during this year's milan design week, spanish designer nacho carbonell presented 'diversity'
at palazzo ferre, in which he took twenty iterations of the same form - a slender-legged chair
attached to a narrow, covered desk - and created distinct finishes for each with the resulting pieces,
suggestive of a demographically diverse neighbourhood.



nacho carbonell with his 'bush of iron'
image by tatiana uzlova


as a follow-up and concluding piece to the 'diversity' series, at design miami /basel,
galleria rossana orlandi presented carbonell's 'bush of iron'. as the last and most laborious piece
of the 'diversity' collection to produce, 'bush of iron' resembles a natural creature,
crafted from raw iron, drawing on the beginning of the industrial era. it is reinforced with an
all iron structure with thousands of wire spines appearing as if they are extruding from the
desk-like frame. with this production, carbonell wanted to keep the cold and serene attributes
of the metal and provide it with a weight - almost close to a ton - and a volume large enough
so that it created an overwhelming atmosphere in its surroundings.



'bush of iron'
image by tatiana uzlova


within the 'bush' there is a small opening in which the user can rest, think, isolate himself
from the rest... continuously protected by the metal extrusions reaching meters into the air.

'the innards of the 'bush of iron' provide one person with a private space, protected from
any interruptions. the outside is another story: like a porcupine, its spines are not there to
make you cuddle comfortably around it.' - nacho carbonell

image by tatiana uzlova



up close of the wire spines
image by tatiana uzlova






'bush of iron' at design miami / basel 2010
image by tatiana uzlova



small desk-like opening
image by tatiana uzlova



sitting space
image by tatiana uzlova



nacho carbonell with 'bush of iron' at design miami / basel 2010
image by tatiana uzlova



image by tatiana uzlova



small scale models of the 'diversity' collection
image by tatiana uzlova


alongside the 'bush of iron' were 18 small scale models of the diversity pieces in the collection,
giving visitors an opportunity to see the whole collection, even if in small scale.



small scale models of the 'diversity' collection
image by tatiana uzlova



small scale models of the 'diversity' collection on show at design miami / basel 2010
image by tatiana uzlova



nacho carbonell arriving at design miami / basel, unloading his 'bush of iron'
image courtesy of design miami / basel