‘Pelt’ chair by Benjamin Hubert for De La Espada

Award-winning British industrial designer Benjamin Hubert has collaborated with the Portuguese manufacturer De La Espada on this visually light, stackable chair called ‘Pelt’. Twelve months in the making, the design features a thin, birch plywood shell which ‘wraps around a solid ash frame, akin the skin over an animal’s skeleton’ and the chair was launched during this year’s edition of the London Design Festival. (more…)

‘Tria’ chair by Catharina Lorenz and Steffen Kaz for Colé

The young Italian furniture brand Colé has teamed up with two German-born Milan-based designers Catharina Lorenz and Steffen Kaz, founders of Lorenz*Kaz studio, to create this three-legged, plywood chair called ‘Tria.’ Made of curved plywood and available in either natural oak, stained black oak finish or veneer, the form of the chair was inspired by the complexity of works of M. C. Escher which frequently featured impossible and infinite constructions and tessellations. (more…)

‘Strates’ desk by Mathieu Lehanneur for Objekten

‘Strates’ is the latest interlocking desk and storage collection realised by the Parisian designer Mathieu Lehanneur for the Brussels-based furniture brand Objekten. Composed of multiple layers of plywood elements, the series is manufactured in Belgium and it can be viewed from tomorrow on (7 September) as part of an installation at Blank, 9 rue de la Régence, Brussels.

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'Plywood: Material, Process, Form' - exhibition view; photo courtesy of MoMA

Cheap and widely accesible, plywood gained its popularity thanks to a number of renowned early-20th century as well as mid-century modernist designers who favoured what was once described by the American magazine Popular Science as ‘a layer cake of lumber and glue’. Now, to celebrate this versatile material, New York’s MoMA has gathered a number of examples from its collection of modern designs which have been developed in plywood. Titled ‘Plywood: Material, Process, Form’, the installation features a number of instantly-recognisable exhibits such as Alvar Aalto’s iconic Armchair 41 Paimio, pieces from Charles and Ray Eames’ Plywood Group, Sori Yanagi’s beautifully simple Butterfly Stool as well as designs by Eero Saarinen, Arne Jacobsen, Tapio Wirkkala, an architectural model for a prefabricated house devised by Marcel Breuer in 1943 and ‘experimental designs for plywood in the aeronautics industry.’ (more…)

'Jo' stool by Eric and Johnny Design Studio at imm cologne 2012, photo: © Architonic

While we caught ourselves glancing at this plywood stool for an above-average period of time before we finally unravelled its intertwining form, the structure of ‘Jo’ is, in fact, surprisingly simple. Developed by two Taiwan-born Berlin-based design students Eric Chang and Johnny Hu of Eric and Johnny Design Studio, ‘Jo’ is made up of three, j-shaped legs which all connect in six points. Member of ‘J Family’ collection of moulded wooden furniture, the stool was presented at the [D³] Contest during last week’s edition of imm cologne. (more…)

'Stitched' chair by Tord Boontje for Moroso

Inspired by his long-time interest in sewing and embroidery, the award-winning Dutch designer and RCA professor Tord Boontje has unveiled his latest collection of plywood furniture which he created for the Italian manufacturer Moroso. Consisting of three pieces: a chair, trangular table and multifaceted pendant lights, the series is characterised by the simple cross-stitch detailing which connects each of the designs while giving ’an almost tribal or folk character to the pieces.’ (more…)

The Story of Eames Furniture by Marilyn Neuhart with John Neuhart; publisher: gestalten

Architonic fans can win this book >>

In the new two-volume work ‘The Story of Eames Furniture’ by Marilyn Neuhart and John Neuhart the authors take a journey through time, going back both to the early beginnings of modern furniture design and to their own past. The focus of this book is therefore not, as is the case in the volume ‘Eames Design’ by the same two authors, on recording the entire Eames creative output complete with films, graphics and exhibitions. ‘The Story of Eames Furniture’ concentrates on the furniture design and the background to the great myth, as well as the origins of the entire Eames empire. The book deals with the numerous influences of other designers who have become famous, as well as with the loyal staff who worshipped the legendary designer pair. Again and again there is reference to the fact that Charles and Ray Eames demanded unconditional devotion to work, both from themselves and others.

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