Milan Design Week is upon us. Among a seemingly endless list of new and re-editioned products launching during the massive, city-wide event – the largest of its kind by far – is a slew of fresh concepts borne out of seemingly unexpected partnerships. Prestigious fashion houses cross-pollinate with edgy outdoor furniture brands and multivalent artists help reimagine iconic luminaires.
One of the most compelling collaborations set to grab everyone’s attention at this year’s edition is the one forged between leading Danish electronics brand Bang & Olufsen (B&O) and long established Italian natural stone purveyor Antolini®, with the Beosound Balance Natura speaker.
When it comes to premium speakers, one usually pictures state-of-art textiles anchored by sleek plastics, not necessarily noble materials like intricately grained marbles and carefully sourced hardwoods. Home sound systems have undergone a revolution in recent years and B&O continues to be at its forefront.
Owing to various technological advancements and a renewed appreciation for quality acoustics, speakers are no longer just being relegated to concealed credenzas or camouflaged within walls. Like other devices, they’re now being developed as standalone sculptures; either as bold statement pieces carrying their own or as near-architectural elements echoing the preexisting look and feel of an interior.
With a columnar pedestal available in various finishes from Antolini®’s diverse range of thru-materials, the new Beosound Balance Natura stands out. The pedestal, speaker, and an anodized aluminum ring demarking the connection between both were all precision-engineered to have the same cylindrical circumference, allowing the piece to take on a monolithic appearance.
“For this design, we didn’t want to create just a pedestal to place the speaker on,” says Tiina Kierysch, B&O’s Head of Design. “Our vision was to create a seamless extension of the product by forming a clear sense of belonging between the speaker and its plinth. As a result, the sculptural pedestal is designed to perfectly cradle the Beosound Balance devices, making it feel like one unified product.”
In this regard, the new concept is a contemporary distillation of the seamlessly combined cabinet and sound systems popular during the mid-20th century.
Beosound Balance Natura comes in Antolini®’s Exclusive Collection of natural quartz and Precioustone Collection of petrified wood, as well as Cristallo Iceberg, Cristallo Vitrum ‘Wow,’ and Cristallo Rosa ‘Wow’ natural quartz. Fossilized wood is available in Retro Grey, Retro Brown, and Retro Fancyblack. Much of this offering complements enhanced sound with near-visceral translucency and depth; a delicate – albeit powerful – interplay of light and texture.
“Together with Bang & Olufsen, we turned precious materials into unique sensory experiences,” says Carlo Alberto Antolini, head of Antolini®. “On the one hand, natural stone has been shaped to tell the story of Mother Nature’s beauty. On the other hand, sound has been sculpted to deliver pure emotion through design that becomes art. This collaboration is not just the meeting of different materials but a dialogue between aesthetics and performance; between nature and technology; between history and the avant-garde.”
What this melding of expertise achieves is clever and dynamic; a game-changing proposition. What will this seemingly unlikely yet fruitful partnership spawn next?
To learn more about the Bang & Olufsen and Antolini® Beosound Balance Natura, which is limited to just 16 bespoke speakers, visit bang-olufsen.com.
Photography courtesy of Bang & Olufsen and Antolini®.