Maxalto 50 週年：眾聲喧嘩，唯有經典逾恆
Maxalto at 50: Amid the Noise, Only the Timeless Endures
相較物質消亡之必然，人們如何丈量時間的長度？於夜間燃放的花火，燦爛只在一瞬，而如果將長夜拿來與星辰相比，夜晚的長度亦會顯得短暫。時間經不起追逐，在人類有限的生命中，如何做出取捨 、追尋恆常不變的價值，始終是一個縈繞不去的哲學命題。
Against the inevitability of material decay, how do we measure the length of time? Fireworks illuminate the night in a fleeting instant, yet when set against the vastness of the stars, even the longest night feels brief. Time cannot be chased. Within the limits of human life, how we make choices, what we choose to preserve, and the values we deem enduring remain an inescapable philosophical question.
回望物質過剩的 70 年代， B&B Italia 創辦人 Piero Ambrogio Busnelli 在一波新興塑料設計、與追求形式解放的風潮中，並未一味擁抱變化，亦同步深刻反思傳統工藝的價值。懷抱守護、發揚並延續傳統手工技藝的願景， Maxalto 的誕生，正是為了回應眾聲喧嘩，成為湧動潮流中，相對沉靜的異數。
Looking back to the 1970s—an era marked by material excess—B&B Italia founder Piero Ambrogio Busnelli stood amid a wave of plastic experimentation and a broader liberation of form. Rather than uncritically embracing change, he also turned to a deeper reflection on the value of traditional craftsmanship. With the ambition to safeguard, advance, and extend the legacy of artisanal making, Maxalto was born as a response to the surrounding clamor—emerging as a quietly resolute anomaly within a rapidly shifting design landscape.
Busnelli 家族始終相信：傳統的未來從未黯淡。這份信念促成與 Afra & Tobia Scarpa 夫婦合作的契機。至今仍藉由一雙雙工匠們滿布皺摺與疤痕的手，傳遞著手工雕琢的溫度。當人們親手撫觸瘤木紋理，感受這些樹木受傷後自癒的痕跡，彷彿能透過指尖讀懂深入材料肌理、不忍輕率待之的謹慎，是如何形塑每件家具的經典韻味，並與之深深共鳴。自馬鞍針法細密交織的皮革縫線，乃至填充飽滿的法式古典羽絨坐墊、帶有東方情調的漆面紋理，都在世代傳承的手藝中，使家具超脫了居家擺設的裝飾功能，成為能訴說自身時光記憶、展現獨特性格的存在。
The Busnelli family has long held that tradition continues to hold relevance for the future. This conviction led to a seminal collaboration with Afra and Tobia Scarpa. Through the hands of master artisans—marked by time, labor, and experience—the warmth of handcraft is carried forward. In the tactile encounter with burl wood, one senses the traces of a tree’s self-healing process, a quiet record embedded within the material itself. Such sensitivity—this refusal to treat material lightly—shapes the enduring character of each piece. From the meticulous precision of saddle-stitched leather seams, to the generous softness of French-style down cushions, and the subtly lustrous textures of lacquer finishes with an Oriental sensibility, each detail reflects a lineage of craftsmanship. These works transcend their functional role as furnishings, becoming vessels of memory and expressions of distinct identity.
繼 Afra & Tobia Scarpa 夫婦爲品牌傾注工藝靈魂，自 1993 年 Antonio Citterio 逐步主導、重塑品牌的設計基因，這位義大利國寶級建築與工業設計大師，向 1900 年代布爾喬亞的客廳美學借來一份安於內在精神世界的篤定，讓設計回歸形體、結構與材質，追求：「每一件家具都在訴說其本質功能，並向一種穩重而安心的生活儀式致敬。」歷經這三十多年來的潛心專注，Maxalto 始終著眼於材質與工藝的打磨，經由設計創造每一件家具，傳遞建構整體空間的理念。走在孤獨而專一的道路上，久之便形成一種時光洗練的風格，讓作品訴說自身工藝與功能，直指 Gio Ponti 崇尚「自我表述」（self-explanatory）的純粹本質。
Following the Scarpas’ foundational contribution of artisanal depth, from 1993 onward Antonio Citterio gradually came to define and reshape the brand’s design language. A leading figure in Italian architecture and industrial design, Citterio introduced a composed, introspective sensibility—one that draws from early 20th-century bourgeois interiors while speaking to an inner, cultivated calm. Under his direction, design returns to its fundamentals: form, structure, and material. Each piece articulates its intrinsic function, paying homage to a measured and enduring ritual of living. Over more than three decades of sustained focus, Maxalto has remained committed to the refinement of materials and craftsmanship, using design as a means to construct a coherent spatial vision. In time, this singular and disciplined path has given rise to a quietly distilled aesthetic—one in which each work expresses its own logic of craft and function, echoing the pure, self-explanatory essence long championed by Gio Ponti.
自 2021 年起，Maxalto 逐步深化與藝術家的跨界合作，將才華橫溢的創意，化為能安頓於居家場景裡的藝術火花。 為慶祝 Maxalto 50 週年，邀請荷蘭藝術家 Patrick Van Riemsdijk 於經典的 Lilum 貴妃椅上揮灑書法筆觸。他的創作意在捕捉一絲極簡的寧靜，又或是接近於冥想的氣質。在特別研發的專屬精緻亞麻面料上轉譯藝術家美學語彙，使創作經驗猶如在家具上作畫， Patrick 表示：「藝術與生活是相通的，平衡既存在於對比，也孕育於共鳴之中。」經由將 Lilum 貴妃椅視為「一件雕塑」般不同於平面畫布的呈現，同時彰顯出呼應品牌張力與平衡的結構美學。
Since 2021, Maxalto has gradually deepened its cross-disciplinary collaborations with artists, translating creative expression into forms that can inhabit the domestic realm. To mark its 50th anniversary, the brand partnered with Dutch artist Patrick Van Riemsdijk, who renders calligraphic gestures across the iconic Lilum chaise longue. His work seeks to capture a moment of distilled stillness—an almost meditative state—through restrained yet expressive marks. These gestures are translated onto a specially developed fine linen upholstery, allowing the creative process to unfold as if painting directly onto the furniture. As the artist notes, “Art and life are inherently connected—balance exists both in contrast and in resonance.” By approaching the Lilum chaise longue as a sculptural object rather than a flat canvas, the work simultaneously reveals a structural aesthetic defined by tension and balance.
➤ Lilum 50 Maxalto 50th Anniversary
➤ Lilum 50 Maxalto 50th Anniversary
另一出自 Antonio Citterio 之手的 Pathos 50 特別版餐桌，特意選用青銅與義大利胡桃木實木賦予其全新面貌。桌面未經修飾的邊緣線條，刻意保留原生樣態的厚重與粗獷，搭配由雷射精密切割的青銅框架，於光影中靜靜流露奢華氣質，靜待時光驗證。兩款五十週年特別版均全球限量 50 件，並附 Antonio Citterio 親筆簽名與限量編號證書，獨一無二的身份猶如夜空中定義座標的恆星，不迷失於世界的轉動，只以橫貫古今的光芒，展現值得珍藏與守護的價值。
Similarly, a special edition of the Pathos dining table—also designed by Antonio Citterio—presents a renewed material expression. Its Italian walnut top retains deliberately unrefined edges, preserving the raw weight and primal character of the material, and is paired with a precisely laser-cut bronze structure. In the interplay of light and shadow, a quiet sense of luxury emerges, awaiting validation through time. Both 50th anniversary editions are produced in a limited series of 50 pieces worldwide, each accompanied by Antonio Citterio’s signature and a numbered certificate of authenticity. Their singular identity recalls the stars that define our coordinates—unmoved by the turning world, yet enduring in their brilliance. They stand as enduring markers of value, worthy of preservation and reverence across time.
