Hasta La Ideas

Milan 2014: an armchair made entirely from foam and designed by Canadian designer Philippe Malouin is being exhibited in Milan.

The chair, called Mollo, has been designed for British brand Established & Sons and is Malouin‘s first project for a commercial furniture brand.

The chair is made without any hard internal structure. The design aesthetic came about as Malouin was experimenting with the expanded polystyrene foam – an everyday foam that you might find in a mattress.

“We always knew we wanted to make something super soft and comfortable and [Mollo] kind of happened by accident,” said Malouin.

The seat and arms are created using stitches to make shapes in the material. “Imagine you are putting your finger on the foam, where that pressure is you place a stitch and that creates the seat which is lower than the armrests,” he explained. “This curves the foam is such a way that gives it its plumpness and shape.”

The prototype was made from a single piece of foam, but it will be produced using two pieces. The foam is upholstered in velvet.

Speaking about why he decided to work with Established & Sons, Malouin said, “they just came to the studio to meet me at the beginning of this experiment and they were interested in developing it. I rarely contact people because I’m too shy but I’ve always admired the brand and wanted to work with them.”

The chair is being shown until 13 April at 
Istituto dei Ciechi, 7 Via Vivaio, Milan.

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for Established & Sons appeared first on Dezeen.

Milan 2014: Danish furniture brand Republic of Fritz Hansen will revive the 1958 Drop chair designed by Modernist architect Arne Jacobsen in Milan next week (+ slideshow).

The Drop chair was originally produced alongside the archetypal Swan and Egg chairs for the interior of the Radisson Scandinavian Airlines System Hotel in Copenhagen, designed by Danish designer and architect Arne Jacobsen in the 1950s.

The tear-shaped chairs were produced exclusively in a limited edition for the hotel’s bar and lobby.

“Confronted with a synthetic material that lacked any structure or suggested any form, Jacobsen took his inspiration from the human form and the contours of the body,” said architect, author and Arne Jacobsen expert Michael Sheridan.

“In this way, he humanised technology and the Drop chair for the Royal Hotel represents a masterful intersection of art and industry.”

This version of the Drop chair has been updated using new production methods and materials.

The chair comes in plastic in black, white, blue, grey, red and yellow. The plastic versions are available with either chrome or powder-coated legs in matching colours. The seat is available with textile or leather upholstery.

The chair will be exhibited at the Republic of Fritz Hansen‘s showroom at Corso Giuseppe Garibaldi 77 in Milan from Tuesday next week.

Other Danish Modernist chairs that have recently been launched include Hans J. Wegner’s CH88 design, revived by Carl Hansen & Son.

British fashion designer Paul Smith has used his signature stripes on upholstery for chairs by Wegner, which will also be shown in Milan.

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by Republic of Fritz Hansen appeared first on Dezeen.

Milan 2014: Swiss design studio Big-Game will present an oak chair for Japanese brand Karimoku New Standard in Milan next week (+ slideshow).

Big-Game‘s Castor Low Chair for Karimoku New Standard adds to the Castor family previously created by the studio, which all use Japanese oak.

“Karimoku New Standard’s know-how in woodworking combines skilled craftsmen with cutting edge technology,” the studio told Dezeen. “They have achieved the slim armrest using very precise joinery work, milling and sanding, and have given it a great finish that ages well. After all, it’s a part that you’re always touching or rubbing against when you’re sitting on an armchair.”

The Castor references ergonomics of chairs found in traditional Swiss cafes, including the low seat with a wide backrest.

The chair joins a collection that comprises a bench, a shelf, stackable stools and seats, as well as dining tables. It is available in natural oak, grey, black and green.

The piece will be on show as part of Karimoku New Standard’s exhibition during the Salone del Mobile in Milan.

The post Big-Game to present Japanese
oak chair in Milan appeared first on Dezeen.

Japanese designer Tokujin Yoshioka will show a glass chair that refracts light around its edges for Italian brand Glas Italia in Milan next month.

The Prism chair by Tokujin Yoshioka is created from sheets of thick high-transparency glass.

The chamfered edges are cut so light bends as it passes through the material, creating a rainbow of colours across the surfaces.

“This creation will be a chair like a shimmering sculpture,” said Yoshioka.  “Miraculous expression is brought by the refraction of light.”

Four rectangular sheets fit together to create the seat, with the bevelled edges facing inward.

Yoshioka will present the chair in Milan during the city’s design week, alongside the reflective glass Prism table he has also designed for Glas Italia.

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for Glas Italia in Milan appeared first on Dezeen.

Inspired by cigar makers in Spain, Austrian designer Helene Steiner has used thin strips of beech wood rolled into pipes to create a folding chair.

To make the Pepe chair, water is applied to one side of each slice of wood, or veneer, before glue is added on the other. This ensures there is tension on both sides of the sheet and the veneer doesn’t start rolling itself before the process has begun.

The veneer is then rolled into a pipe. Once it has set, each end is pressed to increase strength and make them easier to join to other components. The wood is then pressed in the middle in the opposite direction using a wooded mould.

“This helps to control the direction and position of the pressed parts so they are accurate,” explained Helene Steiner.

Because the veneers are just 0.5 millimetres thick, the material is pliable enough to allow the pipes to be squashed almost flat while still retaining structural strength. The pipes are then left to dry for a day before they can be sanded and waxed.

“Manufacturing in this way results in a strong structure with a novel 3D form and flat sections for assembly,” Steiner added . “The flexible process cleverly uses different pressing angles to make shaping in any direction possible.”

The Pepe chair is then assembled by passing two threaded rods through the middle of the chair. Spacers are added to create enough pressure to hold everything together. A separate rear stand made of two extra pieces of piping is attached to complete the chair.

“The squashed borders of the legs create the unique form and enable different structures with only one screw,” explained the designer.

The production method was first developed by CuldeSac, a Spanish design studio based in Valencia. Called the great tobacco project, the process was inspired by cigar makers in the small town of Torres de Quart in Spain, who have been making cigars there for more than 100 years.

“The name of the chair is an homage to my work at CuldeSac and an expression of thanks to my time as a designer there and the collaboration with Pepe Garcic from CuldeSac,” said Steiner.

In future, Steiner believes the process has wide-ranging applications beyond furniture. “The process gives great opportunity for strong and lightweight constructions as shelves and smaller architectural constructions,” she said. “For that, the process has to be translated to a industrialised process.”

Steiner is currently studying at the Royal College of Art in London and presented the Pepe chair at the recent Work in Progress show.

Here’s some text from the designer:

Pepe

Pepe is made of paper-thin veneer and therefore lightweight but also very stable.

The process is as exciting as the result. The veneer is only 0.5 mm thick and moistened on one side with glue, this is then rolled into a tight pipe and pressed. Manufacturing in this way results in a strong structure with a novel 3D form and flat sections for assembly. The flexible process cleverly uses different pressing angles to make shaping in any direction possible.

Pepe is lightweight and stable and uses a production method developed at CuldeSac Valencia during “The great tobacco project” in 2011.

Old production processes, materials, factories and the people who work and create there are a real inspiration for life. In a small town near Valencia you can find one of those factories full of history and a fascinating atmosphere, with authentic people and a special patina. The great tobacco project was inspired by the unique process of hand rolled cigars that have been produced at Torres de Quart in Torrent for 100 years.

Every table leg of the great tobacco project will be produced out of a thin sheet of wood and will be hand rolled to a perfect pipe. The squashed borders of the legs create the unique form and enable different structures with only one screw. Each table leg is unique. The etiquettes are aligned to the typical cigar banderoles and give every single leg the last touch of its personality. The great cooperation between CuldeSac and Torres de Quart brought the handmade cigars back to the place of inspiration.

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from rolled-up beech veneer appeared first on Dezeen.