Hasta La Ideas

Product news: London studio PearsonLloyd has designed a range of plastic stacking chairs with colourful metal legs for Danish brand HOWE.

The SixE chairs stack neatly on top of one-another and have thin legs that can be coordinated with the colour of the seat shell or ordered in contrasting shades. Other options include armrests that extend up from the back legs and padded seats are also available in a range of colours.

The chairs were first launched at Orgatec trade fair in Cologne last year and began production with HOWE earlier this year. They will also be exhibited in Milan this April, where Zaha Hadid will launch a system of twisting auditorium chairs for Poltrona Frau Contract and OMA will release a furniture collection for Knoll.

Based in Hackney, PearsonLloyd has also designed workstations for office brand Bene and a collection of rocking toys that we’ve featured previously.

See all our stories about designs by PearsonLloyd »
See all our stories about chair design »

Here is some more information from HOWE:

SixE by PearsonLloyd – Manufactured by HOWE

PearsonLloyd has designed a new stacking chair that is uniquely suited to our contemporary society. A thorough market analysis led PearsonLloyd to identify new areas of unfilled need which resulted in the SixE chair. A two year long process led to a design that is as beautifully expressive as it is practical. It’s name SixE represents its credentials: Elegant, Ergonomic, Environmental, Efficient, Easy to handle, and Economic.

SixE is available in many guises – as a side chair, an armchair and with or without an upholstered seat pad. In addition, the SixE family will grow steadily introducing new versions in the near future.

The SixE chair was firstly introduced at the Orgatec fair in Cologne. It will also have a leading role in HOWE’s exhibition “Breathing diversity” at the Milan fair in April.

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for HOWE appeared first on Dezeen.

Milli is a contemporary stool whose design is influenced by forms in nature such as sea creatures and rock formations.

Rotterdam-based Studio Makkink & Bey, led by architect Rianne Makkink and designer Jurgen Bey, has long envisioned a progressive office in which the multitasking extends to the furnishings: a seat that doubles as a self-contained desk and cupboard, a flexible “WorkSofa,” a cozy chair that can be coupled up to create instant meeting space (the “EarChair,” pictured above). The studio is showcasing these designs and more as part of “Fantasy Room for Working,” an exhibition on view through Sunday within the Creative Lounge MOV, a huge shared office space in Tokyo. Earlier this week, among the KadE Chair, Vacuum Cleaner Chair, stools, and aprons, was Bey himself–he put his designs to the test by working from the flexible fantasy office for eight days. Studio Makkink & Bey’s Prooff (Progressive Office) “working and living landscape” interior was also recently acquired by Utrecht’s Centraal Museum, where parts of it are on view through May 25. Take note, Marissa Meyer.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Product news: this extendable bookcase by Dutch designer Reinier de Jong, which became one of our most popular stories ever after we published the prototype in 2008, has now gone into production.

Originally designed for a private client, the REK bookcase by Reinier de Jong has interlocking shelves that allow it to slide out to make space for more books as required.

The different shelf dimensions hold various sizes, while the narrowest slots are ideal for magazines. At its largest, the bookcase is 228 centimetres wide.

The original REK bookcase was finished with white laminate, but de Jong has now introduced a recycled laminate finish in grey and dark grey.

He has also made the bookcase lighter, reducing its weight to 80 kilograms, and added a stop to make sure the shelves don’t slide out too far.

Last year de Jong presented an extendable coffee table to complement the REK bookcase, while in Cologne this year he launched a folding wooden chair made from old wooden broom handles – see all design by Reinier de Jong.

Other adjustable bookcases we’ve featured include a set of hinged boxes that spin round to create different patterns and a set of modular units with chairs hidden inside them – see all bookcases.

Photographs are by Peter van Dijk.

A new and improved REK bookcase

More than four years after we designed and created the very first REK bookcase for a private client, we have taken a few significant steps forward. REK has a new finish, is much lighter and we have made some great photos of it.

What are books worth when there is internet, smart phones, tablets and e-readers? Not much at first sight. However, it is exactly these digital developments that enhance the appreciation of books. No longer functional carriers of information but rather artefacts representing one’s identity. It is not so much about the quantity of books anymore but what counts is a well-considered selection of quality books. Book shelves are therefore changing as well, from purely functional pieces of furniture to unique design pieces, equally important as the books they hold.

REK was designed back in 2008 by Reinier de Jong as a bookcase that grows with your book collection. The fewer the books, the smaller the bookcase. The zigzag-shaped parts slide in and out to accommodate books in the resulting spaces. The books can also be arranged according to their size. The narrow spaces are excellent for magazines.

The maximum dimensions of REK are: 202 x 228 x 36 cm. The original REK bookcase is finished with white HPL which gives it a cool and abstract look.

We recently introduced a new finish at the International Furniture Fair in Cologne: recycled HPL by Abet Laminati. The solid grey material creates a warm and intriguing result, especially on the edges where it looks as if it is seamlessly folded around the shelves. It is light grey with a texture that people associate with fine concrete or grey cardboard. REK is also available in a dark grey version of this material.

Furthermore, the new REK has lost weight. It has the same dimensions as the first one but weighs only 80 kg. A lot easier to transport but above all, easier to slide. We have also improved the guidance and added a stop, making sure the parts do not slide out too far.

REK can be ordered directly from us. Price is on request

The REK bookcase by Reinier de Jong is featured in our book, Dezeen Book of Ideas. Buy it now for just £12.

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Reinier de Jong appeared first on Dezeen.

Product news: Japanese design studio Nendo has come up with a modular office furniture system with tall backrests for extra privacy (+ movie).

Above: movie shows various configurations of the modules

Created for Japanese office furniture and supplies brand Kokuyo, the Brackets sofa and table units by Nendo are intended to surround their users “like parentheses.”

The seven sofa types and four table types can be combined into numerous combinations, from rows of alternately facing single seats to compact meeting booths.

At 140 centimetres tall, the backrests screen the occupants and provide privacy as well as dampening surrounding noise.

Other products launched by Nendo recently include bent wood chairs that flick out as if they’re wearing capes and a series of 30 lamps made from a modular set of parts – see all design by Nendo.

Earlier this month we reported on the studio’s mountain range of laser-cut foamboard installed at Stockholm Design Week, where Nendo was guest of honour – see all news and products from Stockholm 2013.

Photographs by Akihiro Yoshida.

Here’s some more information from the designers:

Brackets

An office-use unit sofa designed to create a communication space by ‘bracketing’ its inhabitants like parentheses.

Users can freely combine the seven sofa types and four table types into a variety of spaces with a finely tuned balance of openness and privacy, concentration and relaxation and individuals and groups.

The sofas are composed of sharp outer lines and softer inner curves, so that they respect the mood of the office environment while providing for user comfort.

The height of the backrests, relatively tall at 1400mm, provides visual privacy and dampens the surrounding noise, allowing for focussed conversations.

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for Kokuyo appeared first on Dezeen.