Awarded
Andreas Saxer
'Made in Asia', furniture and accessories for the interior
Product and Industrial Design
Awarded
'Made in Asia', furniture and accessories for the interior
Product and Industrial Design
Chop Sticks and Wardrobes
How can one take inspiration from Asia without succumbing to exoticism? Zürich industrial designer Andreas Saxer has travelled extensively in the Far East and has taught design as a visiting professor in Taiwan. Based on his observations of everyday objects, the 'Made in Asia' collection successfully sidesteps Asian clichés. Trained at the Zürich University of Fine Arts, Saxer noted how boards for tofu are stacked to save space. He adopted this idea in his design for a system of stackable shelves: three grey table-like MDF elements can be stacked to taste on two stools. The resulting 'Tofu' sideboard suits a nomadic lifestyle since it can be variously assembled and taken apart with great ease. 'Tofu' it is still a prototype, but the wardrobe 'Chop Stick' is already in serial production. It consists of a simple aluminium pole supported by two pairs of oak legs. In this case, the designer took inspiration from the way the roofs of temples are constructed. The beauty of the wardrobe lies in its simplicity: resembling chopsticks, the pairs of legs are joined together and acquire stability through the weight of the aluminium pole and above all the clothes. The lamp 'Shining' is the most immediate rendering of its Asian source, namely the traditional lantern. The shade is made of cotton with a geometric pattern of welded seams, and visible stitching in colour on the ceramic elements. By day the lamps look white, but when they are switched on, they glow a subtle green, pink or light blue in keeping with their stitching. Saxer's design is sophisticated and yet pleasingly understated and functional.
Peter Stohler
Andreas Saxer
Education
Industrial Designer