Design Matters: Poltrona Frau and the New World Symphony

Calling all Miami design lovers: this is an event you do not want to miss. On Thursday night, luxury Italian furniture retailer Poltrona Frau presents Design Matters, a part of its Showroom Event Series. The theme of this meeting of the minds is “Curves and Complexity,” so architectural curator Brooke Hodge will host an informal talk looking at Pritzker-Prize winning architect Frank Gehry’s projects throughout the years.

Why? Because Poltrona Frau’s contract division happens to be designing the theater seating for Gehry’s ground-breaking New World Symphony project, which is set to open on Miami Beach in January 2011. (I profiled the project two years ago in an article titled “The New New World Symphony.”) This isn’t the first time Poltrona Frau has had a hand in a Gehry project; the Italian brand also provided the seating in the Walt Disney Concert Hall, amongst near countless other public and cultural projects (including the private lounges in Miami’s Adrienne Arsht Center as well). Poltrona Frau Miami CEO Giampiero Di Persia discussed these projects with me during an interview for a piece in Haute Living Miami’s upcoming April/May edition, which will go to print next week; the article will be online shortly thereafter, so be sure to check back for more details. In the meantime, head to the Design District flagship Thursday at 6:30 p.m. and get a sneak preview of the New World Symphony’s new home. RSVP to rsvp@forbespr.com or 305.531.8241.

Poltrona Frau is located at 10 NE 39th St. in Miami’s Design District