Esthete and passionate aficionado of life outdoors José A. Gandía-Blasco
Canales is the President and Artistic Director of the Gandía Blasco S.A.
family business founded by his father in 1941 that nowadays includes
the brands GANDIABLASCO, GAN, Diabla and two more currently in
development. He is also responsible for a great many of the outdoor
furniture collections.
With interests that go far beyond mere decoration José is fascinated by
the cultural aspects of design and contemporary architecture expressed
in the creation of the GANDIABLASCO life style with emblematic pieces
like DAYBED, MERENDERO, TIPI, CRISTAL BOX, MÓDULOS …etc. that
form part of the extensive Outdoor Spaces Line and iconic collections
such as SALER, CLIP, 356, LIPSTICK that are seen on terraces of hotels
and homes around the world.
But this creative aspect goes even further. José also came up with
the structural system using aluminium profiles and polyethylene that
characterises GANDIABLASCO, highly resistant materials that were
not being used before in outdoor furniture. This new system allowed
the design of GANDIABLASCO furniture inspired by the vernacular
architecture of Ibiza and other collections. It revolutionised the market
and acted as a perfect compliment to contemporary architecture. In
this interview José talks about some aspects of the construction system
that has continued to evolve exploring new possibilities.
Interview
_ JOSÉ A. GANDÍA-BLASCO
CANALES
Your first o u tdoor furniture collections were designed with a new constructive
system that you designed from scratch. How did you come up with it?
As a kid I was really interested in Meccano and I realised that using its aluminium
profiles I could build the structures and furniture that I had always wanted to make.
Which did you come up with first, the aesthetics or the technical solution?
I believe it was something intuitive both came along at the same time.
What materials did you use?
I always worked with different aluminium profiles to construct furniture and structures,
but just with that.
Who did you work with to make the first prototypes?
José, from the company Ventacan had always been a close work colleague. At that
time he had a window fabrication workshop using aluminium profiles and I suggested
making fur n iture using that same material. He belived in me and became totally
involved in the project. He has been there since the first prototypes till today.
The colours of these materials, white and anodized aluminium, have shaped the
imagination of GANDIABLASCO all around the world. Did these materials appeal
to you for their colour, apart from their quality and technical advantages?
Aluminium has always seduced me for several reasons; one is the colour, but also
because it’s a modern material, its freshness and lightness. It couldn’t be any other
material. And white is my favourite colour. The mixture of both has always really
appealed to me.
Are these colours related in some way to the Mediterranean and the vernacular
architecture of Ibiza?
Houses in I biza have always had an irresistible appeal for me because of their
simplicity and those cubic forms, as well as their whiteness so typically
Mediterranean.
The construction system using aluminium profiles defines the looks of the most
iconic GANDIABLASCO collections.
I chose aluminium to express my idea of structure and contemporary furniture because
of its qualities, like I said. Undoubtedly using this material was the differentiating
factor for GANDIABLASCO from the beginning. Nobody had ever used it like that.
How did it develop? In which of the collections has it best been expressed?
Right now we are trying out new ideas with this material and creating an
aluminium p rofile construction system using the old tongue and groove method,
allowing us construct an infinite number of furniture options and which I find particularly
exciting.
Do you think technique and functionality are at odds with aesthetics or is it possible
to come up with something original and elegant taking these three characteristics
into account?
Without doubt one can create taking all three on board. In fact it has to be like that.
Beauty has to be functional for any piece of furniture. If not we are moving more into
the territory of art but not design nor the creation of useful objects.
“Beauty has to
be functional
for any piece
of furniture.”
