Arcus by Haydn von Werp brings Italian craft and architectural proportion to furniture design
Arcus — Beneath the Façade presents a furniture series that treats architecture as a living grammar of proportion, weight, and memory. Developed by Haydn von Werp, an American designer based in Milan, the collection builds from the visual logic of ancient ruins and the structural clarity of stripped façades.
In Arcus, what is usually considered background structure becomes the main subject, giving attention to the framework that carries history through time.
The Haydn von Werp series centers on wood and stone, materials often read as simple or familiar, and places them within a highly refined Italian making process. Through this approach, Arcus turns material honesty into a contemporary design statement.
The forms reference architectural fragments and Art Deco geometry, while maintaining a clean, sculptural precision that gives the collection a forward-looking presence. The result is a body of work grounded in enduring principles and exact proportion.
At the core of Arcus is the idea of timeless craft, a principle that reflects Haydn von Werp’s broader design philosophy. Each object is built with an emphasis on structure first, then resolved through tactile detail and restraint.
This balance allows the pieces to function as usable furniture while carrying the visual discipline of collectible design. Across the collection, the relationship between mass, void, and line remains consistent, creating a coherent language from one piece to the next.
The Arcus Daybed expresses this language through a measured contrast between comfort and architectural order. Three wooden arches run along its length, forming a clear structural spine and establishing a rhythmic hierarchy.
Stone slabs extend horizontally between the arches, adding weight and compositional stability. A single tailored pillow softens the headrest with minimal intervention, preserving the purity of the overall silhouette while introducing comfort with precision.
The Arcus Bar Cart applies the same architectural thinking to an object associated with movement and hospitality. Here, the arches are integral to the construction, while stone anchors each level and reinforces the cart’s visual balance.
Functional details are carefully integrated: wine glasses hang from either end, and a front-facing wine rack organizes storage as part of the composition. The piece shifts a practical typology into sculptural furniture without losing usability.
The Arcus Bench is the first module of the collection and the clearest expression of its formal system. Its rectangular profile condenses the Arcus vocabulary into a distilled arrangement of wood, stone, and proportion.
The wooden frame and bridged stone elements echo the absence and rhythm of architectural remains, establishing a structural cadence that later expands in the daybed and bar cart. As a seat and object, it serves as the foundation of the series.
Arcus also sits within a wider trajectory in Haydn von Werp’s practice, which moves between architecture, art, and craftsmanship. Shaped by time spent in New York, Paris, and Milan, and produced by master artisans in Italy, his collections—including Tresse, Arcus, and an upcoming third series—advance a consistent vision of limited-edition design rooted in material integrity.
Following his debut at Edit Napoli and exhibitions across Europe, Haydn continues to build a design universe where furniture, tableware, and future interiors carry history into modern life through form, craft, and cultural continuity.
Photography by Mickaël Llorca, with courtesy of Haydn von Werp, shared with permission
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