The future can be re-written with our own hands. And with small innovative actions
Swiss designer and entrepreneur Yves Behar has founded a multidisciplinary laboratory of hi-tech ideas and sustainable scenarios. Here his sources of inspiration range from design to art and nature.
6' min read
6' min read
DISTINCTIVE SIGNS OF MY STYLE
When I turned 30, I saw a photograph of me as a child, with a mass of naturally curly hair, and at that moment I decided that I would no longer cut it short, a way to go back to being that dreamy boy I used to be.
AN OBJECT FROM WHICH I NEVER SEPARATE MYSELF.
There are two of them and they are the sofas I relax on with the family. They are two Seventies classics: the DS-1025 designed by Ubald Klug for the Swiss brand De Sede, which I found in an East Coast shop, and the Pool Modular Sofa by Luigi Colani, bought at a Modern Design auction by Wright (sofa by Ubald Klug, from 11.500 euros, desede.ch; Colani's modular seating units, $21,000, at wright20.com).
Divano DS-1025,DE SEDE (11.500 €)
LAST OBJECT I PURCHASED AND LOVED .
A pair of hiking boots, model Jungle Esc by Vivobarefoot, which accompanied me on my recent trip to the Amazon (EUR 260, vivobarefoot.com).
Stivaleda trekking Jungle Esc, VIVOBAREFOOT(260 €).
And THAT'S WHAT I'M DOING .
I would like to take up playing again and I have spotted a beautiful and functional digital piano, the Kiyola Kf-10, born from the collaboration between Roland and the Japanese brand Karimoku (4.900 euros, on strumentimusicali.net; roland.com).
DESIGN OBJECT I WOULD HAVE WANTED TO DESIGN .
The Rocking chair by Charles and Ray Eames. I have a small collection of them. I found the first one when I was an intern at a furniture company in Grand Rapids, Michigan: a real stroke of luck, I bought it for a dollar and it was one of the first 1950s productions (from 690 euros, vitra.com).
Rocking Chair di Charles e Ray Eames, VITRA (da 690 €). Courtesy Vitra
And THAT OF WHICH I AM MOST PROUD
Among my most recent projects: The Frame, for Samsung, which transforms the television into a work of art, Peaks, designed for Moooi, a sofa that invites you to create relationships, and the Telo pick-up truck, electric and compact, produced by the start-up of the same name that I co-founded in San Francisco: it has a large load capacity with a footprint equal to that of a Mini Cooper (fuseproject.com; The Frame, from 199 to 2 thousand euros, samsung.com; moooi.com; Telo pick-up, from $41,520, at telotrucks.com).
Most IMPORTANT INNOVATION FOR THE FUTURE .
I believe that it is important to radically rethink the way we produce, taking into account sustainability and with an approach that is not constraining, but that makes human activities better, deeper, more connected and fun. This is what we tried to do with Solsea, the superyacht from the Rossinavi shipyard that we presented in December at Design Week in Miami. The concept of this hybrid-electric catamaran is truly innovative, starting with its fuel consumption which, depending on the different sailing scenarios, allows a reduction in fuel consumption ranging from 80 to 100 perhundred (rossinavi.it).
Il concept del catamarano Solsea, design di Behar per ROSSINAVI.
DESIGNERS WHO INSPIRED ME
Achille Castiglioni, for example. For my 20th birthday I asked for his Toio lamp as a gift, a design that seemed punk in its raw beauty. I also loved the way Joe Colombo rethought the home, experimenting with futuristic and sensual interiors and furnishings. Both were protagonists of a golden age, the time of the push towards new materials, when design was a channel for social experiments in which even the way of living in the home was radically questioned (Toio Led, from €1,270, flos.com; fondazioneachillecastiglioni.it. The book Fantastic stories for real objects, by Carlo and Livia Castiglioni, published by Lazy Dog, 24 euros, lazydog.eu) has just been published.
Toio Led, FLOS(1.270 €).
An UNFORGETTABLE PLACE WHERE I HAVE TRAVELED RECENTLY
I have just returned from the Brazilian Amazon where I went on long treks in the jungle and sailed along the waters of the Alter do Chão area. I was struck by the way the indigenous people take care of this world that is experiencing catastrophic deforestation, but at the same time is still beautiful and unspoilt (ten-day trip organised by Kensington Tours with stops in Rio, Foz do Iguaçu Falls and the Amazon, from $9,913 per person, kensingtontours.com).
THE VIEW THAT INSPIRES ME
Watching the ocean from the water, not from the shore. I am a big wave surfer, surfing giant waves, and the forces that are unleashed in the ocean are visually and physically unparalleled in the emotions they can arouse. This passion often takes me to Portugal and Maui in Hawaii (six nights in an oceanfront villa for four, with guided surf experience at Lush Palm in Oahu, Hawaii, from $4,700 per person, lushpalm.com).
The MOST BEAUTIFUL GIFT MADE RECENTLY
I gave a musician friend a T-shirt of the Paul Watson Foundation, the foundation of the Canadian activist and environmentalist who fights for the defence of whales, just a few days before Captain Watson was freed after his arrest in Greenland last December ($38 T-shirt, paulwatsonfoundation.org).
T-shirt, PAUL WATSON FOUNDATION (38 $)
And WHAT I RECEIVED
A book my friend Adam Fisher gave me: The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson. It is an extraordinary text about the near future, about environmental catastrophes, but also about the innovations that we, as human beings, must develop to counter them and change direction. What this book has given me is great hope for what we can do in the coming decades (18.05 euros, on amazon.com).
The PODCAST I AM LISTENING TO
Right now I am listening with interest to Where Should We Begin? by psychotherapist and relationship expert Esther Perel (estherperel.com; spotify.com).
my favourite beauty products.
I use the Timeline facial line. I use Timeline's facial line. It is a biotechnology start-up founded in Switzerland at Epfl, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, and specialises in products dedicated to longevity (Skin Health Prestige Box, $780, timeline.com). For my hair, always out of control and unruly, I find Oribe's Matte Waves Texture Lotion ($44, oribe.com) ideal.
Matte Waves Textur Lotion, ORIBE (44 $).
A RECENT DISCOVERY .
I recently visited Renova, a company that mainly produces toilet paper and has an extraordinary vision. Their factory and offices, in the heart of Portugal, really impressed me with their style, innovation and irony, and it is not easy to surprise me, as I visit many interesting companies every year (Orange Toilet Paper Gift Pack, 10.80 euro, myrenova.com).
Orange toilet paper, RENOVA (10,80 €).
The BEST SOUVENIR I HAVE TAKEN FROM A TRIP
I am very attached to the archaic statues carved in sandstone that I bought during my stays on the island of Sumba, Indonesia. I have almost fifty of them on my terrace at home (stele from Sumba, 165 euro, at kirschon.com).
Stele da Sumba, pezzo di artigianato indonesiano (su Kirschon, 165 €).
LAST MEAL THAT IMPRESSED ME
I recently dined in Porto at Euskalduna Studio, the restaurant of Michelin-starred chef Vasco Coelho Santos, a journey of discovery in gastronomic creativity and innovation (euskaldunastudio.pt).
Denticee sambuco del ristorante Euskalduna Studio, a Porto. ©Ana Clara Pinheiro
FAVORITE ROOM OF THE HOUSE
The living room, where I gather in the evenings with my wife and four children, not to watch television, but to play together.
The LAST PIECE THAT I ADDED TO THE GUARDAROBE AND THE ONE THAT I WOULD LIKE TO REMOVE
A shirt by Rick Owens. My son, who is 17, has his eye on a leather jacket I have had for 20 years by the same designer, but I think he will have to wait a little longer to get it (Hollywood Jacket, 1,045 euro, rickowens.eu).
Hollywood Jacket, RICK OWENS(1.045 €)
If I HAD TO LIMIT SHOPPING TO A CITY DISTRICT I WOULD CHOOSE
The Meat Packing District, in New York, and Harajuku, in Tokyo, where I find some of my favourite shops, from Comme des Garçons to Issey Miyake (comme-des-garcons.com; eu.isseymiyake.com).
The ARTIST I WOULD COLLECT IF I COULD
Some time ago I was given a print by Vija Celmins, I would very much like to own a work by this Latvian-born painter, especially one of her paintings depicting the surface of the ocean. I love contemporary art, in particular I collect paintings depicting waves, which I like to surround myself with at my home in West Marine, California, where I go with my children to surf. In the office, on the other hand, I have a nice collection of prototypes, sketches and original models by designers from different eras. At home we also have many works, starting with the coffee table in the living room, which is actually a bench by German artist Nicole Wermers (@vija.art; matthewmarks.com; heraldst.com).
MUSEUM OR GALLERY THAT I CONSIDER MOST INTERESTING AT THE MOMENT
I am biased, I feel very connected to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, where I recently curated the set-up and corporate image of Get in the Game, a large group exhibition dedicated to the influence of sport on art over the last 60 years (sfmoma.org).
Il Museum of ModernArt di San Francisco. © Henrik Kam, courtesy SFMOMA
If I DID NOT LIVE IN SAN FRANCISCO
I would live in Lisbon, where I already spend half my time and where I have a second studio. I love the city for its history, culture and of course the possibility to surf at a high level in the immediate surroundings. As a designer, I also appreciate Portugal's craftsmanship and easy access to materials. In 2024, for example, we worked on a major urban project with cork, a sustainable material that I also used for the floors of the superyacht Solsea (city-cortex.com).
