Interview with the designers behind Beosound A5 - GamFratesi

What is your?relationship with danish design history and Bang?& Olufsen?

Danish design has played an important role globally within the world of design and so has Bang & Olufsen, setting the highest standards of sound, craft and design.

Our work?is?in keeping with the Scandinavian approach to craftsmanship, simplicity and functionalism, but we also create a strong emotional spirit and story into our concepts.?

We were delighted to work with a company like Bang & Olufsen which has so much legacy and shares our values towards timeless design and craftsmanship.?It is a?brand where products are handed down by generations, I vividly remember my grandmother having a Bang & Olufsen turntable as a child which has been passed onto me and now plays in our home.

What was your inspiration for designing Beosound?A5?and the?choice of materials?

Our inspiration for Beosound A5 came from many places including the iconic Beolit series as well as natural materials synonymous with the colours and textures found in Scandinavian nature. From the traditional Panama straw hats worn on beaches, to the hand-woven leather accents of Danish chairs from the 1960s, blends of natural materials applied in experimental ways guided our design journey.

We decided to create two?different finishes that are both rooted in a Scandinavian aesthetic whilst each has a distinct design signature on their own. Beosound A5 in Nordic Weave incorporates Bang & Olufsen’s signature material of?natural aluminium with a woven paper fibre front and light oak handle, creating a feeling of laid-back Scandinavian summers spent at the beach. Beosound A5 Dark Oak incorporates black anthracite aluminium paired with dark oak, creating a completely different mood, evoking winter woodlands. Both finishes can sit beautifully inside a home or outside in nature.?

The soft organic curves and natural materials of Beosound A5 reference the?curved edges, handles and wooden teak finishes from various early Beolit models which were influential during our design and research process for Beosound A5.?

How did?circularity and longevity?play a role in designing A5?

Creating quality products with materials that?can age beautifully?over time?is extremely important to us. We believe that products should not just be for temporary trends but treated?as personal objects?to be experienced?and carried on?into?the future.?It was lovely to work with Bang & Olufsen where their approach to timeless design and longevity is extremely important to the company and was very much part of the process when designing Beosound A5.

In addition to Beosound A5’s timeless appearance, the speaker has been modularly designed so that it can be easily serviced and repaired to extend its lifetime if needed instead of being replaced by a new speaker. Bang & Olufsen will continue to produce the easily exchangeable front covers in new materials and colourways so that Beosound A5 can evolve with your style and identity.?

Thanks to Bang & Olufsen’s Mozart software platform, the longevity of Beosound A5 goes beyond physical craftsmanship and modular design. Mozart provides the most up-to-date features across audio, connectivity, and software design. It connects the heritage of the past, technology of the present, and innovation of the future for Bang & Olufsen products. Beosound A5 has the capacity and capability to evolve with new technologies, and unlock new listening experiences, for years to come.

Can you tell us about the?GamFratesi studio and?your?ways of working?

Our studio is based in Copenhagen and was founded in 2006. As a studio, we design with?a fusion of tradition and renewal with an experimental approach to materials and techniques.

We are 2 very different people but act?in?unity. We work closely?through all the different stages of the creative and development?process. We share many of the same competencies and interests, and appreciate working?in such a tight collaboration. It is a rather symbiotic process, where we are both so?involved?that it?is?often impossible to distinguish who started and finished what.

The product?is an honest fusion of two cultures and?our?work process leads to?a?hybrid and interesting result.?Our Danish and Italian approaches?spontaneously take shape between our two personalities?and merge to create a unique synergy. We believe this is a unique element of our studio.?

How?do you?find?your?inspiration?

Personally,?we have always looked to history with a respectful attitude. We?admire the?Scandinavian?designmasters of the past?where?their work consisted?of quality?craftsmanship and materials combined?with?functional and honest design.?We are also inspired by?the Italian masters for their intellectual approach to design.

Therefore, we draw?from both?the classic Danish furniture and craft tradition as well as the classic Italian conceptual approach.?It is through this dichotomy in?our?work and daily life?that?we are constantly confronted with contrasts, and contrasts are often the centre?of our inspiration.?

What role music?does?play?in your?inspirational process?

We listen to music often during our work and time when we draw. it is not a direct inspiration but a daily accompaniment.?It inspires us indirectly, creating atmosphere, reflection, or energy.

The musical genres we listen to are very varied, it depends on the situation and mood we are experiencing.

Learn more about the Beosound A5 here: https://www.bang-olufsen.com/en/int/speakers/beosound-a5?