Tuesday, August 12, 2014

INDN 342: Nendo, Chair Bonanza!

Nendo is a thoroughly awesome design firm, with some fantastic design concepts and ideals. I am currently completely in love with their style and the way they design their projects. I think the methodology behind their concepts and how they showcase their individuality as a firm is spectacular and really captures the imagination of the audience they're looking to involve.

Nendo has a really fantastic concept that they try and convey in their designs. This notion is the idea of trying to bring a "!" moment into the everyday life of the viewer/user.

Image acquired from: http://www.nendo.jp/en/

This first chair is the cord chair, developed in collaboration with Hiroshima Prefecture. I think this chair is a really interesting one, as it seeks to create the most minimal chair in terms of bulk and mass, and yet it's actually hiding a lot of what makes it truly strong. The chair legs are hollowed out and their core replaced with steels rods, allowing the legs to be so skinny (15mm!!). This structure is what allows the legs to be so strong and yet so slimline. The woodwork with this design is utterly stunning, and completes a wonderful design.

Image acquired from: http://www.nendo.jp/en/

Thick black lines explores the potential of creating implied spaces with simple black lines. Exploring the possibilities of creating a chair that essentially feels like a sketch into mid-air showcases the potential that the materials offer. The black is very bold and contrasts nicely, again underpinning the sketch-like nature of the chair. I think one of my favourite aspects of this chair is the way that in certain angles the construct almost appears to phase between the 2D and the 3D, warping one's perception.

Image acquired from: http://www.nendo.jp/en/

These chairs were designed for Edition Blue and were designed to specifically utilise the skills and knowledge of Akimoku, the only specialist Japanese bentwood furniture manufacturer. Nendo explored the nature of the chair and reflected on it's older forms. These forms were then developed into a more harmonious and embellishment-poor design, seeking to capture the most prominent and wonderful features of the original design.

Image acquired from: http://www.nendo.jp/en/

I love the quirky nature behind the Cape chair. The utilisation of the really simple materials in a more interesting way than just flat pieces of static material really allows the chairs to come into their own. They have a character, a certain atmosphere that they create that suggests life (chairs) doesn't have to be as serious as it might initially be made out to be. This revamping of the everyday into something that makes you smile or laugh is integral to what Nendo is trying to do with their furniture. 

Image acquired from: http://www.nendo.jp/en/

This chair is one of many "illusionary" pieces that Nendo designs. This isn't my favourite illusionary piece by Nendo, but it is a chair that achieves it. The notion of making the chair look like it's floating gives it an ethereal quality, perhaps one that pertains to the way in which the chair almost fades out of an invisible fog. Fadeout-Chair's design choices incorporate a multi-material approach, as the bottom of the legs are defined by clear resin flowing into solid timber.

I'm a huge fan of Nendo's furniture designs, as a lot of them really connect with my ideals in terms of the way that things could be designed.

No comments:

Post a Comment