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Percival Lafer

While still studying architecture at Mackenzie University in São Paulo, he and his brothers had to take over their father Benjamin Lafer's furniture company, The Lafer Co, which was renamed Lafer MP (initials for Patented Furniture). As a result, his passion for architecture was not fully realized.
Some examples of his work as an architect include houses designed for personal friends, designs for street furniture and architectural components.

Percival Lafer's work as an industrial designer marked the segment of Brazilian modernist furniture in a unique way. His work was always characterized by boldness and originality.

Lafer couldn't identify with his father's company, which sold furniture to a more elitist public. Inspired by what he had learned at university, and with a more idealistic vision, his goal was to conquer a wider market, which until then had been exploited by low-quality products. He understood that in order to achieve this, he had to use specific distribution channels - the large department stores and small neighborhood stores.

The formula, pioneering at the time, showed that the general public did have an interest in a well-designed product. His strategy was to demonstrate that there was no supply on the market, because the design furniture available at the time was handmade, expensive and sold through elitist channels.

This is how he started an industry that revolutionized the furniture market in Brazil. It all started in 1961, with the launch of the MP-1 armchair.
With a slender profile, its upholstery radically eliminated the traditional steel springs used until then, as it used only a sheet of polyurethane foam supported by rubber straps. The exposed structure that supported the armrests and feet was also slender but robust, as it used metal profiles combined with wood, an inspiration taken from the reinforced concrete classes at university, the combination of two materials giving rise to a third. It was an innovative armchair in terms of its shape, materials and finish, which was a huge success with a section of the public that until then had been far from consuming more sophisticated furniture.
The way was open for a series of new products to be created, to populate the imagination of the Brazilian public at first, and the international market soon after.
The use of fiberglass, injectable foam and reclining furniture were synonymous with the highest innovation.

Percival's restlessness blended with his determination to prioritize aesthetics and comfort, always paying full attention to industrial processes. This means that a new project can take years from its first sketch to its completion. It doesn't matter how long it takes, it's about achieving the goal. A striking example was the mechanism for the recliners currently in production. Many years in the making, but today a success recognized worldwide. Diversity, breadth and focus are the words that perhaps best define Percival Lafer's uniqueness.