The frame of the chair consists of two parallel wooden legs that are joined by a wooden crib-like structure. This crib holds the padded upholstery and meets in two triangular points at the arms.
“The skeleton, traditionally hidden inside the upholstery, is deliberately exposed to showcase the craftsmanship and premium timber,” said Nichetto.
The Danish-oiled frame is made of either American black walnut or European ash and the upholstery is available in a range of fabrics, covering the harder outer shell and soft padded cushions inside.
“The project takes its name both from the concept of balancing skilfully hand-crafted wood with complementary materials at a ratio of 50/50,” said Nichetto. “From the idea of designing a collection that creates a whole environment in the spirit of the great architects of the 1950s.
The collection was launched during Stockholm Design Week, which took place last week.
Chinese design studio Neri&Hu will present a collection of wooden furniture for De La Espada in New York later this month (+ slideshow).
Tray Desk
New items in the collection for the woodwork brand include the Opium Sofa, Solo Table and Tray Desk.
Opium Sofa
Neri&Hu took the typology of a Chinese Tang Dynasty opium bed and modified it to create a sofa, which has shelves under the deep arms for storage.
Solo Table
The oval Solo table sits on two sets of three legs, each arranged in a triangle.
Tray Desk
A two-tier desk folds out into a vanity table, with a mirror in the top shelf and a drawer full of different sized compartments in the lower bottom shelf.
Opium Sofa
Neri&Hu’s previous designs including the Extend Mirrors that prop up against the wall, slender Duet Chairs, plus their Solo Series of lounge and dining shell chairs are now being produced solely for De La Espada.
Solo Table
The collection will be shown at an exhibition in New York’s meatpacking district during the city’s design week from 18 to 21 May.
Opium beds for communal lounging have been in China since the Tang Dynasty, when opium smoking became an accepted social activity which necessitated a comfortable and presentable piece of furniture for receiving guests. neri&hu took this historic typology and updated it to create a contemporary sofa with a simple profile that retains the deep seat and low back of its inspiration. Flanking the sofa are deep arms which form two useful shelves, as well as side tables for books or a cup of tea. The solid wood frame cradles our tired bodies on a lazy Sunday morning, as addicts to our newspapers and coffee instead of the opium in imperial China.
Tray Desk
Trays function as a surface container for collectables, and this multi-tasking desk/vanity table was designed as two stacking trays on a light wooden frame . Contemporary lifestyles demand furniture to be more mobile and flexible, servicing multiple functions, while remaining lightweight for easy transport. This piece responds to that need, using the analogy of trays on trestles as a point of departure.
Solo Table
Solo Table is a solid wood dining table with purity of form and material.
Extend Mirror
Extend Mirrors
In the past, common bamboo ladders were used as household objects inside and outside country homes in China, functioning as an ever-ready stand for hanging a wide variety of things from tools and cloths to dried food. As a tribute to this utilitarian household symbol, neri&hu used three different ladder proportions to make a set of solid hardwood frames for floor standing mirrors. They lean on the floor in a casual manner, as ladders do, and can be used alone or as an interesting ensemble of many ladders with varying heights on the wall.
Solo Series (chair and table)
Inspired by the Eames Shell Chair, the Solo Chair is an updated version that transforms the early industrial look of the Eames iconic chair into a sophisticated, comfortable chair that is suitable both in domestic and commercial settings.
Solo chairs are a “universe within a chair”, wherein the upholstered shell hugs the sitting body to create a microcosmic universe for the person, where the chair becomes an object of shelter and refuge, where the person can be “solo” and undisturbed while being hugged in this position.
An upholstered foam-covered shell creates the universe that is the chair, and claims its singular autonomy in function, form, and beauty.
Duet Chair
The name speaks to the tectonic nature of the construction. Two pieces of bentwood work as a duet, creating the overall shape of the chair. They are stacked one on top of another to form the backrest, and while one extends to create the arm and front legs, the other turns to form the back legs. Originally created as a variation on the classic Thonet bent-wood tradition, the Duet Chair takes on a quiet yet graceful demeanor that is not unlike the German-Austrian classic original.
Duet Chair
Neri&Hu Launches Collaboration with De La Espada
New York Design Week, 18-21 May 2013 at 345meatpacking
New York Design Week 2013 marks the launch of collaboration between Shanghai-based inter-disciplinary architectural practice, Neri&Hu Design and Research Office and leading modern woodworker, De La Espada. The launch event is presented by The Future Perfect at 345meatpacking, a stunning building by DDG. A large-scale purpose-built installation by Neri&Hu sets the scene for the debut of over ten new products born of their collaboration with De La Espada.
A unique sensory environment, the Neri&Hu installation for New York Design Week communicates at once the Neri&Hu approach to interiors and architecture, and their evolution toward product design.
Over ten new products will launch at the event, utilising timber extensively and spanning the needs of the home from dining to living spaces. The pieces are designed by Neri&Hu for their product brand ‘neri&hu’ and manufactured in premium materials by De La Espada craftsmen in Portugal.
The Future Perfect, host of the exhibition, will be the exclusive retailer of neri&hu furniture in the New York City and San Francisco areas.
Industrial designer Benjamin Hubert‘s latest chair features a T-shirt-shaped piece of plywood curled smoothly into its solid ash frame.
Tabs at the corners of the plywood fit into recesses in the solid wood components to make the surfaces level, rather than just attaching on top of them.
“The principle is about the ply integrating with the solid timber, which is different to how most ply chairs work, where you can see a very divorced relationship between them,” Hubert told Dezeen.
The simple frame crosses beneath the seat to join the front and back legs but incorporates a complex CNC-cut twist to meet the slanted back.
This year De La Espada gave him a large stand at designjunction where he created an installation with thousands of cuts and folds, and showed new work including the Tenda lamp made of underwear fabric that we featured earlier this week.
In his talk at Dezeen Live, a series of shows we presented at the 100% Design trade show that week, Hubert explained how the lamps are the first product he’s producing under his own brand. Read more in our earlier story here.
The London Design Festival took place from 14-23 September and you can see all our stories about it here, or listen to designers explain their projects in their own words with our audio guide here.
The project involved working with with hand-turned marble, granite and leather craftsmen from the car industry.
Pieces include a pedestal dining table that’s weighed down by granite balls in a steel cage, a lounge chair with a seat woven from strips of leather and a dining chair with a leather seat strapped over its ash frame.
The Quarry lamps were each carved from a solid block of marble and retain the tool marks inside the cavity.
Since founding his studio in 2007, Hubert has designed pieces for brands including Casamania, Zero, Örsjö Belysning, Viaduct, Decode, De Vorm, Heals, Blå Station and more, but this is the first time he’s been invited to design a complete collection.
Here’s some more information from Benjamin Hubert:
Benjamin Hubert x De La Espada
The collaboration between Benjamin Hubert and De La Espada presented the opportunity to develop a range of interior products utilising the skills and knowledge of artisan craftsmen, affording fewer compromises than more industrialised projects.
This allowed for greater exploration in the handmade and manipulation of natural materials with greater emphasis on quality.
The result is a range of crafted products with an industrial aesthetic, made utilising tactile materials where the hand of the maker can still be seen and valued.
This is embodied in hand-turned marble with the organic marks of the cutting tool clearly visible, woven automotive leather with hand-stitching and overt timber joinery detailing.
The range has an industrial, minimal language with a playful look at functionality, honest construction and engaging materiality.
Above: Cargo. Perforated automotive leather, ash, steel fixings. A leather panelled dining/occasional chair. Hand-crafted self-supporting leather panels attach to a light Ash timber frame with mechanical fixing. Cargo is inspired by the automotive industry’s use of leather, specifically in convertible soft tops with pronounced fixing details and tailored panels.
Above and below: Quarry. Marble, acrylic, LED. Hand-turned, thin-walled marble pendant lights with roughly finished interior, to add texture and describe the story of stone production.
Quarry utilises the marble’s translucent properties to diffuse the light and reveal its veining.
The traditional material is offset by the use of an LED, which allows the large hand-turned internal cavity to remain open and uncluttered.
The interior surface is reminiscent of the first cut by renaissance sculptors to rough out a form.
AKFD manage the factories the lamps are produced in, ensuring fair working terms, and actively pushes for safer working conditions.
Below: Perforated automotive leather, steel. A hand-woven leather lounge chair with stitched automotive leather and a leather-wrapped steel frame
This large lounge chair is inspired by the small ‘coracle’ boats traditionally used in Wales since the Bronze Age, with its woven construction used to support the user.
The crafted ‘tri weave’ is complemented by a leather wrapped steel frame with industrial reference points found in bike handles, creating a tactile touch point for the chair.
Below: Gabion. Ash, powder-coated steel, granite. A pedestal dining table with a metal cage base containing the ballast that creates the structures stability.
Subverting the idea of traditionally hiding ballast in pedestal tables, most commonly sandbags, the dining table utilises an overt granite ballast as its focal point within a steel frame with ash surface.
Below: Silo. Granite, Ash. Turned Portuguese granite storage/side table for magazines, soft goods etc finished with an ash surface.
Inspired by grain storage devices with its crafted stone aesthetic, the Silo tables utilise the space normally reserved for a solid base or table legs, as storage. The tables’ focal point is created by a graphic interpretation of a traditional grip feature cut into the timber surface.
London Design Festival 09: Ilse Crawford of London designers Studioilse will launch a collection of wooden seating inspired by vernacular English furniture next week. (more…)
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