the work of london based, japanese born designer shin azumi was featured in
designboom's 'asia now' exhibition this year at dwell on design in los angeles.



'NARA' chair

the initial concept for the ‘NARA’ collection by japanese designer shin azumi was to create
minimal structure while providing a maximum level of comfort. in this series created
for danish furniture manufacturer fredericia, azumi wanted to express the sculptural beauty
of solid timber and create comfortable furniture from a simple wooden structure.
thus, the 'NARA' series pays homage to traditional scandinavian design while at the same
time creating a new aesthetic language of its own. the word ‘NARA’ is taken from
the japanese historic capital city which is famous for its free roaming, sacred deers.




'NARA' chair

when designing the 'NARA' chair, azumi first defined the top edge and vertical supports
of the backrest to get the best level of comfort and to create maximum support. all superfluous
material from the backrest was then removed. the 'horns' of the backrest provide the perfect
place to hang a jacket or bag. although initially designed from a functional and structural
perspective, as an end result the image of the chair resembles that of a deer.



'NARA' chair upholstered




'NARA' coat stand

'NARA’ coat stand resembles a tree like structure, where each branch provides a place
to hang an item of clothing. during the manufacture of other furniture, large amounts
of waste are usually produced.  many small but good quality pieces of timber are often
discarded. this design maximizes on those otherwise wasted pieces, creating a coat stand
with minimal wastage of materials.


'NARA' coat stand
image © designboom



'NARA' chairs at 'asia now' exhibition
image © designboom



'NARA' chairs at 'asia now' - view to the japanese section
image © designboom



japanese section of 'asia now' exhibition
image © designboom



close-up of the exhibition panel for the japanese section of 'asia now'
image © designboom



exhibition panel showing various contemporary works of japan
image © designboom