Vienna might not be the first place you think of to hunt down cutting edge interior design and furniture, but here at The Idealist, we like to seek out style in unusual places and Vienna came up trumps! In our next issue we will be featuring a shopping tour of Vienna, but before that, we just had to share the amazing designs we found courtesy of MOYA.
A few steps from the Danube river that runs through Vienna and nestled amongst the old buildings of this very grandest of Austrian cities is hidden MOYA Designs, who design and build cutting edge furniture and accessories in a range of sharp colours and finishes. Imagine BoConcept reworked with Italian high-fashion colours using steel, wood and geometric shapes.
Founded in 1998 not in Austria, but in Serbia, MOYA are passionate about bringing diversity and character to industrial production. They say that in their work with designers the value of being different lies in playfulness with what we have in common: “natural materials and simple geometry are our favourite tools when it comes to design and our superpower is the way we explore them”.
IDEALIST: What would you say is at the heart of your philosophy in how you create designs?
MOYA: It’s not only about choosing good materials and basic shapes, but how they meet together and how they meet your home: the line we (re)create is not the boundary, but the bond – between marble and wood, human and space, crafts and art, home and wild, tradition and exotic.
IDEALIST: They explain that this idea of solid bonds across boundaries applies to their way of working too…
MOYA: Yes – immense attention is paid to the quality of this bond. The craftsmanship details, research, selection and processing of materials; to organization and communication with the people that we collaborate with. Our network is of great value to us – we carefully seek for collaboration and connections with those who inspire and motivate us.
IDEALIST: What we can see on display here is very different to most of the designs on show in the rest of Vienna. How important is that to you?
MOYA: We are very proud to be different. Our bold approach to detail and style is combined with a bespoke service providing diverse design possibilities: with MOYA you have the possibility to customize colours, materials, sizes, and have those tailor made for you.
IDEALIST: Where do you get your inspiration from?
MOYA: From joy. We are inspired by the complexity of our senses and believe that enjoying your everyday is more than just a matter of comfort. To make ordinary moments memorable is to keep your experience a unique adventure.
The guys at MOYA took time to show us round some of their key pieces and explain the philosophy behind them. Every piece has a rich backstory as well as being a design piece with a simple purpose. The chairs are comfortable, the tables are functional and beautiful, but the backstories add another fascinating insight into these pieces.
Viwo Armchair (shown above)
Viwo is designed to evoke in us a sense of childhood – memory of exploring shapes and balance in an endless journey, through the magic of surrounding objects. For a child, everyday reality is a world of fiction and the style of this chair seeks to retain that sense of playfulness, through its shape and combination of colours. Raising you from the ground and with a purposefully contrasting steel frame and feet, “you are no longer affected by gravity”. Made of steel, solid wood and plywood with seat cushions and supports covered in leather or fabric to order.
Carrousel
This is a shelving system which at first sight is simple and traditional, but it comes with a twist. Within the rigid rectangular frame there are four equal shelving parts which by rotating them around on their vertical axes you can hide their contents and reveal another face, bringing the semi-closed sides to the front. They can store a bunch of stuff, but with four spinning shelves on a white gloss surround it look like they are weightlessly floating. Amazing.
Lowers
The Lowers is a set of low tables composed of basic geometric shapes. The base of the table is reduced to a minimum, so it doesn’t take up space or add heaviness to the look. The simple geometry and materials mean that they look strong in various bright colours (traffic blue, pastel orange, and luminous orange are available). MOYA say the shape they were aspiring to has ‘a dynamic force launching it in the intimate sphere of our ideas and imaginations’. If that means it looks space age and cool, we agree!
SOFAS
Air
The Air sofa is an unusual piece that really makes a style statement. A very important thing for MOYA design is experimenting with different forms, and the Air is a great example. It has a minimalistic composition but can be changed up through reconfiguring the pillows. From sitting on it, we can confirm, it is very spacious and really comfortable. We liked the special detail of this sofa of its thin wooden-frame legs – each is made up of three supports, which once again highlights the game of shapes. They’re made of stained oak and the sofa frame is solid wood and plywood and the cushions foam, fibre and feather stuffing. The sofa comes in an amazing range of colours and fabrics. We’d go with the petrol blue or orange with grey feet.
Lone
This one is really eye catching. It’s squidgy and comfy but also elegant and refined, combining aspects of the traditional form of a sofa with a chaise longue. The contrast of puffy pillows, round and square elements, wood and thin metal legs make this sofa a potential standout in the home and the mix different materials in the sofa structure, exemplifies a defined style and the creator’s desire for it to be recognizable and romantic, for those that want to be different. This one won an Interior Innovation Award in 2014 and we can see why. It comes in a bunch of 3 and 4 seater configurations and includes a side shelf in dark, light or grey oak veneer. Our favourite is the olive green, but all the combinations are fab.
Lost
The Lost sofa is in a more conventional shape but is designed to feel youthful and full of energy. It comes in a range of configurations. There is a possibility of making various combinations regarding the number of seats, depth and seating arrangement, with or without an end table, with inserting wooden functional elements etc. Lost can therefore work in a number of different settings.
TABLES
Gala
Wow – this is a serious table and we got really excited at the range of finishes you can get it in! The top is available in everything from marble to wood to bright red glass and the legs are in tubular steel and oak. At first glance the Gala is powerful, but it is also thought-out and elegant.
MOYA say “The Gala proudly shows off in space; still and quiet it takes over the entire room. Table legs narrow towards the floor, which shifts its centre of gravity towards the top, which becomes the plane where everything unfolds.” Available in 3 lengths from 2m to 3.5m this table would form the centrepiece of an amazing dining space.
Poseidon
The Poseidon table is a thoughtful combination of three materials: wood, marble and glass. Each of these materials is carefully chosen and their combination makes the Poseidon a statement dining table, bringing strength, character and style and turning a meal into an event. The construction is made of a simple wooden frame, with trestle-shaped legs. But, the top is what makes the Poseidon special – a mosaic of marble and glass parts. This one is knockout beautiful! Again, the choices of many kinds of marble, glass and wood make this a real luxury piece. We love it.
To find out more about MOYA Designs, visit them online at Moya Online. The site is available in English and German, or head to their Vienna store at Morzinpl., 1010 Wien, Austria, Tel +43 1 5321429. Prices for the pieces shown vary greatly depending on finish, but all choices of materials are shown online.
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