The Afterlife collection consists of a storage crate and a bench, both of which are stackable so you can create your own custom configurations. The benches can double as shelves and the crates can be used as planters, or pretty much anything else you can dream up. The design’s signature “nipple connection” uses a 3D-printed plastic bolt to keep each module secure without the need for any additional fasteners or tools. Both items are also weatherproof, so you can use them both indoors and out.

“Supernovas challenged Odd Matter to develop a collection that empowers dynamic living, with designs that give waste an afterlife and ensure the recyclability of the products at the end of their lifecycles. With the unique process that brings together different types of cutting-edge manufacturing techniques, Afterlife is made from recycled plastic waste streams such as PE and PET – namely those found in bottles, packaging, squeeze bottles, toys, gas and water pipes.”

Supernovas’ London and Madrid design teams pioneered a combination of three manufacturing techniques to produce these recycled, easy-assemblage products. Rotomolding, pressing, and 3D printing come together to turn industrial and household waste into items like multipurpose storage trays and boxes.

Even cooler is the circularity at the center of Supernovas’ business model. While conventional linear design sees a product live out its consumer lifecycle and then get thrown in the trash, Supernovas takes back products at the end of their useful lives and turns them into new objects. Their Streaming member program lets you swap out your purchase with something new of equal value whenever you feel like it, so you can try new things guilt-free. The idea is that the materials used to create these items never become waste, they simply shape-shift over and over again.

The Afterlife collection is currently available for pre-order. Both the bench (€1,674/$1992) and the crate (€400/$476) come in eight colorways, including vivid pink, black, speckled gray, terracotta, speckled black and white, blue, terracotta and white, and a mix of black, white, and terracotta. The pattern of colors is reminiscent of terrazzo, a unique look particular to the recycled materials.

Odd Matter was founded by Dutch designer Els Woldhek and Bulgarian designer Georgi Manassiev, who share a curiosity “for all things strange and wonderful” and a love for experimenting with different materials and processes. “The studio believes that by working with existing processes and notions and researching these from a different, more naive perspective, a different kind of product can be created,” they say. Products that are “unique and specific to the place they originate from.”

“Odd Matter’s design process starts from the materials, which then dictate the design and aesthetic,” says Supernovas founder Massimiliano Rossi. “The studio has an innate talent for colors and materials, making them the ideal partner to develop a product that transforms waste into beauty, and to bring functionality out of line.”

The post Afterlife: Easy-to-Assemble Furniture Made of Recycled Plastic first appeared on Dornob.

Commissioned by the Nobel Peace Center, “The Best Weapon” is named after Nelson Mandela’s historic quote, “The best weapon is to sit down and talk.” It aims to honor past Nobel laureates and their efforts to promote peace around the world.

The design is like that of a static see-saw. If it were mobile, it would require cooperation between the people using either end. Making it stationary not only ensures that it’s a safe permanent fixture for the public to enjoy, but also emphasizes the fact that the best progress toward mutual compassion comes from having a dialogue with each other.

“The Best Weapon delivers a message of peace and conflict resolution, both as a functional piece that encourages conversation and social intimacy, and as a resilient symbol that anchors the Peace Center’s mission for discourse and peace,” say the architects.

They add: “The Best Weapon manifests the values of the Nobel Peace Center and pays homage to Nelson Mandela’s humane ideals of compromise, dialogue, and compassion. Designed as a partial circle that meets the ground at its lowest point, the gentle arc of the bench pulls those sitting on it closer together, subsequently and subtly encouraging dialogue.”

The peace bench also makes a statement about sustainability and its importance for the future of humanity on Earth. Made of anodized aluminum from Hydro — the world’s greenest with significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions than the industry average — the bench has a semi-circular shape that encourages users to sit close together. It measures 6.5 meters long (about 21 feet) and was produced by Vestre in a completely carbon neutral process.

“Bead-based and pre-distressed, the sturdy material will ensure the bench’s longevity, promoting diplomacy and dialogue for many years to come. In addition to creating a beautiful surface, the anodized finish of the bench has high corrosion resistance and protection against scratching.”

Based in Oslo, the international architecture, landscape architecture, interior design, product design, and graphic design office Snøhetta is a fitting choice for the project. The firm is known for producing thought-provoking works across its broad spectrum of disciplines, from the spectacular Shanghai Grand Opera House to Europe’s first underwater restaurant and even a new paper currency design for the Central Bank of Norway.

They explain: “Our work strives to enhance our sense of surroundings, identity, and relationship to others and the physical spaces we inhabit, whether feral or human-made. Museums, products, reindeer observatories, graphics, landscapes, and dollhouses get the same care and attention to purpose.”

“We place experience at the center of our design process, for a design that engages the senses and physicality of the body while fostering social interaction. This allows our designs to promote both individual and collective empowerment in the communities where we work.”

The post Peace Bench Honors Nobel Prize Laureates While Bringing People Together first appeared on Dornob.

Instead of shaming mothers for providing their babies with sustenance, what if we just made it easier for them to nurse more comfortably and in relative privacy within public spaces?

A new ergonomic bench called “heer” hopes to make this vision a reality. It seats up to four people on one end while offering a semi-enclosed swivel chair on the other. The idea is that mothers can breastfeed right “here,” regardless of whether they’re in an airport, at the mall, or on a corporate campus.

“The idea for ‘heer’ came to us when we witnessed a mother being shamed for breastfeeding in a public place,” says Ivana Preiss, Design and Strategy Director for the Prague-based design and consultancy firm 52 Hours. “We thought the solution must be in design.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLIyU_qwYik

Preiss took the concept to her partner Filip Vasic (now the company’s Creative Director), who in turn enlisted award-winning industrial designer Nikola Knezevic to help bring heer to life. They envisioned it as an oasis of peace in hectic environments that could also be used to soothe fussy babies and help them fall asleep faster.

The seat itself not only swivels so the user can position themselves however they like, it also rocks — something that can be pretty hard to find in public places. The shield around the seat is purposely oversized to provide a bit of privacy and protect babies from distractions while allowing parents to keep an eye on their surroundings. The attached bench makes it easy for them to stay close to any other children they might have with them or continue conversations with a group.

The heer bench is designed to go virtually anywhere, since, as the designers put it, “babies could be hungry anywhere.” Preiss and Vasic sent a questionnaire to over a hundred mothers in several countries to better understand their needs before they got started on the project, and even then they tested the resulting prototype with a group of fifteen mothers and their babies. Reactions were “overwhelmingly positive,” needless to say.

“Our approach is practical, not ideological. We are not deciding whether mothers should breastfeed in public spaces or not. Of course they should breastfeed wherever and however they wish. What we are trying to offer is a choice to those mothers who currently feel they don’t have it. We are glad that so many mothers understand this and support us.”

They add that they are “aware that social norms and habits can’t change overnight. In that sense, we see our product as one of the steps toward breaking the stigma.”

The most recent prototype for heer is made of recyclable composite plastic. 52 Hours is still in the planning phases of this project, but the designers hope to stir up demand for the novel breastfeeding bench all over the world. If you’d like to see heer come to your city, you can submit it for consideration at inviteheer.com.

All photos by Marija Gašparović

The post This Clever Swiveling Bench Makes Breastfeeding More Comfortable first appeared on Dornob.

When you think about it, the only thing that makes something “alive” is the inevitability of its death. We cease to be humans moving about in the world when our hearts stop pumping blood and our lungs stop taking in air. We transform into something else instead — a mass of nutrients that will return to the earth in order to take on new forms. A new sculptural creation by artist Kebei Li plays with these ideas in the form of a glass bench held together by vacuum pressure.

“Structure #1” consists of three panes of glass, four pneumatic pads, air hoses, and vacuum electronics. It doesn’t really become a bench until these pieces are fitted together and the vacuum is turned on, creating a hyper-secure structural bond between the glass sheets. The technology that holds it together was originally designed to lift and move oversized sheet stock materials like glass, granite, plywood, and sheet metal, all of which are often too heavy or awkward to be handled by human operators.

As Li notes, “such a bond can be ended at any second.” If the vacuum is turned off, it collapses into a pile of raw materials incapable of performing the same functions. Unlike traditional furniture fasteners like nails, screws, glue, and complex joints, the vacuum pressure can literally undo the process of transforming the materials into a useful object at the flip of a switch. The functionality of the furniture is “strenuously and visibly maintained” by the electrical components, with the vacuum and hoses standing in for a biological system that provides its host organism with nourishment.

The deep humming of the pump is what lets you know the bench is still “alive.” If it were to stop while you were sitting on it, you’d want to get up fairly quickly, lest you find yourself on the floor in a heap of glass. Still, the bench isn’t actually in much danger of dramatically breaking, since it takes a little while for the vacuum pressure to fully release, and anyone seated on it would feel it begin to loosen.

“This speculative project presents a glass bench that is held together by vacuum-powered pneumatic fixtures,” says Li. “Structural stability, the fundamental quality central to the interaction of any furniture object, is arduously maintained by a complex pneumatic system, without which the structures will simply collapse.”

“An exploration of the esoteric quality often found in post-industrial machineries, the carefully crafted system aims to solve a relatively straightforward need in a rather counter-intuitive and circuitous way. It presents a contradicting entity that is definitive, calculated, rational, yet at the same time obscure and enigmatic.”

The post Glass Bench Held Together by Vacuum Suction first appeared on Dornob.

Imagine wandering around London’s iconic St. James Market looking for a place to rest for a moment. You spot an alluring wooden bench in a strange and exciting shape. It almost looks too fancy to be used by the public. Are you even allowed to sit here? You do, admiring the fine finish of the herringbone surface. It makes your shopping experience even more satisfying and memorable.

Multi award-winning design duo SWINE creates bespoke and individual artworks dedicated to the exploration of regional identity and set within the context of globalization. They also make films, some of which have won awards in Cannes and other international film festivals. Since setting up London-based SWINE (Super Wide Interdisciplinary New Explorers) in 2011, Japanese architect Azusa Murakami and British Artist Alexander Groves have toured the world exhibiting their works.

Over 100 exhibitions later, including within such iconic establishments as the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Museum of Art and Design in New York, the Venice Art Biennale and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, the duo was invited to create an installation of public seating in St. James’s, London in 2016.

Teaming modern architecture and design within this historic context, St. James’s Market is a landmark project that incorporates restaurants, retail outlets and offices. Designed by Make Architects, contemporary structures surround a central square. Futurecity cultural planners invited SWINE to use their artistic vision to design and install permanent outdoor benches as well as temporary seating for events.

St. James is a historic area of London, housing many bespoke and traditional shops with a distinctly masculine flavor. In fact, world-famous tobacco business J.J. Fox still contains an armchair that Winston Churchill used to sit in to smoke his cigars. Shoe-making shop John Lobb even owns the wooden lasts used to make shoes for Queen Victoria.

True to their aim (as stated on their website), “SWINE’s work manifests a deep research into materials and modern industrialization,” and Murakami and Groves saw an opportunity to incorporate the craftsmanship and materials used by the area’s traditional artisans and retailers into their seating designs.

“We were amazed by how tangible the area’s history is,” said Alexander Groves. “It was incredibly stimulating brief because it was an invitation to explore the area and respond to it. It’s rare for public seating to be such a vehicle for narrative.”

SWINE met the distinguished retailers at John Lobb, James J. Fox and Turnbull & Asser. John Lobb and Turnbull & Asser have been trading in St. James since the late 1800s, and J.J. Fox has sold tobacco and related products on the site for 225 years. SWINE’s benches have legs that reference the mouthpiece of a pipe. The bright, primary colored chairs are inspired by looms used to manufacture shirts and ties.

“As with all instances when an existing face of a city is changed, what comes next must do the area justice, both in its design and its respect for heritage. What’s to come is a narrative-driven program of public art aimed at celebrating the rich history of St. James’s Market,” according to the St. James’s website.

In 2016, Swine also created a furniture design collection made with hardened rubber and other sustainable materials, inspired by Fordlandia, a ghost town in the Amazon Rainforest. The town was built by American car manufacturer Henry Ford in the late 1920s so that he could have a constant supply of rubber for his massive automobile empire. The collection is influenced by nature, by industry and by the Tropical Modernist Movement of Brazil.

The post SWINE Designs Beautiful Seating for London’s St. James Market first appeared on Dornob.

Growing up in Leeds in the North of England, Bob Campbell had easy access to nearby Sheffield — also known as the Steel City. Industrial scrap metal and old mining parts were plentiful, abandoned after the collapse of the UK steel industry and the closure of coal mines in the 1980s.

After a brief flirtation with the fairground in Great Yarmouth, which he joined when he left school (“It sounded glamorous to me at the time!” he claimed), he took a course in welding at his local college. He’d seen the huge metal sculptures and installations from the Mutoid Waste Company in Glastonbury, which started out in Britain in the 1980s before relocating to Italy.

He was also inspired by the Mad Max films and by the works of surrealist biomechanic artist and set designer HR Giger, who created, among other fear and awe-inspiring artworks, the monster in the iconic sci-fi film “Alien.”


Much of Campbell’s inspiration comes from traveling. In the early ’90s, together with his partner and their son, he traveled around Europe and Morocco in an old Mercedes truck before they settled back in England in their Derbyshire home.


Keen to try making metal creations for his own amusement, in 1995 he began to construct small scale items — tables, chairs, etc. Three years later, he was running out of storage space and decided to sell a few items at a local artisan market. Totally overwhelmed by the enthusiastic response, he set up his company Stig Art — named after the eponymous children’s fictional character in author Clive King’s “Stig of the Dump.”



Twenty years ago, Campbell decided to create “something awesome from cheap or free scrap and waste materials.” Since then he has made “hundreds of unique pieces that have found their way around the world.” Though he still makes smaller items like his original foray into the creation of quirky and original tables and chairs, he will now tackle whatever is required, whatever the size (well, within reason).

During the winter months, he works with his friend Paul Smith in Goa India, who he met back in Morocco in the early ’90s. Smith has set up Rag & Bone Customs, customizing old Enfield motorcycles.


After working on it for six months, in spring 2016 Campbell shipped a bespoke spiral staircase to Ibiza. He was commissioned to make the staircase for the interior of a tower in the grounds of an Ibizan villa owned by a couple whom he met on his travels in India.
“They wanted something unique that was sculptural as well as functional and in an industrial style,” Campbell said.

Prices for original, bespoke items like tables and chairs are around £1,000. Conceived in collaboration with each client, Campbell is available for one-off items and larger furniture, but for a much higher price tag. He also has an online shop of ready-made articles for sale. He also has a bigger project on the go — restoring and converting a 1950’s grain silo into a self-contained eco house.

The post Scary Scrap Metal Creations Inspired by the Artist Behind “Alien” first appeared on Dornob.

If you spotted this sofa in someone else’s yard, getting rained on, you might lament the apparent ruin of a perfectly good piece of leather furniture. Or perhaps you’d try to salvage it as a curbside find, only to tug on one end and find it curiously heavy. For all the gleaming leather grain, stitched seams and buttons that make this couch look exactly like the real thing, getting up close and personal reveals the truth: it’s not leather at all, or even faux leather. It’s concrete.

Edinburgh, Scotland based design firm FourEightEight achieved this ultra-authentic look by making a mold from a real leather couch and then casting concrete inside it, capturing every little quirk, from the finely pebbled texture to the minor imperfections, and the coloring process completes the illusion.

Anyone who approaches it thinking it’s an ordinary sofa is in for a surprise when they take a seat, instantly realizing from its unforgiving surfaces and not-so-cushiony-cushions that it’s not what it seems at first glance. But that hardness is what makes this ‘leather’ sofa a great fit for outdoor spaces, since it can withstand all sorts of weather conditions, including harsh sun, heat, wind, rain and snow.

Though it’s technically a two-seater, FourEightEight’s creation can seat three people, and it’s easier to move than it looks. The couch isn’t made of solid concrete; it’s hollow, weighing about 220-286 pounds, “depending on how wild I go with the concrete on a particular day,” explains the creator. That makes it a four-person job to lift, while solid concrete would require a forklift just to set it down in your yard.

The concrete portion sits on a stand of welded steel in either a standard couch shape for indoor use, or a non-standard rectangular shape, which keeps it stable on soft ground like grass. You can also attach it to a hard surface in case you’re afraid a stranger will really try to make off with it.

A combination of different glass fibers reinforces the concrete to make it ultra-durable, and it’s available in a range of colors as well as custom options, finished with a protective sealant. Holes drilled in the lowest points let water drain out to prevent damage.

At a price tag of £3000 (about $3,657 USD), plus extra for the non-standard stand or custom colors, the Concrete Sofa is more than just a novelty item. It’s a handcrafted sculptural creation that’ll likely last for decades and provide endless entertainment, especially for the more sadistic among us, who might delight in failing to warn friends before they launch themselves onto it expecting soft polyester filling.

Unusual as it may seem, this isn’t even the first realistic-looking concrete sofa to hit the market. UK-based company Gray Concrete produced their own fiberglass-reinforced cast concrete couch in the shape of a Chesterfield. They even replaced the cushions inside the original sofa with rigid foam to retain the imprints of users’ behinds before casting, resulting in a design that cradles you more comfortably than any concrete garden bench.

The post Sofa Surprise: This Comfy-Looking Seat is Actually Made of Concrete first appeared on Dornob.

Based in California, New York and New Jersey, USA, Famaliving has got lounging around down to a fine art. If a 60’s revival is your thing, then the company’s sectional seating model ‘Arianne Love’ will surely give you enough of that relaxed, far-out and groovy feeling to keep you going through the modular system’s 10-year guarantee. It’s also the most popular choice in San Diego, California—home of the laid back and positively coolest cats among us.

Famaliving is particularly proud of the comfortable aspects of its furniture, stating on the website:

“Comfort is the main thing: Piece of art, or comfort and design? If you buy a sofa only for the look of it and it is uncomfortable, you will soon regret it. Our sofas are not only designed to decorate your space, but also to enjoy at home.”

Go as massive or as modest as you like. ‘Arianne Love‘ is only as big as your imagination, your wallet and your space—or equally as small as its smallest component part. From a complex configuration of corner and straight modular units, armchairs and footstools to just a stool, all are up for grabs (for a price). Obviously, the more you buy, the costlier it gets, but at least you can add to the collection as the size of your space and budget increase.

The sofa frames are guaranteed to last a lifetime; the units include interior storage; and there are 600 fabric designs to choose from, including Italian leather.

‘MyLoft’ is for the less flamboyant, and maybe the more financially challenged among us. Plain, compact and functional, it fits in anywhere and won’t cost a fortune:

“With model ‘MyLoft,’ Famaliving breaks the key principle ‘budget sofa = gaudy and uncomfortable sofa.’ With ‘MyLoft,’ we prove that the best comfort and the best design are not incompatible with the best price. It is a great sofa for young people that just became independent or for all those with a young spirit.”

‘MyCube’ is designed for “the lovers of straight designs,”and clearly, for lovers. A little bit sophisticated and a little bit cute, it’s tailor-made for you both to cozy up to one another and enjoy a movie night with popcorn or a cup o’ java on a lazy morning.

And speaking of lovers—a hybrid sofa, armchair or chaise lounge, ‘MyApple’ is based on the design of love seats from the 19th century. It’s peachy sweet (OK it’s also named after a fruit, but “appley sweet” just doesn’t work!) and perfect for the loved-up, modern couple.

To round off the intimate sofas-for-two section, here’s ‘MySoul’—a chaise lounge for the modern man (and woman). Billed as:

“A special model for special people. The units can be single with footstools, double, and also an amazing double chaise longue to enjoy on your own, or with whoever you want. Its rocking action provides incomparable comfort.”

So, if it’s rocking action you’re after, then Famaliving has it covered. Clearly, the company offers lots of style choices for lots and lots of seating—and more horizontal—possibilities.

The post Build Your Own Sectional Sofa with the Simple Famaliving System first appeared on Dornob.

How green can your outdoor furniture get? Sure, you can buy recycled plastic lawn chairs, loungers with renewable bamboo frames and cushions covered with reclaimed burlap sacks, but nothing has taken the word ‘green’ more literally than this product.

‘Terra!’ is a flat-pack, biodegradable and recyclable cardboard framework developed by an Italy-based collective of designers. Designed to be set on just about any earthen surface, filled with soil and planted with grass seeds, it results in a surprisingly ergonomic and comfortable seat that ultimately becomes integrated into the landscape.

Originally designed in 2000 and sold commercially through 2005, the Terra! grass armchair features notched cardboard framework elements that are quick and easy to assemble. The project got lots of attention for its clever design and sold out around the world, but its creators ran into some production hiccups and the chair was taken off the market.

On the internet, however, the idea lived on, and prospective customers often contacted the Studio Nucleo design collective hoping to make a purchase. In fact, it was an enthusiastic letter from a fan that encouraged them to look into reviving the grassy chair.

Thankfully, a lot of things have changed in the way products are made in the last decade, placing manufacturing capabilities directly in the hands of designers. That gave Studio Nucleo another chance to get Terra! out into the world. Studio Nucleo no longer has to rely on bigger companies to help create and distribute its product, and the company has made some tweaks to the design that enables an even smoother shipping and assembly process.

This summer, the company turned to Kickstarter to fund a whole new round of production integrating modern laser-cutting technology for precision and consistency. The whole thing packs up as slim as a flattened cardboard box.

The campaign was a smashing success, surpassing its funding goal, and the first backer rewards are set to ship in October 2016 before the product is officially available for sale to the public.

To celebrate, Studio Nucleo expanded the product range beyond the original armchair. New offerings include a mini cushion, kids chair, a miniature for gardens and terrariums, a two-seater sofa, a three-seater sofa and even site-specific installations, like a long curving sofa big enough for a group.

The concept is so simple, it’s a wonder we don’t see similar modified grassy mounds more often. Once you see the Terra! in action, it’s easy to envision everything from complete living room setups to stadium seating made primarily of earth and covered in grasses or durable sedum. The framework could easily be replicated on a larger scale, conserving resources and eliminating a whole lot of waste.

“Design products are made to be used, and disposed,” says Studio Nucleo. “TERRA! instead is a living product, it grows as a tree grows. As the world around you grows, so does your Terra! To take care of TERRA! you don’t have to be a designer, an architect or an artist. The pleasure of TERRA! is not only found in its ‘functionality.’ It is also found in the making of your own place to relax, growing a piece of nature, a place where we can all experience the peace.”

The post Grassy DIY Seats Sprout Up From Your Yard first appeared on Dornob.

The post Designer Turns Old Bowling Lanes Into Classic Furniture first appeared on Dornob.

Handcrafted furniture has a personality all its own, and this gorgeous bench from Jason Frederick Fierst of Fierst Design is overflowing with personality.

The Eastside Bench is made of solid American walnut. The surface of the bench is comprised of angular pieces of wood which fit together in an intricate design.

When light shines through the bench from above, the patterns in the wood make a fantastically lovely shadow on the floor. It’s a great example of how, sometimes, the negative space in a design is just as important as the design itself. The spaces left open create a visual interest that extends beyond the item itself, making an imprint on its surroundings.

The Eastside Bench was constructed using no hardware at all, making it not only a truly beautiful piece of furniture, but a feat of craftsmanship as well. Fine quality joinery really elevates wooden objects to durable works of art.

Designer Jason Frederick Fierst extends this same careful attention to detail to his other projects, as well, including the beautiful Division & Order table pictured below.

“The Division + Order Coffee Table Has A Design Language Of Refined Graphic Order Allowing For Moments Of Consideration And Contemplation.  Handcrafted In Ebonized American Black Walnut With ¾” Slate, It Provides Multiple Surface Areas To Allow For The Organization Of Objects. Whether A Cup Of Coffee Or Your Favorite Book, It Engages The User To Be Mindfulness With The Interaction. There Is Just Enough Shadowplay With The Materials For A Harmonious Balance Between Austerity And Adornment. “

“Fierst Design is a small design studio in the Driftless Region of WI. Jason Frederick Fierst, principal designer was born on Detroit’s Eastside.  Formal training started early to include the Pre-College Program at the College of Creative Studies in the Detroit Cultural Center.  He then went on to receive his Bachelor of Fine Arts in sculpture at Eastern Michigan University. “

“Currently he is completing the publication of his thesis Division + Order, for the Master of Fine Art in Furniture Design at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Structural and surface ornamentation brings a refined sense of order to the spatial environment while walking the line between austerity and adornment.”

The post Shadow + Light: Patterned Wood Bench first appeared on Dornob.

The post Bench with Twin End Tables Born of Reimagined Stairs first appeared on Dornob.

This gorgeous circular wooden bench from design student Louis Lim is made entirely from wood salvaged from NYC locations. The Round&Round is not only sophisticated in its form and materials; it also hides a little secret.

Rather than being a solid wooden seat, the inside of the bench hides a sliding storage compartment. When open, the storage compartment closes the gap between the ends of the semi-circular bench, making it into a complete circle.

Even more interesting than the bench’s shape and storage compartment is the fact that it is a flat-pack product. The main part of the bench disassembles into six pieces for easier moving.

“Originally conceived for 12×12 at Wanted Designs 2012, (sponsored by Sawkill Lumber Co.), Round & Round is a circular communal bench and storage unit that is balanced on one single line. Though appearing to be a solid mass, as one end of the bench is pushed, the opposing side pops open revealing itself to be a continuous hidden drawer. The drawer fully extends and slides back into the opposing opening, traveling around and round the entirety of the piece.”

An update to the design takes this idea even further:

“A rebuild and revitalization of the original Round&Round, Round and Round 2017 edition utilizes a cold bending lamination technique on its shell and drawer. Made of white oak.”

Proving his proficiency with unusually shaped wooden furniture, Lim also created “El Cangrejito,” a pentagonal table comprised of five identical open faced tetrahedron. “Held together with brass barrel bolts, the unit can be disassembled and nested for compact shipping. Images here show a grey stained bamboo plywood, and a raw birch plywood.”

About designer Louis Lim:

“Makingworks is a division of studio ai architects dedicated to sculpture, furniture, products and custom builds. Started with Louis Lim in 2011, Makingworks explore ideas through action. As its namesake suggests, during the physical process of making, works of art and design emerge. Yet, “works” are never complete, never static; they continually change through the way we use and live with them, through the memories and meanings we derive from them. They also simultaneously augment the way we live and think.”

“Understanding that designing and creating are such reciprocal processes, we strive to continually explore work that engage with our audience through utility and play.”

The post Round + Round Bench: A Seat With a Secret first appeared on Dornob.

When design team Dear Human wanted to design a new bench for their studio space, they knew that it had to be both fun and multi-functional. Thus, the fabric Bolt Bench was born. A dream for anyone who sews, the Bolt Bench’s backrest consists of bolts of fabric. As you need pieces of fabric you can either cut them directly from the bolts or easily remove and replace the bolts.

If you get tired of the look of the bench, it’s easy to change the rolls of textiles or just remove them and use the bare dowels as a backrest. Even wallpaper bolts can be mounted on the bench to create some truly unique combinations of colors and patterns.

“Our favorite designs always have multiple functions, a dose of humor and the potential for interaction,” say the designers. “The Bolt Bench is a comfortable seat, as well as storage for a few fabric or paper bolts that work as an upholstery alternative. The material is easily accessible and replaceable when used up or if we are in need of a change of scenery.”

About Dear Human, founded by Jasna Sokolovic and Noel O’Connell:

“The work of Dear Human is an exploration into playfulness and discovery through unconventional material use, pattern and colour. Their interest in sustainability, material research and world folk traditions continuously inspire new directions of inquiry and ways of making. Jasna Sokolovic and Noel O’Connell work on their bespoke objects and commissioned works at their Montreal-based studio.”

“Jasna Sokolovic studied architecture at the University of Sarajevo and at the University of Belgrade in former Yugoslavia before immigrating to Canada during the war. She completed her studies in fine arts at Emily Carr University in Vancouver, British Columbia. Noel O’Connell is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Madison and holds an MFA from Rhode Island School of Design. He is a Fulbright scholar in art and architecture and spent six years studying and working in art restoration and ceramics in Thailand and China.”

The post Multi-Functional Fabric Bolt Bench Stores Your Textiles While You Rest first appeared on Dornob.

We are all familiar with the public bench as a conventional type – some horizontal slats for sitting on, some more for leaning against, and four legs to hold up all of the above.

Jeppe Hein takes this convention and adds a series of twists, turns and inversions to create something new and interactive that plays on our sense of the familiar as well as our curiosity about the exotic.

Some encourage playful interaction from children, while others encourage people to sit and face one another, communicating rather than sitting in silent parallel. Still others are changed around apparently just for fun, or to let people take a nap in public – something normally prohibited and actively designed against when it comes to city benches. What the disparate pieces share is a childlike intuition that little changes can make a big difference in the urban landscape.

“Out of investigating architecture, communication, and social behavior in the urban space, a series of bench designs was born under the common title Modified Social Benches. The bench designs borrow their basic form from the ubiquitous park or garden bench, but are altered to various degrees to make the act of sitting a conscious physical endeavor.”

“With their modifications, the benches transform their surroundings into places of activity rather than rest and solitude; they foster exchange between the users and the passers-by, thus lending the work a social quality. Due to their alterations, the benches end up somewhere between a dysfunctional object and a functional piece of furniture, and therefore demonstrate the contradiction between artwork and functional object.”

“In my view, the concept of sculpture is closely linked to communication. Rather than passive perception and theoretical reflection, the visitor’s direct and physical experiences are more important to me,” Hein says in an interview with Thejas Jagannath. “A level of immediate perception is only achieved with an artwork that the viewer is directly involved with. Thus interaction is a distinctive element of my artwork and the viewer plays a vital role.”

The post Modified Benches Transform Public Seating first appeared on Dornob.

The Runway series from furniture makers HighTower is all about adaptability. The universal modular pieces fit together in seemingly endless combinations, allowing you to be as creative as you want to be with your seating.

When assembled, the bench-like pieces look a bit like stylized tree branches. The slightly sloped ends of each piece allow the components to fit together snugly. Those angles also help to make it easier to stand up from a sitting position.

The pieces come in a variety of colors, including two-toned selections. Although the Runway furniture collection is meant for a public setting, it would also look amazing in a home. We’re picturing it in a huge lofted space with the “branches” stretching out across the floor in beautiful organic shapes.

“With Runway create a truly striking and unique bench all your own with the use of only a few modular elements. The possibilities are seemingly endless and always fun – use contrasting fabric to play up Runway’s geometric shapes even more. The design of the angled sides merges aesthetics and function as it offers a dynamic expression while allowing users to easily stand up from the seat. “

“Ideal for public spaces, Runway’s universal units can be configured in endless variations to suit your specific needs. Designed by Busk + Hertzog. Use one of the standard configurations as a template or combine the standard components to create a layout of your own.”

About the designers:

“Flemming Busk and Stephan Hertzog established their successful studio in Denmark in 2000. Today, their recognition goes far beyond Scandinavian borders. Their studio has won more than 30 of the most prestigious international design awards, including Red Dot Awards, IF Awards, and Good Design Awards, making them the most award-winning Danish designers of their generation.”

“Several of their designs are part of permanent exhibitions at design museums around the world. busk+hertzog’s design characteristics are sculptural, clean lines and a simple expression with minimal embellishment. Any decoration usually serves a function or is integral to the furniture. They often get their inspiration from shapes and lines…”

The post Branch-Like Modular Benches Have Endless Possibilities first appeared on Dornob.