Israeli-born Ron Arad is known as one of the brightest stars in the architectural and design world. Among his many achievements is his design of the automobile manufacturer Maserati’s showroom at its headquarters in Modena, Italy. There’s no doubt his works are avant-garde and cutting-edge, and his stainless steel Europa sofa is testament to this.

But when I first came across this sofa at Bonluxat, I must admit it made me do a double-take. I’m not arguing that its appearance isn’t bold and eye-catching, for it surely is. I was just wondering whether steel sofas are a good idea in terms of commercial applications, like being used as reception area chairs. Yes, they look cool and ultra-chic, but are they comfortable? Maybe with the right cushions, they will be. But then again, even without cushions, maybe they would suit a restaurant’s reception area, whose primary purpose isn’t long-term comfort anyway. Unless it has a reputation for keeping people waiting a long time to be seated at their tables in the dining room.

This steel sofa is 218 centimeters long and is constructed from a chrome-nickel-steel sheet that is only one millimeter thick. The way the seat and the back curves and flows suggests it provides at least a measure of comfort for users, though I still don’t know how easy sitting on stainless steel feels like after a number of minutes. Good thing about it though is that stainless steel is easy to clean and maintain, and it’s very durable too.

Ron Arad’s Europa sofa measures 97 centimeters high, 218 centimeters wide and 90 centimeters deep. The seat is approximately 32 centimeters high. Maybe it isn’t everybody’s idea of good bistro area furniture, but I’m sure it has its fans. And not just because it’s an Arad creation. Its wide curves and the way it seems to ripple in the light take away the sterility that many other stainless steel furniture pieces seem to have.