The great modernist chair is MiesVan Der Rohe’s design for the German Pavilion of the Ibero-American Expositionin Barcelona in 1929 (the “Barcelona” chair, now produced by Knoll)—a paeon to the international stylein stainless steel and leather that has imbued interiors from bank foyers toManhattan apartments with its cool austerity throughout the 20^thcentury. Minimal, practical and monochrome, it’s exactly the kind of design thatis overturned by the work of Brazilian duo Fernando and Humberto Campana, whosince 1983 have been ingeniously crafting undeniably modern forms out of themost unlikely materials—from scraps of wood found in the favelas of Sao Paolo(Favela Chair, 1994) to coiled lengths of industrial rope (Vermelha Chair, 1993)and even plush soft toys (Alligator Chair, 2004). Keen collaborators, the brothers have ongoing partnerships withAlessi (producing the Blow Up series of anatomized home products) andItalian furniture company Edra (who have manufactured Campana chairs since 1998),and have also produced a range of shoes and accessories with Australian brandMelissa. At this month’s Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan they present not only thefruits of their partnership with ECAL and Reuge, but also a champagne-tastingpavilion for Veuve Cliquot, inspired by the cool chambers of the company’svineyards as well as by the wiry mess of the Campanas' own Corallo Chair. In addition, this month sees the release of Campana Brothers: Complete Works (So Far),a monograph published by Rizzoliand featuring essays from luminaries including Deyan Sudjic, the curator ofLondon’s Design Museum.