ie Design Secrets: Furniture we tie 7 50 Real-Life Projects Uncovered & Written by Laurel Saville | Curated by Brooke Stoddard IDesign Secrets: Furniture 50 Real-Life Projects Uncovered Laurel Saville Curated by Brooke Stoddard Fo© 2006 by Rockport Publishes, Inc. First published in paperback in 2008 All rights reserved. No part ofthis book may be reproduced in any form without written permission of the copyright owners. Al images in this book have been reproduced with the knowledge and prior consent of the atists concerned, and no responsibilty is accepted by producer, publisher, or printer for any infinge: ment of copyright or otherwise, arsing from the contents of this publication. Every effor has been made to ensure that credits accurately comply with Infor: mation supplied, First published in the United States of America by Rockport Publishers, a member of Quayside Publishing Group 300 Cummings Center Suite 4o6-t Beverly, Massachusetts 03925-6101 Telephone: (978) 282-9590 Fax: (78) 283-2742 wow rockpub.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Saville, Laurel Design secrets : furniture / Laurel Savile ; curated by Brooke Stoddard. pcm, (SBN 1-59253-218-7 (hardback) 1, Fumiture design. |. Stoddard, Brooke C. I. Title, Nk2260.528 2006 749'-320904—de22 2005030319 cP 'SBN-13: 9784592534395 'SBN-10: 159253-439-2 1987654321 Layout and Production: Raymond Art & Design Cover Design: Madison Design & Advertsing, Inc. Printed in ChinaTo JEL for holding my hand and my heart. —Laurelcontents 7 Introduction 8 Advanced Polymer Cantilever Chair Parsons, Luke Pearson, Tom Lys 412 Boson Chair Stato Pack Nort, Paik Horget Buttercup Chair Dot Design and Narain, ohn Chistks,Mauce Bans, Cares are ‘Gikrak Chair aon Garde Corallo Chair Decompression Space Chair Dora Chair Palomba Seri Assoc Robeto Paloma, Ludo Palomba Facett Chair ananGauoule, nan Bououlee Flow chair ona Foster Design Sudo, Monica Faster Flower offering Chair Dslr Sater Fhe Saye Pkt Fresh Fat Chair tide Chair (eo, Chastaphe eam Lazy Chair Suto Uru, Pacis Vila MT Series an faa Asoc, Ron Wad ‘Muu Chair ends of nus, Har Kostnen sorom Kanstotn Gc Inui Onsln, Konstan Gre ‘Sfera Chair ‘Stradivarius Chair at Sndal Desi Ma Sint ‘Supernatural Chair oveaave Sil, BoE Lovegrove Tit Resin Chair em [elaboave sso) Emmanuel Cobbet Mark Yeber ‘Topografi Jonas Was sins 0S08, jonas Wants Calder’ Table Pra Design A Tay Float Table Low Down Table eros Design snd Developmen, nos Not So Soft Table and Chairs Readymade Poe ne, Stephen Suks B Bese Wee ee Fs ee eee ke 136 324 28 a2 336 144 ss2 156 a2 196 204 208 ‘Origami Table Michael Wolson Design, Michael Watson Shell Table ber sg, Edad Barber ny Ose ‘Solid Series Agence Pac un, Paice ola Laurel Bench Design, Mak Goat: Park Lane Bench Daisvom Desi lor Daron Rocks eign, ik ey Swiss Benches or Los Bancos Suizos ‘edo Haber Design and Developme fed Haber Aspen Sofa ‘Safa sou, Ja Nai Massud Comet Sofa acini Kagan Osi Goup ne, dim Hagan ‘crescent Moon Sofa ‘nai Putman Frit Sofa Fels esp, Sra Fels Iso Sofa System Mihaet Soden Pate, Michael Soden Tix Sofa Vero Sofa (rion chr & soi Marshmellow Lebel USA, Las Dahmane Sputnik Desk (range 22 Design Lab, Lc, Dao Aron Lo-Borg Cabinet Dine Murphy Mod, Nek Dine Boogie Woogie Shelving System GouaalDesign Stone Govannant Exploding Log Shelving Unit (tata Fare Layout Bookcase MUSH, mele De ce Three-A Shelving Project Inkab ata, Dorie to, Brendan McFaane paper softwall Ilo cesin stephanie Fst, Tad Machen Davos Bed Theo vin Lubin Daybed Medel ute ck Oty Landscape 05 Chaise coS(orsulans for Desig tte ee Beret Contributorsintroduction Designers are generally a dissatisfied lot. When they use an object, they want to change it, redesign it, make it better, or make it more closely fit thelr idea of what the ‘thing should be. When the question arses, “Does the world really need another sofa, table, or shelR their answer is a resounding, "Yes." They are optimistic with just enough ego to say, “Not only do we require new versions of what we already have, but Iam the person to make this product more functional, versatile, beautiful, unexpected, or elegant..” And they ate also opportunistic, finding, myriad ways to more fully utilize, explolt, subvert, or reinvent ma- terials, manufacturing processes, technical innovations, and pro- duction techniques. Furniture designers may love or revile the computer, but if they ort use it themselves, they work closely with someone who does. In this day and age, a designer needs to make friends with tech nology. They are process-oriented, paying so much attention to each phase of the design continuum that the Final product some- times seems an incidental result. tls not so much that they are Fisk takers or rebels (although they may be), but they just don't notice the conventions attached to accepted wisdom. Thelr cre ativty often springs directly from this inability to see the limita- tons that others take for granted. But, the very best designers, also respect the constraints placed upon them by clients, the reeds of the human body, or the physical laws of the universe. ‘These restrictions are a welcome challenge that forces them to think around, through, or above and beyond, to find a more in- vventive solution, It is the work of these designers that we profile in the following. pages, Their furniture may offer a place to rest, but that is only ‘one dimension ofthe object. A table may also be a piece of sculp tre: a wall divider unfolds tke a paper party lantern; laser beams, sive a chair an otherworldly shape; a shelving unit expresses a frozen moment in time and space; a daybed tells @ story from childhood: a night bed recalls @ spectacular winter vacation; an ‘outdoor seating system enhances social interactions. It may be true that in most cases, for so many of us, a chair is just a chair; but notin this book. Laurel SavilleAdvanced Polymer Cantilever Chair, PearsonLloyd “| don’t think you stumble across innovation,” says Luke Pearson, of PearsonLloyd. “You have to find a strategy to get there. “You have to find a way to create from a blank canvas by sur- rounding yourself with the components of knowledge. We design from the ground up so we can always ask frst, ‘Why are things like this? This is the only way to find innovation. When design partners Luke Pearson and Tom Lloyd decided to apply this strategy for innovation to what Pearson calls the “old and established archetype” of a cantilevered chair, they set out first to understand why so little had changed in the chairs’ design \ lover the years. Their answer lay in the materials. “The steel tubes ¢ at the heart of these chairs are a very easy material to use. Its cheap and works well” says Pearson, "However, in the last five to \ seven years, there's been huge development in plastic technol- \ oy. The reason for working in plastics is that most cantilevered \ chairs have a welded stucture when you ge othe seat, Welding more steel under the seat is heavy and takes time, so youte © tresdond omen aby Resets aig weight and assembly time,” he notes. “As Indust de ‘ans ren cesta npake chaogy signers, we started looking at bikes and other high-performance ‘Gimp the non and geome of Sc” emg andl saw that plastics were taking the place of metals and " alloys.” After consulting with some plastics engineers, they began to find materials that might work “We came up withthe struc tural principles early on, and the beauty of what we got is that it reduced the chair to as few components as possible.” ‘© top: PearsonLiod fels that hand-caring modes is 3 ‘acl par ote sesin press at gs humanity ‘lor progr Ike POE erate th AD bald Fortine Catv Cha Ct Pearl © saotiom: CAD drawing shows the deta hat goes nto ‘he shaping and the ing ech coroner pt bimet every ats Sly sap optic eat: PeasontioysIncluding pasts ad poeabonat, Cred Peat? (© nwa cee at Hom he FE pots to theme ue sn ao ft Pearson also points out that using plastic lends some fundamen: tal ergonomic benefits to the chai. "When you weld the seat, you kill some of the dynamic qualities ofthe cantilever. And ths is its major advantage over a four-legged chair. When you sit in a regu: lar chair you get a shock loading into the spine because the back legs don't bend. By using plastic, we could maximize the dynamic quality of the chait. When you sit in our cantilevered chair, the front legs bend to reduce shock loading. We also designed the seat platform in such a way that i flexes progressively.” Pearson Continues, “so atthe front of the chair where it needs maximum stifness, there's no flex; in the back, there's mare. The seat plat: form responds to your movement, so you don't need a cushion. You have a flexible, supportive structure that responds ike a human being stands, by shifting weight from one leg to another.” ‘The plastic also confers another advantage important to Pearson: “thas a log life and its possible to recycle it. We thnk you have a responsibilty to cansider how much material you'l use. We did't want to use any more material than we needed to. The life energy cost of the chair, the material usage, is equivalent to driving a European car about 120 kilometers," he notes. The plastic itself is used primarily in office furniture, but also for automative parts {and other components where high performance is required. Made witha high glass fiber content, the resulting material i, according, to Pearson, stronger than aluminum, with the added benefit of greater flexibilty, yet has a high-tensile capactyThe completed chair is actualy constructed of several different ‘materials. While the main skeleton is ISEF plastic, the central sec tion of the seat pan is polycarbonate, the backrest is ABS plastic, and the bottom tubular section is steel. Perhaps most interest- ingly given this variety of parts, “There are no fixings on the chain” Pearson points out. “Everything is snap-fit except for the back, which fs glued to the arms." Pearsontloyd developed the chair with their own, in-house proto- typing capability that balanced technology and old-fashioned handwork. Pearson fears that, “Computers are dumbing down that intuitive difference you get between people. Programs work the same way no matter who is working on it. They'e a tool, but not a creative tool OF course, we do a 3D computer drawing.” he says, “but you need to have a one-to-one model. The computers were used to verify the stiess analysis and minimize the use of ‘material, The most important thing i that with all the technology and computers, there's nothing lke carving a complex form by hand and seeing it emerge in front of you.” He explains theit process: “What we did in the studio to develop the design lan- suage, was we carved it by hand out of blocks of hard foam unti It looked right. 's a litle bit Uke looking at a car and one tiny, dent will change the entre line. In some cases, we'd sand off a millimeter to change the way the light fell on a curve. This is so Vital to: making something for the human scale, The emotional in volvement is dependent on sight and touch. Which is why I think as a designer we have to be very wary of the design process. We cant think that because it looks a certain way on a. computer screen, tha’ the only way. There's an awful lot of intuitive ability, that’s relevant to making things by hand. We had a parallel process of engineering running with aesthetics at all times. It was, very inefficient and labor intensive. But at the end of the day, what we've got is what we want. I's all about the communication betwaen the hand and the eye, as they are the two portals, through with you judge something three dimensional.” Pearson and his team also balanced other demands as they de- veloped their cantilevered chair. “There are two great extremes. that drove us." he says. “One is beauty. fa thing is beautiful, and compelling, people will look after it, and ths is a very good Way to create a value system in objects. We need to do this be- cause we're creating so much environmental damage. And it should also be as efficient in manufacturing as possible. We try to balance our design ambitions with those things at both ends. of the spectrum," he explains. “There's a great pleasure as a de signer to know that you've done both to get something to be beautiful and compelling, and also that, when someone looks into it, theyll understand haw much careful thought goes into how and why i's made.” Looking back at thelr creation now, Pearson says the thing that surprises him most is quite simply that it works. “That’s the won- erful thing," he says. “We set off with a dream of producing this, beautiful, minimalist, sculpted object, and without sounding arto- sant, | have to say that we we're very happy with it I's wonder- ful to spend two and a half years on something, and then look at ‘and see exactly what we wanted.” He pauses and adds, “In fact, it tured out better than what we wanted.” @ ore a models made wth ENC Komputer ramets fonts) machines ts then ered by hand chee thet frm to ensue te pec Is leasing Tote hand eye nea fe ot st one compute sen, (Get Pearsonlond @ model eaves fie tunis acumen, eng hang ne sanding fo ae each carve it tea ct chal nd even to improve the way ge ses te fe (es Perso© the high tech materiats mix inthe Advanced Potymer Caner car alomed eusotoyd to push te de Signatha ‘ld ed ete wtp meBoson Chair, Studio Patrick Norguet Normally, designers use technology and manufacturing in the service of design, starting with an idea and then finding a M@anNns to make the concept real. For the Boson chair, Patrick Norguet turned this process inside out. While working with a company that develops prototype cars for, Renault and other French car companies, Norguet became in: spired by seeing how they fabricated fiberglass, making struc tures that were both thin and strong. “I took the material from its manufacturing environment and applied it to the design word,” says Norguet. The boroming of materials rom one arena and using them in an otters common for Hogue, who stared his cree desining | window displays and creating speci vet or Lous Witton He has since moved frely in the worlds of fashion and luxury goods, i architecture and interiors, as well as product and furniture design Recent projects include designing new event space and show: rooms for Renault, window displays for Van Cleef & Arpel, etal o se stores for Marthé and Francois Girbaud, and cosmetic products © Mocs ore commony uses inthe ttn Fr P. Gaultier, as well as furniture, carpets, and lamps for a va listo crate a seating cocoon Pat Doth eto” riety of well-known manufacturers, Norguet has also participated ee in several group design shows. He points out that his “Rive Droit” seating system was inspired by watching a television program on htalian textile design and thinking how much fun it would be to mix fashion and furniture. “am inspired by many sources and ‘mix them all quite freely." he says After seeing some of the possibilities offered by berglas, Norguet used computer graphics to conceive the chait. “The idea was to work out an organic form that could be reassuring and cocoon: like, and also to optimize the material so we could make it as thin as possible,” he says, describing the process. “I wanted to use a minimum of matter to create a maximum of aesthetic.” He then brought the design to the car manufacturer, which made pro: totypes that went to the furniture manufacturer, Artfort. Arifor was interested inthe chair but did't have the technology to man: Uufactue it, so they went back to the car company and both com: panies worked on realizing Norguets vision together. According to Norguet, “That was what this design is all about: to mix the in dustrial world with the design word.” Norguet points out that there was abit of... culture shock in this process. We went in to this big industrial company and brought this design for a piece of furniture, which is of course on a much lesser scale. OF course they were interested," he says, “because it seemed lke a crazy idea, but a very interesting one. It was really funny to see a machine making a car, and then two hours later, making a mold for a cha”The manufacturing process offered i because of Norguet’s goal to make the most slender profile pos sible, and sil have the chair be strong enough to support some- fone. “We had to find the best technological solution to fit the best aesthetic solution,” he points out own challenges, especialy The extetior of the Boson chair is made of white Mberelass that can be painted any colar. Foam is injected onto the fiberglass shell and then upholstered. Originally, the chair was designed to have feet, but to achieve econamy of shape and contain costs, he feet were replaced with a stand and circular base, Norguet prefers the footed version and hopes to offer the chair in both ‘options before too long. Either way, the resulting shape hearkens both to the past and the future, “Aesthetically, it reminds us of ‘608 design.” says Norguet. “There's a wink to the ’60s because ofits organic form, but the material and manufacturing make it Then, just to add some mystery to the already space age, im- probable nature of the overall aesthetic, there's the chair. A Boson is a theoretical, fundamental particle associated with a theoretical, quantum feld, neither of which has yet been proven to exist, despite finds this all very intriguing. ame of the OF course, the Boson chair is quite concrete and applicable in a wide variety of reabife settings. Norguet envisions the chair as a comfortable addition to environments as varied as an airport see an accumulation of Boson “Wot just one, but lounge or a family home. chair,” he says where people can feel private and relaxed.” ile on this project Norguet had complete freedom to design wherever his vision and the manufacturing process took him. He also finds designing to a client brief equally stimulating and chal: lenging. He points out that when a client has their own agenda concerning aesthetic, oF there are limitations imposed by tech nology or marketing, these very constraints can provide their own inspirations. “These cases are interesting,” he $a you are limited, it boosts your creativity, Working on a brief means working with other people's ideas and meeting other peo: ple and looking into other technologies. i's about exploration of ‘other possibilities and other cultures, and tha’ inspiring s, "because Norguet describes his design process as“... very intellectual, so things end up being very coherent in the end. The i approach every project in a neutral way and not have a re reflex" And how does he keep himsel fest getting everything that’s come before.” ipe or 1d neutral? “By for(Dosing a resin materia called 1a iu adhesive Bord, essa Pack Korguet Gea Sado Patrick Konguet Dosing molded toerlass Gat: Stoo Ptr Korvet © poste top: computes ‘he ck of LAB wen te. (ed statio Pack Koguet © owpesite stm: oi fies She erwigs ete Nora tsi dec te tent of ie log mace. tiling machines opens ‘stam. eat X30 inaneButtercup Chair, Blu Dot Design and Manufacturing Blu Dot is a trio of college friends who came together after independent careers in art, architecture, and marketing to design and manu- facture “furniture for everyday people with everyday needs.” President John Christakos puts it simply: “The three things we're about are elegant design, simplicity of manufacturing, and aor! ability, Were trying to take the elitism out of design.” With these fundamental principles in mind, Christakos and his partners Maurice Blanks and Charlie Lazor at Blu Dot set them: selves the seemingly straightforward task of making a lounge chair that was comfortable. “Comfort was the main goal; a must, the genesis, and what everything we did hinged upon,” says Christakos. Comfort in a chair is usually associated with'uphal: stery. But part of Blu Dot's mission is to use mass manufacturing to make things affordable, and upholstery is “a craft, not an au tomated process," according to Christakos. They also considered plastic but found the cost of injection molds prokibitve. “So we arrowed in on plywood. It was something we could afford ta work in, the molds are relatively inexpensive, and we hoped that the curvilinear shapes that we could get would yield something, comfortable. Plus, we'd never worked with it before and wanted © tne aatercup cae made of malded plywood began to experiment.” rl rel The first part of the experiment was to create sketches and card board models. “At that stage, we were just looking at forms,” Christakos point out. “Most of our previous pieces were rectilinear, and it was nice to get back to something more formal, more sculptural." As they began to focus on a few shapes, they built more refined cardboard models, then went to foam core models, and finally made preliminary molds in their own shop. They shaped pieces of the rigid pink insulation foam that’s readily, available at any building supply store, laid a stack of veneers With glue in between them over the molds, then stuck the whole contrivance into a vacuum bag and sucked the ar out oft, forcing the veneers down aver the mold and clamping them there until the glue dried and the veneers took on the shape of the mold, In between the cardboard models and pink foam prototype, Blu Dot spent a lot of time tweaking the shape to maximize the chairs comfort. They used a seating buck, described by Chris takas as “a crude contraption to play around with angles and carves, height, piteh, angle of the back relative to the seat, the curvature of the back, the height ofthe arms, the position of the arms, etcetera."{ut they also utlized the basic sit test, getting a dozen or so peo: ple in sizes from petite to well over 6 (1.8m) tall to take a seat ‘and comment on how it felt “I discovered that the section be: tween my shoulder and elbow must be short because | always wanted the arms to be higher,” Christakos quips. “OF two shells we worked with, we discovered in prototyping that ‘one was not possible to make,” he continues. “Plywood can only bend in on one axis at one time, like a piece of paper. One of the designs had this condition embedded in it, and we didn't dis cover this until we started prototyping. In order to fi it, we would have killed the form.* So they focused on what would become the Buttercup, The next step was to find out how to make the back and the seat work together. Chrstakos explains: “We trimmed the pieces we'd ‘made by hand and then began to play with the connection be tween the two parts—the seat, which includes the arms, and the back. We ended up with a joint between the two pieces that is, rot decorative, but functional. The shape is such that if the glue failed, the joint would hold it in place. We used the geometry of, the joint t0 take some of the pressure off the glue and create a shape that is almost self-supporting. We ended up with some- thing that looks like one continuous ribbon of bent plywood.” ‘The final development step was to create a base. After exploring several options, “Wwe came to the conclusion that the base needed to sit in the background as much as possible,” says CCristakos. "We wanted to put this beautiful form on a pedestal, ‘The chair feels like the petals of a flower, so we focused on cre ating something that’s lke a stem.” The base also swivels, which Christakos points out is an especialy nice feature for enhancing, conversation. ARter prototyping, Blu Dot does its own production modeling and drawings and then sends everything to a factory for real produc tion. The Buttercup is manufactured in Poland, and production models feature a decorative face veneer over a core of birch, The veneer is rift sawn, which Christakos says produces a very straight grain that helps accentuate the form, CChristakos found that even though their goal was comfart, they wore still surprised by the results. “We never expected it to be that comfortable. The geometry, the opening, and the dramatic, curve in the back, all let you just slip right in, and then the chair Just grabs you.” CChristakos feels that working as a collaborative practice makes, the final design much stronger and more refined. “Nothing comes. straight from my sketchbook to the real word,” he says. “individ ually, we'll each spend time sketching or making models or some ‘other representation of our ideas and then we'l get together, pin things up, share what we lke and don’t like, and why. Normally, a few clear ideas start to emerge, and we'll take it from there to the next level of detall. Its ike sanding, going from 6o grit, to 8o grit, to 120 git” And being actively involved along the entre continuum of intial inspiration to actualy selling furniture pieces confers other bene- fits that end up improving the end product as wel. “Because we produce mast of the things we design, we live with the practical realities of making, distibuting, and servicing products,” Chis takos says. "We'e engaged with the more pragmatic concems like, will we be able to ship It is it useful, does it solve a prob: lem, will a customer know how to use it, 1s it produceable in a repetitive way with low defects? These concems are baked into four process from the beginning. Often, the end form is lke the residue of the process, and the product is what’ left over after boeing driven by ust plain problem solving, The form becomes in evitable, a5 opposed to subjective.”The sersuous caves ofthe Butrup Cha ae desleed pinay for onl Te pees ws sed be eis of¢ oweCikrak Chair, Adrien Gardére “| wanted to study traditional crafts in India and other places in Asia in order to project how they could be reconsidered and made relevant to contemporary design, not for the cheap manufacturing and local labor, but on the contrary, for their enriching and inspir. ing traditional know how, that might be disappearing otherwise.” So, began a great adventure for Adrien Gardére that spanned sev- eral years and many trips from France to various parts of Asia “The idea was to ty and understand the phenomenon where the process of production is responding toa lot of demands from the ‘occidental world that conform to our stereotypes as to what Is local or Asian or Indian, rather than a truthful and genuine real ity” he says. “its looking for the convergence of design and sus tainable design.” The process began when he won a fellowship to study and work in India. There, among other projects, he collabo: rated withthe National institute of Design (NID), set up in the mid 39605 in Ahmedabad, following Charles and Ray Eames's 1958 India Report. "With 5 selected students of NID, | designed a full collection of funiture,” Gadde notes. “The idea was not to be a simmick or a monkey design of what is exotic or local. The idea was to go very deep into the understanding of the crafts, to un- derstand the manners and attitude of the crafts, and to see if there was an approach or technique that could be transposed, oF © i scone yas Gs esteem tat has interest, or a form tat has such a strength atone maior wotn nt that deserves to be reconstituted.” This yar of study resulted SeeatoneCee Pilnn Ce in seven pieces of funiture that wee shown around Europ, but © rme tational done shovel nade tom woven _N€VET Went beyond the prototype phase. boo, apd the Cok a Pract he tot Flog presen lal cas owidse. About a year late, Olver Debray, the director of Surabaya Al: Wenlons Gnd Ain Gade liance Francaise in Indonesia, Olivier Debray contacted Gardére to see about creating some furniture that reflected the same philos phy and approach of his Indian collection. “it was very impor- tant for me to have some local taining, to root my experience in Indonesia, and to have a real exchange of know how," Gardere says, "50 | coud train people atthe same time that! would learn from observing.” He worked with tee local design students who became his trainees. Gardére hoped that this time his creation would go beyond pro: totypes. “The idea was to not only identify the local craftsmen and their know how, but also to identify the local producers and the local small factories that we could follow up with and learn along the way about wiat we didnt even know what we were going to make yet," he laughs. They began by traveling the coun: tiyside looking for materials, shapes, and techniques that might be extrapolated to a chair. They settled on an indigenous, tad tional Indonesian shovel that is very strong, used for a wide var ely of tasks, and is made in several different sizes. “But it was disappearing,” Gardére notes. “It took us a lot of time to find craftsmen that were stil making them, because they are now Using plastic.” They also began experiments with splitting andbending bamboo. “inthis way, the chair is totally drawn and de signed naturally” Gardére notes. “it has grown around and from the bamboo techniques and prototypes. I's not that we pasted the bamboo artifacts onto the chair I's not something we de: signed and then thought, oh we'll make it in bamboo. I's very much a result ofthe processes and mechanics of the bamboo that weld researched, adapted, and extended. The chair kind of fluidly raised out ofthat process.” The production model is made of stainless steel metal that is bent, rather than soldered, *.. to make ita little softer and more welcoming.” The unusual angle ofthe back legs and the curve of the bamboo reflect both aesthetic and functional concers. "We wanted this continuity between the seat and the back,” Gardére explains. “And that this would happen with the bamboo itself. Structurally, we could not have the backtest rely on the arms, $0 we needed a link between the backrest and the back feet. Also I wanted to almost contrast the softness and sweetness of the molded bamboo element, the part where itis one piece before it ‘explodes in fingers." As well, Garddre notes, “We had to step from seat and backrest withthe same element. | wanted continu ity of material. We had to bend it respecting the structural capac- @ tots fat tte sows he distinc angle of he bck es 8 we 8 he etl ptem eee by anoint over meta ame ane mons fhe piece of pit na bent bamboo. iden Gare @ Arey fist yon a mal ame” shows the ey lens tat need to come Copter rte rl iD etal pt ano, nd nore at Pr ‘nose Cvs Aron Gore The bamboo pees a bet ina shape that pois comfort aswel 3 up ity of the bamboo. We could not make a straight angle or it would have broken, We needed a curve that the bamboo would sup- port” Finally, the three pieces of split and bent bamboo are woven with native rattan, which is treated with a fungicide and then given a protective coat of varnish, ‘The chair is made from three pieces of bamboo that are spit at ‘each end and then woven into a chair seat and back around a metal frame. This prototype was shown atthe Paris Furniture Flr, Salon du Meuble de Pars, *.. . not to be sold, just to show the result of the experience,” Gardére says. But, as luck would have it, a new company, Perimeter Editions, was looking for limited edition products by a few select designers, saw the chair, and wanted to produce it. “What I really wanted happened In the sense that the chair found a distributor,” Gardére says, “but I wanted to be very faithful to the process. t had to be produced, in Indonesia.” With a lat more work finding the right craftsmen to make the metal frames, and setting up workshops with the same craftsmen they originally trained to do the weaving, the Cikrak chair became much more than a cross-cultural, somewhat aca ‘demic experience.‘The Cikrak chairs are being made in an existing factory that has. set aside a section for these specially trained craftsmen. “The company is small" Gardére notes. “For the moment, we'e work Ing on orders of fifteen at a time.” But in addition to the satisac tions of seeing his creation somewhat industrially produced, he's also helped a group of people find new uses for important as pects of thelr indigenous culture. “They are very conscious of the need to feed their creativity." Gardére explains. “They very well know that they are very much limited to a Western order of pro- duction, which is stereotyped and impoverishing their know-how. They are very conscious ofthe benefit they can gain from new ap- plications of the know-how." Summarizing the whole experience, his enthusiasm is palpable. “I's a good adventure and a great satisfaction. This is kind of my secret garden design, and it's also political in a way. I's a way of tying to take into account what I like in the world, and also trying to set up projects that are not just ego-centered, but are part of exchange and cooperation, and In this very limited way, part of sustainable development. It took. 1 whole range of people and cooperation, and I find this very ex citing because other projects are not usually as humanly rooted.” (© sami provides ata stu element wel a trl beauty and nil acon romaine role To povic appar between hast apd Back Grats Aton Goce (© eat, tx version of atan woven around bamboo spits eels the atowe be ene ofthc pre Ce A aeCorallo Chair, Fernando and Humberto Campana “this Chair is an example of how something that is very complicated for typical industrialization can be made,” says Humberto Campana of the Corallo chair designed by him and his brother Fernando. Its also an example of how, in the creative process, nothing re ally gets lost, and even things that have been set aside for a decade can suddenly spring back to life. When Humberto started ‘making chairs back in the early 90s, he fabricated a seat made of, wire and wood rings. “It was very sculptural and one of a kind,” he says. "We kind of forgot about that project until the art direc tor of Edra came to the studio one day and saw a photo of this ‘other chair and asked us to make something lke this concept with another shape.” Working from the concept of lines floating inal, Humberto began simply by bending pieces of steel wire. “We started with real scale, one-to-one,” he recalls. “I bent alot of material, created a lot of lines, and then we started welding them ane to another ta create the structure. We create a volume, even though we don't know what will be the final shape, and then, just like sculpting, @ ser coro cr isin handmade of bet eee en ee erate it like someone who works in marble or wood, we start to take aman Brothers. Cede are way material to sculpt the chair itself and to make It comfort: © oppose op: the design forthe Crate esr wes able." He continues, “There were several phases, litle by litle, Gece styplecate es Nosy na oo ths ut the sculpture came first and the function came after” ae When the handmade prototype was fnished, the brothers sent it oppose toton maser dang theca of to Tuscany where skilled craftsmen fllowed ther basic frm ie amr atte. gan sips COMET create this hghl fashioned armchait, Eventhough Edra has sn yo developed kind of meld around which the wires are bent and ————— welded to create the overall shape, every Corallo armchair is ba- sically made by hand. "Each one is diferent from the other” Humberto points out. This humanizes the design. We dost want to puta standardization on the cha. We want to have a human touch, These are seivindstalized, but they need the human hand t hep them.” Once Edra saw the shape of the seat finalized, they named it Corallo, which means coral in Italian, and painted the piece its signature color. Humberto remembers, “The frst one we did was rusted, without any paint or varnishes. But this one is painted so ican be out in the garden and can be comfortable. The paint has a kind of plastic in it, so its softer in contact with the body.” However, he notes, “I's not a chair to sit infor many hours, | will confess. I's something that you could use @ pillow with. That would be Fine with me. It doest't matter to me how people are going to use it, The most important thing is for us to make the concept, to bring something new, and then it starts walking on its ‘own, and Im not responsible for it anymore.”a‘The Campana brothers collaborate on al thee designs. Fernando was trained as an architect and Humberto as a lawyer. “But | gave that up," Humberto says, “and then I started making small things {and got involved in iron sculpture. | thought | was going to be sculptor, and then furniture design just arived in our lives.” Femando is reportedly the rational force of the team. “im much ‘more into ideas,” Humberto says. “He puts my foot on the ground 0 | don't dream so much. He gives function and stability to the work.” The coming together ofthese opposite approaches is not Without its sparks. “We have a constant dialogue, and sometimes, itis very explosive,” Humberto says. “We have lots of disagree ‘ments. I's funny that we are always trying to convince each other that one is right and the other is wrong. I's lke two characters in « David Lynch fl.” The brothers collect their ideas from places as diferent as thelr ‘own sensibilities. They grew up inthe countryside and stil spend every weekend inthis rural setting far away from the vibrant and culturally rich, urban atmosphere of San Paolo. "We look for in- spiration from the ground to the sky,” Humberto says, “fom the clouds in the sky to the racks and in the very colored, textured, compressed world of San Paolo. We need them both and lke to make a shack between these two diferent worlds in which we tive.” ‘The brothers work through all these disparate influences in a de cidely civilized way. Humberto describes their process: “Every day, we go and have a coffee, and we make it into a kind of meeting, and we talk about projects and to just be away from the studio, And see the life of the streets. | like everyday to have an idea, and Femando likes to have time away from the idea. He comes, from a distance, as he is not involved manually with the piece, ‘Sometimes, he arrives and finishes it. He can see it more clearly, wihere | am so involved with the piece, | can't see it any more, Every day, we just talk about creation. There Is no formula for how we come to agreement. | never thought about it because it lust comes.” The brothers also have other designers in thelr stu dio who bring... fresh eyes and minds to the creative process, and their opinions are very Important. Sometimes, they give the final opinion, and they break the deadlock.” Even though his background as a sculptor clearly influences his, work, Humberto feels there are Important differences between de sign and art that need to be understood, and then transcended. “Even though my work can be very sculptural, my main concern is, that It belongs to people's houses. We are not artists, we are de- signers," he says. “We like to point out new directions, new ques tions about how to use furniture. We lke to be outsiders, to pervert materials that exist in the market to create another func tion with that material” He continues, “! don't like barriers—this, belongs to at, this to design. Today, we need to embrace every- thing. Today, everything is coming to design. Modernity is to ‘make a fusion of everything.” © top: ta ro aban by hand and paced whim ad est late in tory stages of developing te fst haat wale er Become the oral. (ede: remondo ond Hombor Compan ®t pices of bent metal are added og the Cae at arm supp. The profcton models ae mote nasa ey by being wes err 3 rough frm an wing thom onto Cet Fmando ond Homboro Campana @ sexom: ace te geneous popations of test ate created the fom is set sop ean sipgoaae s popoinsUttimately, the pleasures of the Carollo chair are quite simple for Humberto. “It looks lke a cloud of lines in the sky.” he says. “I like this, It gives me happiness when | see it It gives me the sen- sation of lightness.” And when others look at it? “When people see it, there is a smile on their face,” Humberto reports. “Espe- cially children, They love our furniture. They seem to make an ‘emotional connection to the chair This is what is missing today in, furniture, this emotion, this connection to the spirit. The world is saturated with rationalism. People need to work more with intu: ition and a sense of humor In this era, we need ths.”Decompression Space Chair, Matali Crasset “This chair had a very specific brief at the beginning,” says Matali Crasset. “FeliceRossi gave the same base to four or five designers. They had a chassis, and then they were to do four or five mod- els on the same technique, like a car.” The base provided by the furniture manufacturer was to be made in roto-molded plastic. “They sent the drawing and said we had to finish it,” says Crasset, who immediately saw the raw potential in the simple structure. I decided not to cover the base,” she says. “It is an industrial piece and wellfinished. It was quite a big structure, and | realized that | wanted to do the opposite of the arm chait, where there are big soft shapes on each side to hold your arms. | wanted to do the opposite and let the arms fal in side because it's a more relaxed position; you put your arms along your body to relax. Tha’s why its called a decompression space. To have the body be in this position isto make a situation to relax, to forget, and get imagination on that point.” For Casset, design i less about the object self and more about campeon sce ha cents enige the space it wil inhab“n 2 way, | abays san wih the con Saco by eng ata ot 6a ae says. Tm dng apiece Tor a company, ora specie in terior or @ hotel, 3 you have to deal with atmosphere and how you want people to feet inthe space. You always havea context of development with projec.” But wit this projec, the context and the produc became one and the same. “The bie was a ready very ferent,” says Cesset, “When | suggested to leave the chair open and keep the structure visible, | thought they would refuse it because it was not the idea, Sut the opposite happened. They found i very interesting.” ‘As she began to work outa form for the chair, Crasset spent alot of time thinking about what itis to rest. “I did some experimen: tation about the decompression space and how can space can create a kind of restful atmosphere,” she says. “I did some trials about resting with space and it was quite interesting to find the ‘same disposal, but for a domestic application and with the arm chai” she explains. “I did this idea of inverting the armehalt. It is kind of negative armchait. The arms are inside out." This project also turned Crasser’s usual design interests inside out. “It Is something which is very different than other things | do,” she says. “I hate to dictate to people. | prefer to make a base and let people be fee to move. Wit the shape ofthe armchair, I's a pro: posal to rest. I's a fixed proposal. Usually, 'm working on modu: larity, movement, not having a product that is dictating something. Ina way, ths isan invitation to keep quiet. it makes sense.” The base ofthe chair is a shel of plastic, avaliable in five difer ent color: pink ight blue, white, royal blue, and green. The seat is made of molded foam with small pockets where elbows and hands can find a comfortable nest. Contrasting colors of foam ac centuate these areas. “The more dificult part was to have a very, good shape,” says Crasset. “We had to make a mold for that partesato make sure we get a good cut. The shape inside the cut out par, is not just round,” she notes. “h's shaped like a hand. It goes. from wide to nartow to make people think of having their hand there." According to Crasset, the foam is attached to the plastic with Velcro strips. “So you can take it out," she says. “You can change the fabric or whatever” The small contrasting strip be- ‘ween the seat and the plastic base is “where its elastic for com: fort.” she notes. “Normally” she says “this would be made of wood or steel. This, project is very light. The molding is very light. There is air inside. You have a very thin layer of plastic and then the foam. I's empty, Inside; i's a closed shape. Only the outline is plastic. I's strong; It’s enough.” The piece is finished with four small metal feet, also, in contrasting colors that further lift and lighten the entire piece off the floor just a bit. Casset points out that you can put the De compression Space chairs side by side to create a sofa of any size or seating capacty Crasset has also expanded how the chair can be used in other ways. “Here's a litle stony” she says. “I am doing another proj ect, an exhibition about design and the domestic application for sound. | put a remote control where the hand is. You have a data- base of sound and text and the Idea is to mix them, to select sound and text and try to mix them together. The idea was to no longer get musie—that is very easy—but what can we do with it, and how do we give it meaning,” At the Abitare i! Tempo, an inte rior design fair in Verona, tly, Crasset created an entire Decom: pression room. “We used the same chal.” she says, “and it was, ireen and yellow. The idea was to get a rest, but also to get en: ergy. The color was to give to energy.” When she considers this inside-out chal, he finds thatthe self: contained and suggestive nature of the Decompression Space is Its most intriguing aspect. “I lke the Idea that this furniture has its own way of working,” she says, “I don't care about the shape, ‘The more interesting thing isthe atitude It can propase to you. like to have a product that engages the person. You like it or you. dont, but if you do, you have a deeper relationship with the piece. You have the same mood as the piece of furniture.” © psd pte ot me ete pe ca Frisbed ok ofthe lati batt se decide 0 leet egoeeé and simpy 2683 am ss (ce eee St Om tc ea Siete SaneDora Chair, Studio Palomba Serafini “In this special moment we are looking out for something more, something, how can we say, like a sort of metrosexual design,” says Roberto Palomba. “1 ike masculine and rigorous, and | like geometry and also something that is minimal, but why do | have to be boring?” he asks, "Me too, | also dress with blue jeans, but why can't luse a flower Tshit? am a man, a straight guy, but also | can wear something that can be decorated, that can be more joyful” The Dora chair reflects not only these masculine and feminine influ tences—Palomba shares the studio with his wife, along with ten other designers and staff—but also multi generational and mult: cultural design inspirations. According to Palomba, “The main Idea is that you can do something rigorous or rational, but it can contain something absolutely crazy, and it can belong to the same project. So we went with this strange combination of an homage to the "50s classical design, and this decorated skin, hich is very lke @ japanese kimono. Our international society Is changing, so we have to find new models, and this has to be re fected in our design.” tecrtues to ceate a texte pate daly on The Dora was also the product of Palomba’ informal and friendly the plat surace, tM Zombelt felationship with the manufacturer. “I have a close relationship with the company.” he says, “and we often talk about new proj ects Im very free, and when | have an idea, | go and | say, | have this idea, can we see about making it? I's very important for me to have a very fat and very simple relationship withthe clients, wiho are generally sometimes my fiends, too. So we talk about other things, not just about jobs, and sometimes ideas come from talking about other things.” Inthe case of the Dora, part of, Palombats goal was to ceate something new and unique. “There are hundreds of pieces in roto-molding plastic.” he points out. “The sales people were asking for something always sales peo: ple ask for something they don't have. And so we say, if we have to make a Zanotta piece with roto molding, it has to be totally different from what is on the market.” From this multitude of ideas, influences, and impulses, came the ora, with distinctive “lower tattoos.” Palomba looked at several patterns, including stipes and oversized polka dots, before set tling on the natural pattern. “I can say that I was thinking of hav- ing something that looks lke fabric directly on the surface. | makde some sketches, then | saw some Japanese décor, and | said that | would lke to do something lke that, put a kimona fon a "505 arm chair. Flowers, well, lowers are always a positive object," he points out. The patter is created directy inthe mold itself by having some parts of the chair polished and others matte, The Dora is also available in a lacquered, highly polished version without the pattem, but Palomba prefers the “tattoos.” The shape ofthe chair was designed not only as a nod to an ear lier aesthetic, but also to provide optimal comfort for all-season, allweather seating.ower psitoned a the entra the arma 520 mm 150 mm sing a tape measure svetced aes the srace ofthe cae “When you make a thing in plasti, i's a continuous shape, and you always have to think about it like a ceramic or glass abject, things that can be done only in one piece,” Palomba notes. “I's very easy when using plastic to make a soft and sensual shape. | ‘would lke it to look fat and comfortable, but, when possible, the design has to also have a good price and be very comfortable.” In addition to meeting these criteria, Palomba is pleased that the Dora is so versatile in both its pragmatism and aesthetic. “If you, {0 around and look at this piece, the shape changes continu- ously." he points out. “You have lots of points of view. And this, armchair can also be put outside, in the open ait” The chairs comfort resulted from rigorous testing of prototypes. “We were very careful with ths,” Palomba emphasizes. And also as important: nontechnical sit test. “It was very funny because in owas canbe ‘eon on he model 220 mm © op lt One of he mon intresting quis ofthe Dora eis how its ‘hope shonses sub a you mave vou fae shown in tis compute Fenderng whet raise essence of tng nt. Cred Palombo ‘Sora © top sgh Antter computes rendering places he din human sae and stows hese sirer crete bythe contasing tenure of te tatooed ‘hin Cet Poomba Sera © near pene teases on edness ht ete te erent com focal bucket Sap lhe set. he pate owes so mae oe ‘ope Cet: honda Sees{amp and sparing leas forthe Kure, Cet: Mt Zomba! the company, | discovered when they make armchairs, there is a ‘man who is, I dort want to say fat, but he's a big man. When we make a model, we have to make a test with this man. When | ar Five with the model, at the beginning, he arives, and I was think ing it was a test to try and break it,” Palomba recounts with another of his frequent bursts of laughter. The chair also underwent some other, completely unplanned test: ing at an exhibition in the Salone del Mobile. Someone uniten tionally placed one of the chairs over a light inthe floor, tuning the Dora into an impromptu lamp. This happy accident was then repeated intentionally to create sofly glowing chaits throughout the exhibition, In addition, Palomba reports, "We let some chairs at the show and the people were playing a lot with them. What was very nice was the relationship with the babies. They were playing with them, climbing up and down, or putting them on the floor and using them lke a big toy or creating a litle car or some- thing with it | see that this kind of shape attracts the baby, and this was a good test.” Reflecting on the Dora chairs development, Palomia feels that it Is both a bit of a departure in execution but also a continuation of an important design concern, “I think with this object, there is something that ve never done before: avery strong inspization with a classic object. Generally, we try to make objects that are ‘more original, | would say. But | dost feel this work i like some- ‘thing wrong, because the main research was to create an object, that worked in this way, This is what | asked of myself in the be: ginning, | asked myself to do this, it was nat imposed to me, it was not something that happened, It was something that | de- cided to do.” This is a lesson Palomba also emphasizes to his design students, at the university in Milan, where he teaches. “I say always the same thing when | talk to students,” he notes. “I say that they have to think before they draw. i's up to you, you have to dig very wel inside of you and choose your own way, and you say ‘what you really feel to say.” Thinking about the contrast between, the iconic designers of the era that helped inspite his Dora chal, he notes, “In university today, they don't want to be a designer, they want to be a famous designer. But when you are creative, you have to say what you realy feel, and you can't mind if you, will be famous, because then you are just @ marketing man. This, hurts the younger generation, They just want to be a superstar, and this i totally mistaken. Design is something you have to take cate about. We carit make objects just to make our glory.”Facett Chair, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec “We used the machine to make a kind of Clothes for the sofa,” says Erwan Bouroullec of the Facett collection. “It’s a bridge between clothing and origami paper folding.” The machine to which he is refering was something he and his brother, Ronan, discovered on the factory floor at the furniture manufacturer Ligne Roset. “It was in the center of the factory and was a very big machine, and most of the time, | was just passing by and it was not being used,” Bouroullec recalls. "! asked what this machine wals.” It tumed out to be an “incredible sewing machine” that makes mattresses. Ligne Roset is not generally in the business of making mattresses, but was using the machine approximately one week a month. Boutoullec found out that mak — Ing mattresses “is an incredibly simple job for something that can do so much more.” The discovery of the machine coincided with, @ re race catecions made of quited oom and and made possible, an idea the brothers had for a new kind of ‘abc wth an industrial sewing machine moe tsi’ sofa, “The idea was to make a ful-form sofa." he says. “It does: ae cain ete rit have any visual structure. I's just a shape covered by the fab ric.” Once they discovered this machine, they had to dust it aff, and reconsider the potential of what they had in their midst. “They had to learn how to use and program it in a much more complex way,” Bouroullec says. “They even had to buy another part for the machine.” Making the Facett was a process of hands-on tial and error. “We ‘made some relly early drawings,” Bouroullec says, “kind of in precise drawings of what we might want to do, and we made ‘many small prototypes, but we did't really draw it. We went to prototyping quite quickly” he notes. “Our fist decision was to choose a fabric and use the sewing machine to make a kind of sandwich between fabric and foam," Bouroullec says. “The sewing has two roles: when you repeat all the parallel lines on the surface ofthe sofa, you give much more stiffness to the fab Fic, 0 thatthe fabricfoam acts tke cardboard. Sewing also makes a gap and can be used as a kind of folding line.” They quickly discovered that there are unique challenges when you try to sew rather than bulld a piece of furniture. “The work became very precise, whichis why I speak of clothing and tailor. ing." Bouroullec says. “As soon as we had to make a transforma: tion about the height of the seat, angle of back, or height all the usual dimensions you adapt in prototyping to make It comfort: able—every time we even had to make @ two centimeter change, we had to redraw the entire clothes.” Eventually, they were able to create flat patterns, similar to those used by dressmakers, for each piece in the collection. “There are lke thirty surfaces,” Bouroulec explains, “and all the surfaces came fom one or two flat parts. Everything is flat lke origami at fist. Then, you make these lines that are rejoined with a second sewing process. At the end, we needed to have a perfect fit between the fabricfeam and the inside form ofthe sofa. The shape of the sofais faceted, like 1 diamond,” he continues. “There are all these triangles and per. fect geometrical shapes that all answer to each other.”‘Gets Ronen and Ena Burole Dorpose: the complete ne of Facet frre canbe ‘in topter for mada versity ad tyes‘The most challenging aspect of the manufacturing process was cre ating the arms. “it was interesting to manage with the design of the armrest, to make it in such a small dimension,” Bouroullec says. Once made, these quilted “clothes” fit precisely over a wood and plastic intemal structure. “You can take the cover aff to wash I,” Bouroullec notes “I's very practical. There are two zippers on the back to remove it The original sofa is now part of a complete line that includes @ loveseat, chair, and ottomans in two different sizes, They are also making some quited “carpets” of the same sandwiched foam and-fabric concoction. Al the pieces are available ina wide range of fabrics with contrasting or complementary stitching. They create a versatile collection, particularly for people who want deep, ex tremely comfortable, movable furniture that fits into @ compact space. “With the footrest,” Bouroullec says, “as soon as you put itn front of the armchair or sofa, you have a really wide chaise lounge. You could almost sleep on it. I's perfect to be with 2 child oF watch TV. The fact that you don't see any structure, you see only fabric it gives a lot warmness to the sofa,” he adds The Facett collection has been very well received, Bouroullec notes. “People really understand and like this haute couture, in credibly wellfinished surface. There is some kind of value that people understand very quickly. They understand that behind it, there's @ lat of work, and don't ming if’ from someone or from a machine, What is really diferent isthe way we have been using the sewing, the shape, no feet—this is all quite new,” he says. ‘But what is not especially diferent is that we have an idea at the beginning and we try to push the idea as far as possible, This cot lection has a very strong point of view.” (n this project, ike every other they undertake, Erwan Bouroullec ‘worked hand-in-hand with his brother, Ronan, “The first thing is, that we always work together, so there is no project that comes from me or my brother.” Erwan says. “Everything Is codesigned. Sometimes, the work is like @ Ping-Pong game, and other times it's Uke a boxing game,” he explains. “It depends upon the mood. Sometimes, i's easy and natural, and sometimes, we dont agree, and it can go quite far into disagreement before we find a solu tion.” When asked if they have different strengths they bring to the process, Erwan answers with a hesitant and equivocal “yes “But they are things that are not particularly understandable for someone who does not know us closely." he explainsFlow Chair, Monica Forster At first, Monica Forster thought it was a joke. An email arrived that said simply, “Hello, we are Seglas. We have seen you on the Internet and would like you to design a chair for us. 3,000 chairs, please. Looking forward to hearing from you.” Assuming this was just a tease from a colleague or friend, Forster, laughed and forgot about the note. Then, a few months later, she received another email from this mysterious Seglas. This time, it was an electronic holiday card, Forster took @ moment to look at the recipient lst and noticed her name appeared among those of, ‘many ather wellknown artists and designers. She found herself thinking that perhaps this Seglas was no joke afte all She re: sponded to the first inquity and discovered it had come from Seglas and Cano Architects, a leading Spanish architectural frm in ‘Madrid, who were developing a major cultural center in Cartagena, Spain and wanted her to design the seats for the auditorium © tebe aaa he Crom ae