Trained as architects and urban planners, Beirut-based Nada Borgi and Etienne Bastormagi share many interests and a matching professional journey, they both worked in large practices before establishing their own individual architecture studios.
In 2016 they came together forming their design partnership, Borgi Bastormagi, staging their first installation together during Milan Design Week and have collaborated on a number of furniture designs since, drawing inspiration from their daily lives and the urban fabric of Beirut.
Etienne’s artistic background and Nada’s interest in designing through narratives drafted the vision of Borgi Bastormagi also known as the design duo BoBa. Fusing tradition with modernity, studio Borgi Bastormagi’s creations hold a unique urban dimension, while putting the user at the centre of the design. Their designs are influenced by and draw inspiration from their daily lives and the urban fabric of Beirut, and to find moments of balance and harmony amidst the hustle and bustle of the city.
Their creations hold an urban dimension, often suggesting different behavioural patterns and offering playful experiences that defeat gravity and equilibrium. The choice of materials is based on Borgi Bastormagi’s inclination for minimalistic forms and techniques. Their most recent collection titled ‘Shaping 90°’ creates a series of sculptural yet functional designs which celebrate the often forgotten and wasted corners. Inspired corner buildings, the architecture and construction methods, and apply similar techniques to product design.
BoBa wants to rethink the corner by proposing three multifunctional pieces for daily use – a light, a mirror and a shelf - the collection continues to reflect the designers’ interest in challenging gravity and rethinking balance and lines, planes and geometric forms continue to be their design language all the while experimenting with materials such as solid woods, metal, marble and reflective surfaces.