Kvadrat opens a new flagship showroom in Chicago during Fulton Market Design Days 2023

The opening of the Chicago showroom this summer represents another milestone on the ‘Kvadrat Goes American’ journey, which began in 2021 and continues to gather momentum. It follows the opening of Kvadrat showrooms in Grand Rapids, New York and Los Angeles.

To celebrate the opening, Kvadrat is showing Totems – an installation comprising curious totem figures woven from textiles – by long-term collaborators and acclaimed design duo Doshi Levien. Kvadrat will also show two new upholsteries and a curtain for the first time: Naveli by Doshi Levien, Suunta by Studio Truly Truly, and Broken Twill Sheer by Jonathon Olivares, another long-term collaborator with the brand.

Chicago showroom
The new space is in Fulton Market, which has become the preeminent design destination. Opening its doors to the public for the first time during the inaugural Fulton Market Design Days on June 12 to 14, when over 40,000 people from across the globe are expected to celebrate the latest in design, architecture, furniture and furnishings. Like all Kvadrat flagships, the Chicago showroom is light, multifunctional, and embodies the values of the Kvadrat brand: quality, materiality, and functionality. Every aspect of the space is curated to create wellbeing for staff, clients, and visitors alike, thereby creating a direct parallel with Kvadrat’s products and solutions. Defining architectural elements like the wooden ceiling deck, large glass partitions and concrete floor reference the building’s heritage as part of the meat-packing district. They also fit with Kvadrat’s vision for an interior grounded in natural and authentic materials.

Njusja de Gier SVP Marketing & Digital: “Our Chicago showroom provides a compelling, flexible space for creative collaboration and showcasing our colorful textiles and installations. It references the heritage of our brand and the locale while putting our American team in an even stronger position to meet clients, customers, and friends.” A wall divides the flagship into public and private office areas. At the front, a showroom and exhibition areas provide a spacious playground for exploring products, installations, and exhibitions. The glass façade at the front offers passers-by a tantalizing view of the regularly changing novelties on show. At the back of the showroom, the office
area provides meeting rooms, desk space and an extended kitchen counter.

Naveli by Doshi Levien
Naveli is a pure woolen textile with a multidimensional color expression inspired by the concept of ‘soft modernism’. In Hindi, Naveli means ‘fresh’,’ new’ and ‘clean’, and the upholstery’s crisp, precise micro- check construction creates a characterful contrast with its gently vibrant colors. Nipa Doshi: “Soft modernism was our starting point for the color story. The juxtaposition of modernity with ancient architectural monuments and forts. The paintings of Kazimir Malevich, Josef Albers, Sophie Taeuber-Arp and photographs of Raghubir Singh. Crisp structured tailoring in muted colors. Sun faded architecture in southern summer skies. Matte colors in Indian miniature paintings. Color as a material. The new optimistic identity of the pioneers of Indian modernism.”

Suunta by Studio Truly Truly
Suunta is a knitted upholstery inspired by the rows of blooms in Dutch flower fields. It unites lines of wool and recycled polyester, creating a lustrous rhythm of intricate chevrons that plays with perception and scale. From a distance, the textile evokes rows of flowers seen from the air; get closer and layers of colors and individual yarns emerge. Accordingly, the color scale explores how nature offers and deals with color.

Broken Twill Sheer by Jonathan Olivares
Broken Twill Sheer is a contemporary interpretation of a classic twill weave. It delicately captures a sense of light and movement while exemplifying Jonathon Olivares’s acclaimed color precision. The pattern, an upscaled iteration of the designer’s upholstery Broken Twill Weave, features an intricate herringbone motif broken by a fine vertical line. As the curtain drapes in the light, it dissolves into the folds and emerges on the edges: it is always in flux.