Paravan × Arper

Paravan is a panel system that is sculptural in form and architectural in intent—both articulating and creating space. Like parentheses that hold a conversation, it creates a sense of protection within open environments. Its acoustic surfaces support focus, concentration, and shared work without imposing themselves. The system stands quietly, yet decisively, as part of the spatial rhythm.

Its attitude draws from the calm strength of Richard Serra’s sculptural gestures and the atmospheric depth of Luis Barragán’s houses in Mexico City. We were struck by the emotional gravity of his wall colors—pinks, yellows, reds, and blues that feel warm and tactile through their texture. Fabric carries a similar softness, shaping how color is experienced in space. Paired with accessories for personal objects, Paravan creates environments that feel both grounded and gentle.

Designed for lounges, waiting rooms, and shared office areas, Paravan is a microarchitecture of color - it encourages the use of color as an integral part of the interior. Its wide modular language offers sound-absorbing panels in various sizes and heights, allowing linear, angular, circular, or curved configurations. The system adapts to different spatial needs while maintaining a clear and quiet presence.

Unlike conventional space dividers, which typically come in a limited range of finishes, Paravan is upholstered in fabric — with a wide choice of options that can differ from panel to panel, inviting a more considered and intentional use of color. It wraps a group of furniture into a room within a room, divides a scene from its surroundings, and shifts the emotional register of everything it encloses. Color here is not a finish applied at the end. It is atmosphere, constructed from the inside out.

Paravan Mood extends the system beyond acoustic performance and spatial division into something closer to personal territory. A curated set of accessories — whiteboard, hook, mirror, magazine rack, shelves, and table organisers — can be attached directly to the panels, adding functional touches that layer warmth and character onto the otherwise considered, minimalist structure. The free-standing elements find a smaller echo in the tabletop panels, available in several lengths, bringing the same formal language to the scale of the desk or side table.

What these accessories make possible is a shift in register — from a system that organises space to one that reflects the people within it. A magazine rack in a waiting area, a shelf for personal objects in a work bay, a mirror at the entrance to a lounge: small additions that allow users to collect, display, and inhabit their immediate surroundings. Paravan becomes not just a divider but a backdrop for daily life — defined by the objects and intentions of the people who use it.