Divine intervention: The David Lopez Quincoces effect
David Harrison sat down with renowned Spanish designer David Lopez Quincoces for our friends at Est. magazine. The designer shared insights on his enduring collaboration with Living Divani, describing it as a journey of self-growth and discovery, and the evolution of his career, from his formative years to the influence of working with the iconic designer Piero Lissoni.
Spanish-born Milan based designer David Lopez Quincoces. Portrait © Antoine Doyen.
Era chair by David Lopez Quincoces for Living Divani, with the Notes table by Massimo Mariani for Living Divani. Photo c/o Living Divani.
Graft table by David Lopez Quincoces and Ticino chairs by Design Shibuleru, both by Living Divani. Photo c/o Living Divani.
The Graft table is defined by its finely tuned details. Photo c/o Living Divani.
The Kasbah outdoor collection of sofas and coffee tables by David Lopez Quincoces. Photo c/o Living Divani.
The Kasbah outdoor collection with the Rabbit and Tortoise tables by Studio Juju. Photo c/o Living Divani.
‘I have been working with Living Divani for more than 10 years now and believe they have always stuck to their long-term vision. They are all about quality and proportion. You might say they are a quiet brand with a desire for timelessness’
David Lopez Quincoces
Like many young designers the world over, Spanish designer David Lopez Quincoces had a desire to study at the famed Politecnico di Milano, following in the footsteps of all the giants of Italian architecture and design from Ponti to Piano, Aulenti to Zanuso (and fellow Spaniard Patricia Urquiola). After completing a degree in art at the Universidad Complutense in Madrid in 2004, he moved to Milan to start a master’s degree in interior design.
It was Quincoces’ extreme good fortune, post-study, to land a job with Lissoni & Partners (then Lissoni & Associati) and it was this opportunity to work for the highly influential Piero Lissoni that gave Quincoces access to a wide variety of projects; from the permanence of architecture to the fleeting perfection of exhibition design and everything in between.
Living Divani was founded in 1969 as an armchair and sofa company initially producing seating for large international brands such as Roche Bobois. Located in Brianza, between Como and Milan, an area synonymous with quality furniture production, it encapsulated everything the marketing slogan Made in Italy represents. Over time the company morphed from a behind-the-scenes manufacturer to a brand name in its own right and began working with architects to produce furniture with a distinctly architectural edge.
When the founders, Luigi Bestetti and his wife Renata Pozolli, met Piero Lissoni for the first time in 1986 he was still a young graduate, but they were immediately taken by his incredible enthusiasm and bold vision for the brand. 2024 marks the 35th year of Lissoni at the helm as Creative Director of Living Divani, so that gamble certainly paid off. ‘In Piero Lissoni we found the perfect partner,’ says Luigi Bestetti a sentiment supported by his daughter, Carola Bestetti, Living Divani’s head of Marketing and Communication. ‘We completely trust Piero’s judgment and hope our collaboration can go on forever.’
Lissoni’s name is now synonymous with Living Divani, and he has designed a long list of highly successful products for the brand. Of equal importance to his design work has been his vision for the company and his conviction that Living Divani could stand out in a world of brands jostling for attention. As Creative Director Lissoni understood the value in maintaining the brand’s continuity, quality and design integrity with an emphasis on proportion and elegant forms. ‘I wanted to think as an art director does. I didn’t just design products, together with the founders of the company, I designed the company itself,’ he remarks.
While Lissoni is responsible for much of Living Divani’s success, a brand can’t perpetually rely on just one designer, no matter how exceptional they might be. In recent times the brand has opened its design relationships to a select group of inspiring designers, under the creative guidance of Piero Lissoni. Studio Klass, Mist-O and Aero Shibuleru, along with more than a dozen other designers have designed products since 2000 but one of the key figures to emerge from this expansion of design talent was David Lopez Quincoces.
'Lorentz is a sofa that is based on the concept of modularity. It is light and seems to have the faculty to float in the air.’
David Lopez Quincoces
Quincoces’ aesthetic dovetails effortlessly with Lissoni’s creative vision for Living Divani. He relishes fine details and slender forms and while enamoured with the precision of metal, is drawn to the warmth of wood and admires the tactile qualities of natural materials like rattan and bamboo. Perhaps it’s because of the years spent working on Lissoni projects in his early days in Milan but his ability to strike the right balance for Living Divani is uncanny.
Fast becoming a creative juggernaut in his own right, he heads up his own architecture and design studio, while steering the creative direction of companies Acerbis, Ranieri Lava Stone and outdoor furniture company, Fast spa with long-term friend Francesco Meda.
His collaboration with Living Divani started in 2013 with the Track daybed. With the exception of 2020, at least one new Quincoces piece (and often a whole collection) has been launched by Living Divani each year. In fact, such is his strike rate of successful products, he has the largest number of designs in the Living Divani catalogue after Piero Lissoni. ‘I have been working with Living Divani for more than 10 years now and believe they have always stuck to their long-term vision. They are all about quality and proportion. You might say they are a quiet brand with a desire for timelessness’ says Quincoces.
Joining recent successes like the Kasbah outdoor collection, the Graft table and Ark lounge chair, the 2024 edition of Salone del Mobile saw the launch of Lorentz, a highly versatile seating system that enables dozens of configurations and incorporates a variety of arm widths along and low tables and trays. According to Quincoces, ‘Lorentz is a sofa that is based on the concept of modularity. It is light and seems to have the faculty to float in the air.’
This article by David Harrison first appeared in Est. magazine.
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