matt Lorrain, Head of Furniture.
“Lin and Mika had very sensitive and astute inputs, suggesting fine adjustments that kept the designs in the spirit of the original” – Matt
This design ‘library’ captures Jørn’s distinctive original vision of simplified teak construction, bullnose detailing, trussed legs and offset plank sizes. In the modernised collection, larger section planks are curved on leading edges and square-cut on internal intersections, cleverly balancing human and architectonic considerations.
Eight pieces – a sofa, lounge chair, dining table, dining bench, gallery bench, high stool, low stool and daybed – delicately reference Jørn’s original as well as Lin’s secondary interpretation. Crafted using both high-tech and by-hand processes to deliver a premium finish, the solid timber bases are produced with sustainably managed plantation teak.
Each piece carries the Utzon legacy through considered details. Referencing the offset plank placement of Jørn’s original design, the gallery bench takes the sofa’s truss detail and transforms it to a butterfly silhouette to provide a base for two converging seating platforms. The lounge chair – a modernised summary of the structural configuration of Jørn’s original sofa as well as Lin’s amendments – elevates the vision into a special, individualised experience, while the stools (offered in high and low configurations) are a fresh interpretation of classic teak.
The hardy outdoor fabric utilised for the pillow-shaped upholstered cushions – which gently juxtapose the honey-toned teak with a light sandy shade of hopsack weave – is milled and made in Italy, offering a defined weave structure that provides texture and visual interest within the relaxed context of the broader collection.
By elevating the original design with modern-day considerations – environmentally friendly solid teak laminations, heavy-duty outdoor fabrics and oversized yet understated shapes – Mika, Lin and Matt have delivered a world-first collaboration that brings the private genius of the Utzon family to the world. “It’s trust,” Mika says. “When you work with someone who trusts that what you’re doing is right, you do your best. It’s the best soil to plant a seed in, and it’s the best soil to create something amazing.”
