Sound and vision

Danish audio brand Bang & Olufsen unveils Beosound A5, its most powerful portable speaker to date, designed by Danish-Italian studio GamFratesi

- JONATHAN BELL

Stine Gam and Enrico Fratesi, the founders of Copenhagen-based architecture studio GamFratesi, were already very familiar with Bang & Olufsen and its close connections to the design industry when the legendary audio brand invited them to collaborate on a special-edition portable Bluetooth speaker.

The designers’ light-filled studio, in Østerbro, is filled with prototypes and maquettes of recent work, including bentwood and rattan seating for Gebrüder Thonet, and the acclaimed ‘Beetle’ chair for Gubi, and the pair set about combining their ongoing material experimentations with a reverential look at Bang & Olufsen’s impressive archives. For Fratesi, the audio brand represents one of the touchstones of modern Danish design. ‘They have been so innovative, they create with simplicity, and their work is always of such high quality,’ he says.

Bang & Olufsen is no stranger to design collaborations, previously pairing up with the likes of Cecilie Manz, Michael Anastassiades and Layer. GamFratesi’s Beosound A5 speaker expands on the collaborative process and is available in two distinct colourways, Nordic Weave and Dark Oak. The former pairs aluminium with a woven paper fibre front panel and a light oak handle, while the latter uses black anthracite aluminium for the top and bottom, with dark oak for the speaker cover and handle.