The beauty of simplicity - the Pipo chair by Piegatto

We are almost always tempted to think that only solid wood can offer us maximum comfort and fully satisfy our desire for beauty. When it comes to furniture made from wood-derived boards and panels, we think of it as lower-end products for those who cannot afford solid wood furniture. But when these materials meet an exceptional designer and manufacturer, the result is a masterpiece. The Pipo chair, designed by Alejandro Estrada and produced in plywood by Piegatto, a renowned Guatemalan furniture manufacturer, is such a masterpiece.

Alejandro was born in 1970 in Guatemala. He went to school here, graduating as an architect from Francisco Marroquin University in 1994. After graduation he went to Italy, where for two years he worked in bronze sculpture at Armando Basile's studio in Florence and then in marble at Studio di Nicola in Carrara. Back in Guatemala, he set up an art, sculpture and restoration studio in 1997, Estudio Pietra, where he worked until 2000, when he returned to architecture.

He initially set up an architectural office - Substancia - specializing in the architecture of residential and commercial spaces. From the beginning, the goal was to offer clients a complete service, from design to execution and total furnishing. Substancia was basically the beginning and helped him realize that there needed to be a change in the way of doing architecture, of creating objects. So in 2006 he founded Piegatto, an integral concept that unites architecture, art and design with parametric design. He invests in CNC (computerized) technology and this almost immediately changes the way the materials he works with are used, both for architectural, art and furniture projects.

But back to the Pipo chair. There were three main ideas behind the product:

• The chair should be made entirely (legs, arms, back, etc.) of the same material
• It should be a monolithic piece that squeezes inward to form the seat and leg, and at some point opens outward to form the arms
• Maximize the efficiency of timber consumption with computerized technology.

In fact the last idea was the main focus of the project. So the Pipo chair was made from 2 sheets of plywood cut into 29 curved pieces.

Pipo was a trailblazer. Other models followed: Uma, Double Section, Dining S.

The principles have been used in other furniture pieces, such as the Corozo table.

In addition to the beauty of these pieces of furniture, I cannot fail to notice the importance of technology in obtaining quality products with a lot of added value. However, we are talking about furniture made of plywood. All this computerized technology which, in addition to using the material as efficiently as possible, allows special cuts and the most sophisticated possible arrangement of the component parts, while maintaining the strength and efficiency of the object, manages to add a great deal of value to the basic material. And now we have been talking about plywood, but I will soon show you what can be made from MDF using such technologies.

photo source: piegatto.com