Hasta La Ideas

Swedish architect and designer Mia Cullin has produced a range of benches and stools with adjustable seats modelled on traditional wooden peg furniture and piano stools.

Mia Cullin‘s Orkester collection features benches with two or three seats as well as individual stools. The flat circular seats are attached to cylindrical pieces of timber by large wooden screws.

Four wooden legs are splayed from beneath the horizontal section of wood.

Mia Cullin said the design was influenced by a type of piano stool with an adjustable seat and “simple traditional wooden furniture assembled with plugs without any screws or metal fittings”.

“As the seats are adjustable, you can choose the height suitable for you but still sit next to your friends, parent or child,” explained Cullin.

The furniture is made entirely from ash wood, without the use of any screws or metal fittings. It was designed for use in schools and nurseries, but can also be used in waiting rooms, entrances and other public spaces.

The benches and stools come in natural or stained colour variations. Photography is by Mathias Nero.

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on piano stools for Orkester collection appeared first on Dezeen.

Berlin-based Danish architect Sigurd Larsen has designed a collection of tables and benches with surfaces made from materials chosen to age well (+ slideshow).

Sigurd Larsen based the furniture on a standard square section steel frame, with oak, leather, copper and concrete used for the surfaces that the body comes into contact with.

“The furniture appears thin and light in order to put the horizontal surfaces with their special attributes into focus,” Larsen told Dezeen.

“I have always been very excited about materials that gain a higher quality the more you use them,” he added. “I hope that this ‘positive development’ over time will inspire people to keep and maintain their possessions longer instead of replacing them time after time.”

The Melbourne Project bench is available with a copper or steel table adjoining the leather surface, as a daybed or with an oak back rest. Tables come in dining and coffee table dimensions.

The furniture will be exhibited for four weeks from 1 September at the MINI Paceman store in Melbourne, Australia.

We recently published a coffee table with a narrow mouth that swallows books and magazines and another table made using similar techniques to surfboard manufacture.

Photography is by Georg Roske.

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Product news: London designer Ron Arad has designed a wavy plastic bench shaped liked the infinity symbol, with curving backrests stretching upwards at each end.

Called Folly, the rust-coloured bench designed for Italian furniture brand Magis by industrial designer Ron Arad is made from rotational-moulded polyethylene and is suitable for indoor and outdoor use.

On display at Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan earlier this year, the Folly bench is 950 milimetres wide and 1100 milimetres high and suitable for up to 10 people to sit on.

“Ron Arad’s creations, whether functional or purely aesthetic, are characterised by motion, by soft lines that give all his works a highly dynamic orientation despite their primitive, simple forms,” said Magis.

Other new products designed for Magis include a set of minimal dials to monitor air temperature, pressure and humidity, and an update to their Steelwood chair by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec.

Read all our stories about Ron Arad »
Read all our stories about Magis »
See all our stories about benches »
See our Milan 2013 coverage »

Photography is from Magis.

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for Magis appeared first on Dezeen.

Milan 2013: Zaha Hadid imagined a block of ice formed in the crevasses of a glacier for the design of this bench, launching this week in the Tortona district of Milan.

The Serac Bench, designed by Zaha Hadid for street furniture brand Lab23, is made from a resin and quartz composite that gives it a sparkling white colour.

The surface of the bench is shaped into a series of smooth ridges and curves, and a single arch forms a backrest on one side.

The piece is on show at the Officine della Torneria, Via Novi, 5, just around the corner from Dezeen’s movie studio at the MINI Paceman Garage.

London architect Zaha Hadid is showing a number of projects around Milan this week, including a pair of monochrome pendant lamps, a limited edition of marble tables and a system of twisting auditorium seats.

See more design by Zaha Hadid »
See more design from Milan 2013 »
See our map of the best things to see at Milan 2013 »

Photography is by Jacopo Spilimbergo.

Here’s some more information from Zaha Hadid Architects:

Zaha Hadid for Lab23

Zaha Hadid’s concept of urban furniture to be seamlessly integrated with its context and Lab23’s experience coalesce into the Serac Collection, especially the Serac Bench, the urban bench designed by the architect and designer for the renowned street furniture label.

The concept behind the Serac Bench, which will be presented at Fuorisalone 2013, at the Officine della Torneria from April 8th to 14th, is evoked by the image of a block of ice formed by intersecting crevasses in a glacier. Developed as an urban sculpture for seating and resting, the Serac Bench seamlessly integrates with its context. Its striated articulations emerge from the landscape, each layer taking its own unique trajectory in reaction to latent forces that disperse – and ultimately coalesce – the many strata of the bench to generate its overall formal composition. The design rediscovers the fluid, continuous nature of Zaha Hadid’s work – exploring relationships between full and void, object and background, form and function; an evolutionary pattern that is evident throughout her repertoire.
The bench has been developed in resin quartz, a tough and durable material that when shaped into a more curvaceous form, transitions into a softer, fluid and tactile surface. The sparkling crystal balances a stunning light play with mesmerizing depth.

Lab23, with numerous collaborations with world-renowned architects and designers under its belt, will present the Serach Bench together with its entire collection of street furniture, developed with innovative and enviromentally friendly materials, which have always characterized the brand. Five and Sofa are designed to furnish urban living rooms with ottomans, side tables and sofas. On the other hand, line S, designed by Veronica Martinez, consists of benches and flower boxes that recall the winding shape of an S. Stéphane Chapelet developed benches, tables and Zadig, a steel seat which features an interesting texture thanks to its laser cutting.

At Fuorisalone 2013, and after focusing mainly on public spaces, Lab23 will have the chance to present Aria23, a collection of outdoor furniture dedicated to the general public that distinguishes itself for a unique sensitivity for enviromental impact. For Aria23, architecture studio Marconato e Zappa, has developed a selection of décors.

The common and idenitfying feature of this collection is indeed the use of WPC, wood and plastic composit, an entirely recyclable material.

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for Lab23 appeared first on Dezeen.

Maison&Objet 2013: French design duo Colonel present furniture inspired by camping at Maison&Objet design fair in Paris, which concludes tomorrow.

Above: large Dowood lamp

The second collection from Colonel includes the Dowood lamp, which has a metal base and a beech shade painted with bright geometric forms. It comes as a ceiling lamp or a small or large table lamp.

Above: small Dowood lamp

The Diabolo lamp is available as a tripod, table or ceiling lamp and comprises a metal frame dressed with a gradient-printed fabric shade in mint, blue and pink, or yellow and pink.

Inspired by camping furniture, the beech Pondy table has turquoise crossrails and comes with a bench with yellow crossrails.

The new objects are shown alongside Colonel’s first collection, which comprises Faces, a standing lamp with a decagonal fabric shade that tilts like an umbrella, and Caracas, a version of a ’60s camping chair that comes in yellow, pink or blue.

Above: Diabolo table lamp

Colonel was founded by Isabelle Gilles and Yann Poncelet in 2010 and their products are available from their Paris boutique.

Above: Diabolo tripod lamp

Other products shown at Maison&Objet this year include a family of terracotta pots with rubber lids and a set of cutlery with long, slim handles like chopsticks – see other designs presented at Maison&Objet 2013.

Here’s some more information from the designers:

Colonel was born from the meeting between Isabelle Gilles and Yann Poncelet around the famous cocktail made of vermouth and lime ice, in 2010. Their desire is to first draw fresh and contemporary products and furniture.

Above: Diabolo ceiling lamp

Interested in creation and traditional craftsmanship, Colonel decides to launch a new design furniture and products company while working in parallel on interiors. All the items are designed by Colonel: Isabelle Gilles & Yann Poncelet.

Above: Pondy table and bench

Collection

This new collection as the first collection of Colonel was inspired by outdoor furniture (beach, camping) aesthetics. It is a contemporary re-reading of this universe mixing colours, rhythms and patterns. It is mainly composed of wood, textile materials and surprising colors. The collection evokes summer, relaxation.

Dowood lamp

This raw and sophisticated new lamp is composed of a beech shade and a metal base. Colonel offers three different forms: small and large table lamps and a big ceiling lamp. Dowood lamp is available in seven colour sets. Beech, acrylic painting, metal.

» Small table lamp: Ø 20 cm / H 30 cm
» Medium table lamp: Ø 30 cm / H 25 cm
» Big ceiling lamp: Ø 40 cm / H3 0 cm

Above: Faces standing lamp

Pondy table

Colonel creates a table with a raw and minimal appearance, where wood and metal interlock to create a harmonious whole. This table comes with a bench. Its size invites to conviviality. Beech and metal.

» Table: l 160 cm x L 80 cm x H 73 cm (others sizes on request)
» Bench: l 145 cm x L 32 cm x H 46 cm

Diabolo lamp

This lamp is available in different shapes and colour ranges. Gradient fabrics come around the structure like a dress, and then close on it like a hood. Diabolo is available as table lamp and tripod. Colours: mint, blue / pink, yellow / pink. Gradient fabric and metal.

» Tripod lamp: Ø 45 cm / H 110 cm
» Table lamp: Ø 40 cm / H 38 cm
» Ceiling lamp: Ø 45 cm / H 37 cm

Above: Caracas chair

Faces lamp

Faces often changes appearance thanks to its large tilt decagonal shade. It could be compared to an umbrella. The white poliphane inside shade guides light according to his inclination. Beech and Kvadrat fabric.

Dimensions: H158 cm, D36-56 cm

Caracas chair

Inspired by garden furniture, «Caracas» is a very contemporary version of the 60s camping chair. Its large proportions invite to relax, its appearance suggests holidays. Caracas changes his appearence with a new graphic canvas. Yellow/pink/blue fabric – metal.

Size: H 80 cm / L 64 cm / P 53 cm

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by Colonel appeared first on Dezeen.