grupo bondi: m. bench at DMY berlin 2011

‘m. bench’ by grupo bondi at DMY berlin image © designboomspotted at DMY berlin 2011, the ‘m. bench’ is an ottoman created by grupo bondi, an argentinian design practice started by ivan lopez prystajko and eugenio gomez llambi. made out of cement, this seat uses a patented technology to produce what appears to be a plush ottoman.

moved by the contradictions in their city of buenos aires, grupo bondi recovers the poetics of inanimate objects by subverting expectations. imagining a narrative for the ‘m. bench,’ for instance, the designers explain: ‘born out of its aristocratic life, it turned into stone in order to endure the unmerciful weather, live outside, sleep under the stars and be connected to life.’

each seat includes holes for water drainage image © designboom

seam detail image © designboom

internal structure of black version, complete with a cloth tag to add to the trompe-l’oeil effect image © designboom

the foil packets are grupo bondi’s business card, which read ‘the ideas are in the air from buenos aires, argentina’ image © designboom

grupo bondi presentation at DMY berlin 2011

image © designboom

designer eugenio gomez llambi of grupo bondi portrait © designboom

image courtesy of grupo bondi

the designers have also created other seating forms with this manufacturing process, ‘m. pillow’ and ‘buenos aires bench.’ these concrete forms are being adapted for a large park in buenos aires, scheduled to open to the public next month.

‘m. bench’ with ‘m. pillow’ image courtesy of grupo bondi

‘buenos aires bench’ image courtesy of grupo bondi

‘buenos aires bench’ detail image courtesy of grupo bondi