ISLA, perfectly irregular islands

ISLA, designed by Sebastian Herkner, enters the GANDIABLASCO universe in 2022 after its first two successful seasons in the GAN firm’s catalogue. In fact, the German designer’s first collaboration with the Gandia Blasco Group has garnered recognition since its launch, such as the Archiproducts Design Award 2020 and the Best of Year 2020 in the Outdoor category.

With this modular collection, Herkner explores the way of inhabiting outdoor spaces through irregular shapes, obtaining as a result a versatile system of unique modules that are named after the Spanish islands Arosa, Menorca and Gomera.

Perfectly irregular islands

ISLA was your first collection for GAN, with which you share the spirit of craftsmanship and the passion for material innovation. Today, ISLA becomes part of the GANDIABLASCO catalogue. What was the starting point of your creative process for this collaboration?

ISLA is inspired by a childhood experience with my parents: we used to go on holiday to the beach in northern Germany and we would always place our towels on the sand and build some kind of windbreak around them to create an island or a nest to rest during the day.

The backrest and large cushions evoke that idea of windbreakers. In this way small islands are created for interiors and exteriors. It is a modular system composed of elements of different sizes.

What aspects of the outdoor lifestyle have you supported when conceiving ISLA, an eminently modular series with a strong textile component?

Life is really a matter of senses. Imagine sitting on a terrace or rooftop and having the collection all around you. It really is about using your senses to feel the breeze, to smell the barbecue or the nature around you. On the other hand, you have the ISLA fabrics. The collection is really something that allows you to capture the experience.

Since the beginning of your career, fabrics, materials and textures have played a key role in your designs. What importance have you wanted to give to the tactile part in the sensory beauty of ISLA?

ISLA is a welcoming outdoor haven and combined with the textures, fabrics and high quality of GAN it is an excellent design and something truly unique in its form and typology.

ISLA is an outdoor collection that could well be found in interior spaces. For what type of spaces or situations have you created ISLA?

I think nowadays you cannot separate indoors and outdoors. You have huge windows, new apartments layouts, the space becomes one and we want to enjoy inside and outside at the same time. The outdoors is like a new indoors and I think ISLA can be placed both indoor and outdoor and still do its job: it gives you comfort, sense of safety and it is the perfect place for communication.

Your collection exemplifies the will of the Gandia Blasco Group brands to redefine the concept of habitability of spaces by playing with volumes and dimensions. Why do you think these pieces are important in the world of decoration and design?

We can arrange the ISLA single modules in different ways. We can have it separately like by placing the daybed outside, but you can also use the second piece and place them next to each other to prompt conversation. I think it gives a lot of possibilities to interior architects to create atmosphere and different spaces.

How do you think the way of inhabiting spaces is changing?

If you think about the new way of working we have been experiencing, you can also transfer it into a new way of living: we can now work outside, eat outside… thanks to the Internet is not a problem at all. So the ISLA islands are meant for chatting, dining, working, they give you a great platform for all scenarios.