nendo: deep sea + mirror chair collections for glas italia

oki sato of nendo with ‘mirror-chair’ for glas italiaphoto by hiroshi iwasaki

in anticipation of the 2013 salone del mobile, designboom celebrates the work of nendo, in this, the publication of our 100th article of the prolific japanese designer’s work!

among the projects oki sato will be presenting during milan design week, is his first collaboration with glass italia. he has produced two furniture series, the ‘deep-sea’ and ‘mirror-chair’ collections which employ the material and traditional craft of the italian glass manufacturer in a contemporary way.

‘mirror-chair’photo by hiroshi iwasaki

the name ‘mirror-chair’ says it all–an amalgamation of a chair and mirror into a single piece of furniture. the frosted gradations found on the surface fuse its two functional elements, softening the seating portion’s reflectivity — which can also be used as a shelf–giving it a stronger presence. there are two available designs of this series: a large mirror and chair; and a small mirror with a high stool. ‘deep-sea’ tablephoto by hiroshi iwasaki

composed of a low table and shelf, the ‘deep-sea’ collection expresses the technical manipulation of color, cut and adhesion for sheet glass. in order to achieve the particular blue hues exhibited in the furniture pieces, nendo used the process of fusing a layer of colored film onto each surface, multiplying the number of sheets to intensify and deepen each shade of successive glass. the space between the shelves have been combined with a mirror in order to emphasize this spectrum–the furniture translating a particular depth.

photo by hiroshi iwasaki

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