konstantin grcic: 'crash' for established and sons

munich-based konstantin grcic has developed ‘crash’ for british design and manufacturing company established & sons new collection.

‘crash’

presented at milan design week 2010, ‘crash’ is unlike typical upholstered furniture which is built on a wooden frame with foam padding. it consists of a tubular frame and a two-inch loose foam moulded cover to fit over the metal frame. it reinterprets the construction of an upholstered armchair by separating the supportive frame from the soft upholstered upper portion – the metal structure is made by a frame maker, while the foam is produced elsewhere. dividing the chair into these two constructive elements, rationalizes production and simplifies transportation and storage – the metal frames can be stacked while the foam can be stored elsewhere and recycled at the end of its life cycle.

image © designboom

the generous dimensions and spaciousness of the chair is to give individuals a place to ‘crash out’ and relax. typically grcic doesn’t design upholstered pieces as he prefers sitting on hard surfaces. however, this is what he has said about working on this project:

‘I was interested in challenging myself. doing something when I wasn’t sure where it would lead to. starting a collaboration with any new client can be quite difficult. I am very considered about finding the right territory for it – one that I have not been working on before. I don’t want the work I do for different clients to be conflicting. it is very important to find a clear separation between one client and another. with each company the goal is to gradually build u a body of work. the starting point can be quite crucial.(…) each new client offers the opportunity for breaking out of one’s own mould. in that way, doing an upholstery project with established & sons sounded like an exciting promise. it is something I hadn’t touched for a long time and clearly I saw a nice potential in such a project.’ – konstantin grcic