Roberto Lazzeroni evokes la ‘bella vita’ with his new Meridies collection for Expormim

When spring arrives, we start dreaming of summer, the outdoor life, the beach, naps in the shade of the porch. The new Meridies outdoor collection, designed by the veteran Italian designer Roberto Lazzeroni for Expormim, anticipates the arrival of summer with all its rituals and customs.

Inspired by rattan, the material that characterises the Expormim brand, but made of FSC® sapele wood, Meridies is a proposal to go back to our childhood when, after long beach mornings and family meals, we were looking for a shade under which to rest on the sofa in endless naps, waiting for the arrival of the coolness of the afternoon.In fact, the term meridies in Latin means midday, but also a cool, shady place to rest comfortably during the hottest hours of the day.

Meridies is composed of sculptural designs made of FSC® sapele wood, and tables made of ceramic and travertine, a natural stone full of texture. Although the collection is primarily inspired by the way rattan is worked at Expormim, there are other sources of inspiration, such as the evocative forms of natural elements. Petals, seeds or leaves allow the designer to deepen the feeling of softness and lightness.

A collection of this time

It is indisputable that craftsmanship is being revalued to the point of becoming one of the trends of our time. Tired of industrial products, we are trying to recover the essence of the natural, the handmade, which brings us closer to that more human side of design.

Craftsmanship is a fundamental feature of the Meridies collection. In order to imitate in wood the curvaceous contours that rattan makes possible thanks to its natural plasticity, every detail of the construction process has been meticulously treated, with maximum comfort in mind. This is why Lazzeroni’s designs are equipped with soft, wide, generous seats and semi-circular backrests with cushions.

If craftsmanship is one of the current trends, in interior design we are witnessing a growing desire to merge interior and exterior spaces. Thanks to architectural solutions such as consistency in the use of materials, large windows or sliding doors, the integration of the outside environment is easier. This is why many furniture collections are designed to be used both indoors and outdoors. The Meridies collection by Lazzeroni follows this line.

Project: Meridies Collection.
Design: Roberto Lazzeroni.
Brand: Expormim.
Presented: 2025.

Roberto Lazzeroni

Roberto Lazzeroni was born in Pisa, the city where he has chosen to live and work. His professional training is the result of his studies in Art and Architecture in Florence. From the beginning, he has always shown interest in the phenomena of both the conceptual art world and radical design. In the early 1980s, he became interested in industrial and interior design, a specialisation that he defines as fundamental for his later approach to the world of industrial products. A great connoisseur of the history of design and its related signs, he is very skilled at putting this knowledge into practice on a daily basis.

When talking about his own projects, Lazzeroni uses the expression sentimental design; in fact, it is easy, even for the untrained eye, to see the tension between the past and the future in these works. This tendency is nowadays defined as transitive design. Signs of the past are somehow recognisable; they are clearly reworked and the result is a real and balanced tension between the past and the future. Lazzeroni’s training and his understanding of design have led him to specialise in art direction. Currently, he works especially on the total concept behind the birth of a brand.

Among others, he has received the following awards: Tecniques Discretes (Paris, 1991), Conran Foundation Museum (London, 1992), Elegant Techniques (Chicago, 1992), La Fabbrica Estetica (Paris, 1993), Dall’Albergo alla Nave (Genoa, 1993), Costruire il mobile (Milan, 1999), his most recent recognition being the Archiproduct Design Award 2023.

Source: Expormim y Roberto Lazzeroni

Project by Roberto Lazzeroni