The 2016 Chairity designers share the ideas behind this year’s reinterpretations.
Adam Cornish
“I’ve reinterpreted the ‘ Officina’ chair as a floor lamp in mouth-blown glass and 3D-printed components. The glass is seated within the stripped-back framework to create the light.”
Adam Goodrum
“Magis is renowned for pushing the boundaries of technology. I wanted to use a very modern technology, so created earrings and a bracelet using laser sintering and 3-D-printed the pieces in sterling silver. Production constraints required jeweller Caroline Vasta to weave her magic on the pieces.”
Arent & Pyke
“We tailored a slip cover and resurfaced the legs to personify the chair with a dinner jacket and bow tie, weaving new narrative into an industrial object.”
Bassike
“We used earthy, natural materials to soften the design; a premium Italian leather to create a second skin in the form of two removable slips with contrast stitching and leather lacing.”
Christopher Boots
“Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass with a blackness that obscures its origins as the blood of the earth. Pure gold leaf is a nod to the traditional artisanal techniques and wrought iron the brothers used, which also originates in fire.”
Fiona Lynch
“We removed the seat and artist Jo Wilson helped us make one in timber, a Victorian rough-sawn cypress, with radial lines hand-turned into its centre. The backrest is wrapped in a leather cord and details kept to a minimum.”
Henry Wilson
“I’ve always felt a little conflicted by the Chairity projects as it can be hard to justify messing with something that is so revered. When I saw this year’s design I felt immediately that it should not end up as a chair. We often expect forged steel to be solid and inflexible, I wanted to convey the rubbery hidden potential of steel.”
Marsha Golemac & Dan Hocking
“We were drawn to the idea of the chair being a ‘ future classic’ and this inspired the set design, lighting and composition of our design, right through to the latest camera technology. Our collaborators were Specular, United Measures, Thirds Fine Art Printing, Mitchell Plastics and XO Studios.”
Mim Design
“Something we aspire to is the melding of colour and texture. We love the vibrancy and layered texture of our chair and feel it has synergies with our chosen charity, Beyondblue.”
Dinosaur Designs
“We love the bone-like quality of the ‘Officina’, particularly the frame. Playing with the arms, seat and back while leaving the raw iron structure to stand like a skeleton, we remodeled and hand-cast forms from our collection that had been inspired by organic shapes such as eggs and bones.”
Studio Elke
“We began by playing with the original surfaces, adding flocking and a matte powder coating, creating a new palette to imbue the chair with a rich visual energy. We added a vanity and mirror to twist the chair’s use and link it to the act of ‘adornment’.”
Studio Twocan
“Studio Twocan was formed on the basic principle that two heads are better than one. That’s why we turned the ‘Officina’ into a two-seater. Like the Bouroullec brothers, we sit side by side. We introduced an Australian flavour to this European classic with a backrest in kangaroo leather and charred timber.”
Design by Toko
“We applied 1300 magnets to the frame of the chair to create volume and presence. We like the idea that our intervention is dynamic and impermanent so it can be altered and/or reversed.”
Tracey Deep
“My reinterpretation of the ‘Officina’ is inspired by its contemporary design and traditional techniques. I’ve used a recycled wool fibre, layering to create a handmade, magical piece and to evoke emotions connected to the sea.”
We Are Triibe
“We combined traditional techniques and natural materials with its structural steel frame, pairing a timber frame with rattan — a household staple — in the hope of creating a design that could transition fluidly into most spaces.”