The Story of Copacabana

When Eero Aarnio was a young adult, he often visited a movie theatre called Kitkat, located in the South Esplanade in Helsinki. News films would run throughout the day, and one could even sit there from early morning until late evening. In between the news films, they would show clips of cartoons. Eero remembers very vividly one film, that showed the beautiful beach of Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro. The image of the decorations on boulevard, and especially its curvy form stuck with Eero for a long time. To him it looked like an interesting place.

In 1991 Eero Aarnio designed the Copacabana. As seen on the film, the final form derived from the shape of the beach boulevard at Copacabana beach. Eero designed this piece to especially go with the Pastil chair; the curved line of the table suits the round shape of the chair. Eero’s furniture pieces in his collection often have relationships to one another. “I like to think of particular pieces as partners”, Eero says. One is the predecessor, and together they complement each other.

In addition, Copacabana is multifunctional, as it can be used as both a table or a small bench. As distinctive to Eero Aarnio’s previous designs, fiberglass as a material makes the furniture suitable for outdoor use as well. The use of material combined with the simplicity of the designs makes the piece timeless. Like many of Eero Aarnio’s iconic designs, the Copacabana manages to remain modern throughout decades. Although, Eero has never visited Copacabana in Brazil himself, he found a way to bring the shape of the beach boulevard to him.