enrique illanez schoenenberger: brigitte

‘brigitte’ shelter, designed by enrique illanez schoenenberger image © designboom

with its organic form and wooden tiling, ‘brigitte’ shelter, by swiss industrial designer enrique illanez schoenenberger, is a private haven that invites passersby to sit down and relax. first shown at interieur 2010 kortrijk, the work is currently on display at imm cologne 2011 as part of the [D3] exhibition for young designers.

schoenenberger designed ‘brigitte’ as a space for people to momentarily slow down their pace of life

other than an additional internal support frame, ‘brigitte’ is composed entirely of wooden tiles, all sewn together by hand in overlapping, staggered rows.

the appearance of the project is based on traditional swiss roof-building techniques, which have almost disappeared in modern times because the process is so time and labor-intensive. thus the importance of slowing down is written into ‘brigitte’ in not only how the shelter is meant to be used, but also its very materials.

front view of ‘brigitte’ image © designboom

composed of sewn wooden tiles, the structure draws attention to the time-intensive art of traditional swiss roof-building image © designboom

‘that what I sought to achieve during the entire project,’ shoenenberger notes:‘to realize an ‘open’ object that the observer can take possession of, in which he sees what he wishes for and to which he transfers the role he is looking for.

detail on the threading and interior support structure image © designboom

image © designboom

the component faces of ‘brigitte’, with the wood tiles sewn together but prior to assembly of the structure