'Shrub' tables by Zhili Liu for Quinze & Milan, 2010
To be exhibited at next month’s Milan Furniture Fair by Belgian manufacturer Quinze & Milan are a collection of tables by Chinese designer Zhili Liu called ‘Shrub’. Made of wet-lacquered, power-coated aluminium, the pieces use exposed sunken screws to the hold in position a network of ‘branches’, which together form the tables’ legs.
Detail of 'Shrub' table by Zhili Liu for Quinze & Milan, 2010
Of the tables, the designer says: ‘Chinese manufacturing is usually famous for large quantity, low quality and very limited new material and technology. So for Chinese designers, creating low quantity products with high quality in both design and manufacturing has always been a tougher task than it is in most other places. I have been trying to create high specification products with typical Chinese industrial materials and basic techniques, through unusual design and engineering, and these tables are the first prototypes in this direction – which I believe could be another route for “Chinese design” aside from reinterpreting the traditional decorative elements.’
'Shrub' table by Zhili Liu for Quinze & Milan, 2010
The Italian manufacturer will present these new pieces at this year’s Milan fair in April. The Japanese architect Junya Ishigami created ‘Lens’, a dining table and coffee table made entirely of glossy transparent perspex with a lens top, standing on three cylindrical legs.
'Bolle' stools by Nathan Yong for Living Divani
Nathan Yong’s range is expanding; having presented the Bolle coffee table at last year’s Furniture Fair, he now adds a decorative and versatile pouf.
Francesco Rota’s Cavalletto coffee table comes in a selection of geometrical shapes. The plate glass top, in the three versions, square, round and rectangular, adds visual lightness and accentuates the base, made of thin steel tubes that come together to create a striking 3D effect.
The X Collection by the Belgian Michaël Bihain is a series of folded metal furniture and accessories. The new table from this concept will soon be produced by Belgian manufacturer Feld.
Dublin-based independent design studio Superfolk is showing its Irish-vernacular-inspired range of furniture at this year’s Stockholm Furniture Fair.
Stools by Superfolk, 2010
Founded in 2008 and led by Gearoid Muldowney, Superfolk takes a ludic, but respectful, approach to its design work, referencing the richness of Irish rural life in terms of land, livestock and weather.
Table by Superfolk, 2010
The studio is committed to using materials drawn from sustainable Irish sources, in as an innovative way as possible.
This year, young designers excelled themselves with the high quality of work on show. In the following video, we present our favourites from the [d3] contest.
The Washington based Atelier Takagi will present some new works at this year’s imm cologne within the [d3] design talents in Hall 3.1. It will be the debut of their line of modular wooden furniture ‘Simple Machine(s)’ and the ‘Spun’ table lamp. All pieces are designed by Jonah Takagi.
'Copenhagen' by Poulsen & Ploug for Karl Andersson
The Danish designers Poulsen & Ploug developed this new series of coffee tables for the Swedish manufacturer Karl Andersson. ‘Copenhagen’ is made from solid oak stained in black, the joint is made from stainless steel. The tabletop comes in toughened glass or solid oak, stained in black.
'Copenhagen' by Poulsen & Ploug for Karl Andersson
'Copenhagen' by Poulsen & Ploug for Karl Andersson
With his graduation project ‘Fragments Of Nature’ the Dutch designer Lex Pott combines the geometric forms of industrially processed wood with the original, organic structure of a tree in a series of items of furniture.
'Fragments of Nature' by Lex Pott
“Where the legs of his table meet its top, the form of a tree trunk can easily be seen. The contours of his cupboard are also directly derived from the tree trunk. The pieces of furniture are reproducible, yet remain a unique fragment of the natural world.”
'Downside Up' table by Claire Ferreira, photo by Roel Paredaens
The French designer and this year’s graduate from the Royal College of Art Claire Ferreira presented this beautiful series of semi-cast furniture at the London Design Festival.
Three distinct elements create Downside Up Table: a mould, a liquid and a frame.
Claire Ferreira poures Jesmonite – a bio-resin supplied as a water-based acrylic liquid and a mineral powder – inside a wooden base. The resin comes out of four separated slits and forms a smooth flat surface. Poured in different times, a unique pattern appears.
'Downside Up' table by Claire Ferreira, photo by Roel Paredaens
“The exact same quantity of materials is poured in each slot… Except that the setting time finally draws what is going to become a unique tabletop”, the designer explains.
Casting the table top
Claire Ferreira pouring the liquid resin
“Downside Up Shelf is composed of three separated units, which can also be used as individual side tables.”
'Downside Up' shelf by Claire Ferreira, photo by Roel Paredaens
'Downside Up' shelf by Claire Ferreira, photo by Roel Paredaens
“Inspired by the impulsive behaviour of turning a bag over in order to find what we are looking for (see Rush Bags), I started to explore the ‘spilling over’ process and its upside down outcome to generate new typologies of products. I place my research ‘in-between’, aiming to create a dialogue between designed elements and less predictable ones, between solid and fluid materials, always trying to go beyond the edges of the object”, Claire Ferreira explains.
At this year’s Milan fair Arco presented this lightweight portable table designed by Jorre van Ast – it is the first product the young designer created for the Dutch manufacturer.
Even if it is hard to believe from the constructive point of view: this piece of furniture is made entirely and exclusively from wood, without any metal reinforcement. Different kinds wood, each with their own specific properties and qualities, are crafted together to create the perfect lightweight rigidity. The table top is constructed as a threedimensional sandwich with a core made from honeycomb, balsawood and thin poplar wood sheet material.
'Nomad' table by Jorre van Ast for Arco
The legs are made of solid ash.
The ingenuity of the design is concealed beneath the table top where it is virtually invisible. The table top is 68mm thick in the centre yet tapers to just 10mm at the sides. So the table is sufficiently stable yet looks fabulously slim. The whole table top is finished with oak veneer, which also covers the tapered underside of the table.
'Nomad' by Jorre van Ast for Arco
The thickness of the table top contains space for wooden screw threads, into which the legs are screwed. A beautiful example of traditional joinery craftsmanship. The legs are octagonal in shape to give them sufficient grip. This serves as both a functional element and a decorative element.
With the ‘Nomad’ table Jorre van Ast was finalist of the Dutch Design Awards 2009. During Dutch Design Week, the designs of all finalists and winners will be exhibited from 17 through 25 October in the Brainport Greenhouse on the Stadhuisplein in Eindhoven.
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