Hans Hopfer

Background

Hans Hopfer is a painter, sculptor and designer who has been designing sofas since the 1970s, several of which have become iconic pieces in the Roche Bobois collections. According to the Roche Bobois history recorded on Wikipedia, Philippe Roche and colleagues met him in 1970 while on a trip to Germany.

Signature Style

Hopfer is sensitive to changing lifestyles and to creative ways of managing space. His seating is built from fully modular, floor-level units: cushions rather than fixed frames, which invite people to live close to the ground and to rearrange the furniture as their needs change.

Notable Works

• Mah Jong (1971), Roche Bobois: a system of hand-stitched cushions championing complete freedom of form and function, today dressed in fabrics by Kenzo Takada, Missoni and Jean Paul Gaultier, with an outdoor version, Mah Jong Outdoor
• Lounge El Deseo, a limited-edition composition presented by Roche Bobois with Pedro Almodóvar's El Deseo

Legacy

Avant-garde when it appeared, the Mah Jong is Roche Bobois's most recognised and iconic design. Wikipedia notes that, first named "Lounge", it has been the brand's best-selling sofa since 1990, and it has long set the standard for creative modularity.