Oskar Zieta, the guy who invented the air inflated metal stool, ‘Plop‘, has now created a system of products that all use the same perforated sheet metal material - chairs to tables, stools to workbenches. The mechanical look might not be for everyone, but for me, a product made from perforated or punctured sheet metal is always exciting - just look at the iconic Hans Coray ‘Landi’ chair (re-released this year by Vitra) or the ‘De la Warr Pavilion’ chair of Barber Osgerby. Even James Irvine’s ‘Open’ chair for Alias has the same special quality.
Hans Coray's classic aluminium outdoor chair 'Landi' - reissued in 2014 by Vitra.
I have to confess to owning each of these examples, so I am already a convert to the cause but somehow the dynamism of the surface helps make them all great. The holes create a visually interesting surface with a contrast between solid and void, light and dark. It doesn’t have to be a hole either, as slots or grids work just as well to create the same type of visual enhancement.
Barber Osgerby's 'De La Warr Pavilion' chair in it's component parts.
To my knowledge the use of perforated materials was developed for highly practical purposes in the twenties and thirties to improve such things as the design of steel tractor and aluminium aircraft seats. The holes drained water and reduced weight respectively. Similar things were done by Jean Prouve to reduce the weight and create strength in some of his aluminium building constructions.
The 'De La Warr Pavilion' chair in all it's glory.
Now however it seems that holes are a way to capture shifting light patterns and to play on the moiré style effects that unavoidably occur when two panels with holes or a grid of lines almost overlap. Another added bonus is that steel versions allow for attaching accessories magnetically. This is particularly relevant to designs such as notice boards and even bathroom cabinets. So without further ado, feast your eyes on these great examples I came across during the recent Milan Fair.
Diesel Living (made by Moroso) showed a series of new cabinet's called 'Perf', that revealed the full beauty of using simple perforated material. The small holes keep the interior private but adds a mixture of intrigue and depth.
Junpei Tamaki 's 'Snowscape' cabinet detail is a truly beautiful example of the use of an industrial material. Photgraph by Takumi Ota.
Showing just how delicate an industrial material can be in the right hands, Junpei Tamaki overlays several styles of perforated steels in his 'Snowscape' cabinet to create changing patterns as the screens as open and closed.
Junpei Tamaki's 'Snowscape' cabinet, as seen at SaloneSatellite. Photograph by Takumi Ota.
David Derksen - also from the Netherlands, showed a similar concept in Lambrate as part of a group show entitled 010-020. His 'Table Architecture' was designed to create pleasing cityscapes for the desk or table where the overlayed grids created intricate patterns.
Dutch brand Frederik Roijé presented their 'Texture Tray' that created patterns as you stacked the individual items.
The e27 designed 'Light Drop' for Pulpo uses a covering of perforated metal over a glass base (released in 2013).
French designer, Inga Sempe's new pieces for Hay called 'Pinboard' used a fine rectangular grid pattern and incorporated cork and magnetically attached accessory items like mirrors and pen holders. Not yet released but available soon.
Joa Herrenknecht is a young German designer who showed again at this year's at SaloneSatellite. Her powder-coated steel, 'Cosmo' wall mirror concept is equally at home in the living room, bedroom or bathroom. The mirror pivots and many things are attached magnetically to the circular 'peg-board' style backing board.
With 'Cosmo', small items are magnetically attached for easy repositioning.
Herrenknecht's 'Cosmo' in the bathrom mode. Some items are now fixed mechanically via a basic hook arrangement.
It's not all confined to storage systems either. Scholten & Baijings released a perforated shell chair for Hay that used very fine holes to add a subtle complexity to the shape. Hard to see at a distance, the holes become very noticable close up.
Scholten & Baijing's 'Dot' chair for Hay with the various base and arm types shown.
In close up the chair's 'dot-matrix' pattern becomes quite obvious but varying shadows in the holes emphasise the curve of the seat.
While it might be pushing the 'perforated' concept into questionable 'big hole' territory, several new wire cage designs were released around Milan too. Matali Crasset's 'Wardrobe' for the Ikea PS 2014 range, is an open wardrobe with clip-on plastic elements for the user to customize the level of opacity versus transparency as they see fit and to create geoetric patterns. 160 plastic pieces in black, red, yellow, orange and green are included, together with 3 suggested patterns to get your creative side started.
The 'Wardrobe' for Ikea's PS range is designed by Matali Crasset and was released shortly prior to the Milan fair.
In a similar vein, Cristina Celestino's 'Les Volieres' cabinets for Seletti, combine glass shelves with an industrial-style metal mesh carcase. The colour selection is infinitely more sophisticated and the proportions a little more arty but the overall look retains the industrial 'cyclone-fence' aestetic.
'Les Volieres' cabinet by Cristina Celestino - a new item for Seletti was on show at Rossana Orlandi along with a number of other industrially influenced new Seletti pieces.