Davis Furniture has expanded its extensive catalog of high-end contract furnishings with the introduction of the Faba Modular Lounge, a versatile platform-and-cushion system designed by Milan-based industrial designer Mario Ferrarini. Conceived as a restrained architectural framework rather than a dominant visual anchor, Faba is engineered to serve as a foundational element capable of adapting to the shifting functional and aesthetic demands of modern commercial, corporate, hospitality, and public environments.
The collection revolves around a curated set of essential components that allow architects and interior designers to build everything from a simple, backless two-, three-, or four-seat bench to sprawling, multi-directional sectional configurations. By prioritizing flexibility and spatial integration, Ferrarini’s design cedes its primary expression to the surrounding architecture, materials, and human activity.
“Faba is about creating a foundation rather than a focal point,” says Ferrarini, whose Milan practice is widely recognized for pairing rigorous technical precision with a distinct emotional sensitivity. This philosophy of reticence runs deeply through his portfolio, resulting in pieces that seamlessly settle into a given setting while retaining a strong, self-possessed identity. Faba extends this design approach into a modular system of considerable range, one whose ultimate character emerges through the specific application at hand and the material palette specified around it.
Architectural Versatility and Multi-Functional Integration
At its core, Faba relies on a modularity that gives the collection its expansive reach. Platforms can be outfitted with a diverse array of seats, backs, arms, and corner tables, allowing specifiers to fine-tune arrangements to nearly any floor plan. A key differentiator of the system is the interplay between its upholstered modules and exposed hard-surface platforms.
By leaving portions of the platform uncovered between cushions, designers can create integrated table surfaces within a single continuous run of seating. Furthermore, when specified entirely without upholstery, a Faba platform can seamlessly transition to function as an occasional table or media unit within the exact same material vocabulary. This capability broadens the collection’s utility well beyond traditional lounge seating, making it equally effective in active collaborative zones and quiet peripheral spaces.
The system’s geometry also addresses complex spatial planning challenges. Faba easily supports back-to-back and multi-directional configurations within a single footprint. This makes it exceptionally well-suited for open-plan corporate offices, bustling hotel lobbies, and shared public environments where the delicate balance between spatial division and natural circulation must be maintained. To meet the technological demands of contemporary interiors, power modules can be integrated directly into the face of the platform. Additionally, an optional "J" tray cleverly conceals horizontal wire management, ensuring that the collection maintains a clean, cohesive visual language even when heavily wired.
Precision Engineering and Material Craftsmanship
Beneath Faba’s understated exterior lies a level of structural sophistication tailored to heavy commercial use. Each configuration is underpinned by a precisely engineered platform featuring an MDF core reinforced with an internal steel support system. This robust internal framework guarantees that the platforms above remain dimensionally consistent across expansive layouts.
Upholstered seating elements are constructed over engineered plywood frames and layered with multi-density polyurethane foam, striking an optimal balance between supportive resilience and long-term seating comfort. To ensure structural integrity at all connection points, heavy-gauge steel plates are utilized to strengthen assemblies, guaranteeing exact alignment and long-term durability in high-traffic settings. Tailored double-needle stitching serves as a refined finishing detail, underscoring the high standard of craftsmanship inherent to Davis Furniture’s manufacturing capabilities.
Supporting each platform is a sculptural die-cast aluminum leg, which can be specified in a polished finish or selected from more than 35 standard powder coat finishes offered by Davis Furniture. The fluid, organic shape of the leg introduces a subtle architectural counterpoint to the system’s clean rectilinear geometry, injecting a quiet sense of movement into an otherwise linear composition.
Platform surfaces are equally diverse, available in a wide selection of ash, oak, and walnut veneers, FENIX Innovative Materials, and standard laminates. This broad spectrum of finishes gives Faba ample aesthetic latitude, allowing it to pivot gracefully from warm, natural hospitality interiors to sleek, minimalist corporate workspaces.
“The system is intentionally simple, but within that simplicity, there is a great deal of freedom, both in how it is configured and how it is expressed through material,” Ferrarini notes.
Rob Easton, Vice President of Design + Development at Davis Furniture, echoes this sentiment, emphasizing the discipline required to achieve such functional breadth. “Faba reflects a disciplined approach to modular design,” Easton says. “It gives designers a system that is both highly flexible and highly resolved. The simplicity is what makes it powerful, allowing materiality, configuration, and environment to shape the final outcome.”
