Dutch concrete sofa

Continuing to share old news, this piece of old news (to me) is still much more recent than Mr Englund's 60's work. The Dutch designer Nacho Carbonell designed the prototype for a concrete couch cast on site in flexible formwork. - back in 2007. - it is in fact more a designed process than an object.

[Soft Concrete by Nacho Carbonell, 2007, image via MatandMe]

See more images of the piece at the designer's website. 

Carbonell writes about the prototype: "The idea of the process defining the final shape of the object, is something that has always interested me. You cannot have total control, the materials are alive and do what they want. I just give them boundaries, against which they can react with freedom, always surprising me. They are my best partners and my source of inspiration. Experimentation is my way of translating a concept into an object. Here I created bags of different shapes. Once the bags are filled up with concrete they reveal their final shape and function, in this case a proposal for a bench for outdoor purposes. The concrete is first colored, then poured into the bags. Once these are ripped off, the furniture  achieves a friendly, funny and soft look as well as a beautiful texture imprinted on it by the material of the bags. Another aspect that is very interesting about the project is the possibility of creating it on the spot, allowing it to be integrated better into the surroundings." via

While discovering Carbonell through the fabric-formed lens, I admit to enjoy the development of his work away from the solid to the more spatial, it is so much tighter. He has made some collections of spatial and communicative structures that are light and textured and architectural sculptures that I would love to experience live. Check them out here.

[Communication Line by Nacho Carbonell, via]

898 in Copenhagen
Pardon the jump but Carbonell's sofa reminded me of something in my own backyard that I haven't shared with you - so see the next post here.