ADF Milano Salone Design Award 2020¡¡Best Performance Award¡¡"CYLINDER x MATERIAL" by Rie Aruga

Concept

Combining a cylinder and material characteristics enable the introduction of a new way of furniture and space.

The cylinder is a type of shape which has existed with us human, since ancient times. I have been seeking to propose a whole new concept of furniture and space by using a shape that exists in our subconsciousness and is commonly recognized worldwide.

Changing the scale and viewpoint and deforming it by combining an ancient shape and modern material, will create a new value to the cylinder.

By demonstrating the versatility of the cylinder through this experimental approach, focusing on the material, I was able to provide freshness and surprise to the furniture and space.

¡ÈResponsive chair¡É is a new type of chair that was born by deforming the woven stainless mesh by rolling it cylindrically.
Not a combination of several parts, like a seat, backrest legs, and armrest, it is formed by a single shape, ¡Ècylinder¡É. Its flexibility enables it to change its form by adapting to the shape of the person who sits in it.

Comment on winning the ADF Award

I would like to thank the ADF Milano Salone Design Award 2020 promoter, the judges who evaluated my project, and all the people who have supported me.
If it hadn¡Çt been for you all, I couldn¡Çt have won this unexpected award.
Furthermore, I am grateful for the privilege granted to exhibit my work in Milan.
The theme of my work is ¡ÈCYLINDER MATERIAL¡É. Combining cylinder with material characteristics, and deforming, resizing and changing the viewpoint, enabled me to express the versatility of the cylinder and material, and to create a whole new concept of furniture and space.

Shifting aside from the things that we take for granted will free us from stereotypes or bring us new awareness and surprise. Through my project, I would like people to feel the beauty and excitement that things can bring to us.

Why do we humans live in a rectilinear space, even though we are composed of curved lines? ¡ÈResponsive chair¡É was born due to the combination of that kind of discomforted feeling and cylinder¡Çs versatility. In the modern world, efficiency is a priority. As a result, linear things are mass-produced. But still, we humans are composed of curves.

This brought me to think, ¡ÈIt might be possible to make furniture and space a new and familiar thing, by bringing ¡Æmodern fabric¡Ç and ¡Æcylinder¡Ç, an ancient shape formed by straight and curved lines, together.

I am grateful if this piece helps even just a little, to enrich and to bring diversity to how people, things, and space interact. I want to continue my creative activity by cherishing the discomforted feeling, doubt, and curiosity that occurs in our daily life and putting them into action by making an experimental approach.
I look forward to learning a lot from my experience in Milan, and to challenge myself to many things. Thank you so much for the valuable learning opportunity.

Designer Biography

1999 Born in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
2017 Musashino Art University, Department of Industrial, Interior and Craft Design
2019 A scholarship student of Yamagiwa Art Foundation
2021 Scheduled to graduate from Musashino Art University, Department of Industrial, Interior and Craft Design


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