José Zanine, Caldas Exceptional sofa (around 1970), Galerie Chastel-Maréchal: The environment is at the core of the practice of the late self-taught Brazilian architect and designer. Wood reclaimed from a canoe was used to create this sofa, priced at more than €150,000, which includes built-in side tables and original cushions. “It’s one of his masterpieces,” says Charlotte Gaillard of the Paris-based gallery. “It’s a readymade and his manifesto for ecology.” David Owens
OrtaMiklos, Tweedledum (2019), Functional Art Gallery: The French-Danish duo regularly incorporate recycled materials in their highly-textured pieces, including Tweedledum (priced at $20,000). “They have such an innovative approach to materiality,” says Javier Peres, the co-founder of Berlin’s Functional Art Gallery. The companion to this wood, steel and paper pulp armchair, is painted a fetching shade of pink—and called Tweedledee. David Owens
Erez Nevi Pana, Bleached 2 (2019), Friedman Benda: The Israeli designer’s Bleached works speak to the impact of extracting minerals from the Earth. To create the pieces, he encases a wooden armature in loofah, submerges it in the Dead Sea and waits for salt crystals to form. “It’s an expression which encourages reflection and rethinking about materials we use as designers, buy as consumers, and neglect as a society,” he says. David Owens
In pictures: furniture with a green conscience at Design Miami/Basel
Sustainability is a recurring theme at the 14th edition of the fair. Here is our pick of three ecological works
Photo: David Owens