Competition: win a Cover Side Chair by Thomas Bentzen for Muuto

In our latest competition, Dezeen has partnered with Danish design brand Muuto to offer readers the chance to win a Cover Side Chair, designed by Thomas Bentzen.

Two winners, chosen at random, will receive one of the stackable Cover Side Chairs designed by Bentzen for Muuto without upholstery, in either oak, green, black or grey.

The chair has a solid oak base and legs with a veneer seat and curved backrest that is folded around its back legs.

It is coated in a environmentally-friendly water-based lacquer that, combined with its durable design, means it can be used in restaurants, offices, conference rooms and cafes.

Bentzen, who trained as a carpenter before becoming a designer, created the timber Cover Side Chair to reference the values of Scandinavian craftsmanship.

"I was born and raised in Denmark; a country where the values of craftsmanship – the notion of doing things properly to a high standard – are an inherent part of daily life," he said.

"I find that Scandinavian craftsmanship is shaped by its emphasis on quality above everything else, birthed from a desire to simplify and refine ones work for it to have a democratic appeal: making it relevant for the many rather than the few."

The final form of the seat, and its curved veneer back, was only made possible due to the quality and skill of the craftsmen that produced the Cover Side Chair, explained Bentzen.

"Being a designer, the element of craftsmanship trickles down through every step of your process: from the initial sketches to small-scale models over technical drawings to making the tools for production and fine-tuning the final design for large-scale manufacturing," he said.

According to Bentzen, the end result of the design and manufacturing process is a chair that demonstrates the ideals of Scandinavian craftsmanship, at a price point that is accessible.

Muuto produces the chair in a range of colours, while textile and leather upholstered versions are available on a made-to-order basis.

"The idea of creating a design that referenced the ideals of Scandinavian craftsmanship yet at an accessible price point was fulfilled," concluded Bentzen.

"I find that moments like those serve as thoughtful reminders to myself as a designer; that I am simply a piece within a large process in which I am are largely dependent on the skilful minds and hands of others."

The Cover Side Chair follows the Cover Lounge Chair that Copenhagen-based Bentzen previously designed for Muuto. The Danish designer has also previously created a dining table and sideboard for the brand.

Competition closes 2 April. Two winners will be selected at random and notified by email. Terms and conditions apply.

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Studio Sløyd's Furuhelvete collection challenges perceptions of "outdated" pine furniture

Designers Studio Sløyd developed a collection of chunky pine chairs to demonstrate a contemporary take on a wood it feels is unfairly neglected.

The Furuhelvete furniture collection currently comprises a chair and a stool designed by Studio Sløyd to explore different characteristics of pine wood. A forest-coloured rug completes the set.

Pine grows abundantly in Norway and has been used for centuries for building houses and making furniture, but has fallen out of fashion.

Designers Herman Ødegaard, Mikkel Jøraandstad and Tim Knutsen observed that the use of pine declining in recent years. They want to help re-establish its reputation as an attractive and reliable material.

"Furuhelvete is a Norwegian expression stemming from the overuse of pine in Norwegian homes and cabins, often associated with a style that is considered distasteful or outdated," Studio Sløyd explained.

"With the Furuhelvete collection we wish to challenge the traditional perception of the wood and create a new interest for this local and wonderful material."

The design trio exhibited their work at the Stockholm Furniture Fair, where they told Dezeen that the collection will expand to include a table, cabinet, lamp and bench, all made using pine.

"We want to make pieces that work with the structure of the wood and to highlight its positive qualities by creating more contemporary shapes," explained Jøraandstad.

The three-legged stool was produced using a computer-controlled milling machine, resulting in a chunky profile that Jøraandstad described as "a big canvas to showcase the material".

The solidity of the form provides a counterpoint to the perception of pine as a material used in poor-quality construction. A special joint was devised to create a seamless and sturdy intersection between the three pieces.

This chair also aims to demonstrate how a wood that is often thought to be too soft for furniture making can be used to create a robust and attractive product.

A gently curved seat is supported by a tripod frame that intersects with a minimal backrest. Both seating designs are left unfinished to highlight the attractive wood grain and were carefully hand sanded to create a smooth, high quality finish.

The rug was designed as a romanticised abstraction of a Norwegian pine forest in autumn. It was made by Ødegaard using a traditional hand-tufting process and took around a month to produce.

In addition to their aesthetic and functional properties, the pieces are intended to help communicate important social and environmental messages.

"We still import wood to make furniture which has a huge environmental cost," Jøraandstad pointed out. "This is so unnecessary when we have such a great material on our doorstep."

"We imagine these pieces would look great in contemporary Scandinavian homes," he added. "Right now this is a starting point to encourage designers in Scandinavia to use the material more."

Ødegaard, Jøraandstad and Knutsen founded Studio Sløyd while studying at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design.

They will all graduate this year and plan to continue developing projects that focus on exploring and respecting materials.

Students from the Estonian Academy of Arts also presented a collection of furniture at the fair that offered a unique take on a material. Dig Where You Stand is set of six objects made from limestone, a material that is usually only used for surfaces.

Swedish designer Kajsa Melchior used an unusual method of sand-casting to create her collection Fictive Erosion, which was also showcased at the Stockholm Furniture Fair.

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Satoshi Kondo dresses models in floaty bodysuits and conjoined knitwear for Issey Miyake

Japanese fashion house Issey Miyake's Autumn Winter 2020 collection features bodysuits with origami folds, multi-person rainbow knitwear and zip-off puffer outfits designed by Satoshi Kondo.

The runway show, presented at the Lycée Carnot as part of Paris Fashion Week, was called Making Speaking, Speaking Making.

 

Kondo, who took over as head designer of Issey Miyake in 2019, said this collection explored how the naive joy of engaging the senses with colour and tactility could "connect beyond languages and cultures by the feelings we share".

Two of the models wafted onto the runway in shimmering bodysuits made from gauzy fabric folded in intricate origami patterns.

 

Connected at only the wrists and ankles, with turtle-like hooded openings for their heads, the silky suits created flowing movements as the models raised their arms and wafted around each other.

The looks were paired with chunky-soled grey booties, along with most of the collection.

 

When the show opened a sheet of paper stretched across the back wall, with a single stylised figure outlined in thick black pen drawn in the middle.

Two assistants walked on and drew two more figures either side of the central one. They then cut around the outside and peeled away the paper to leave a person-size cutout, while a third assistant cut the middle figure out from behind.

 

Models wearing white structured garments with black outlines stepped into the gaps, like life-size paper cut-outs.

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Project credits:

Collection design: Satoshi Kondo
Show concept and direction: Daniel Ezralow
Music: Matthew Herbert
Production: Roy Genty, Laëtitia Goffi
Lighting design: Valérie Bodier
Technical coordination: Mathieu Touchard, Manon Laffitte, Gaëtan Gremel, Hair Ramona Eschbach at Total Management: using L’Oréal Paris
Makeup: Gregoris at Calliste using Shiseido
Invitation design: Tadanori Yokoo

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The top visualisation roles on Dezeen Jobs includes opportunities at Adjaye Associates and Foster + Partners

Our selection of the most promising visualisation positions on Dezeen Jobs includes vacancies at architecture studios Adjaye Associates and Foster + Partners.

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Visualiser at Adjaye Associates

Adjaye Associates is looking for a visualiser with strong V-Ray skills to join its New York office. The international practice designed the Aïshti Foundation cultural foundation and luxury shopping centre located in Beirut, Lebanon.

Find out more about this role ›

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Concept artist at Foster + Partners

British architect Norman Foster completed a ground-breaking forty-four-storey skyscraper in Hong Kong for international bank HSBC in 1979. His studio, Foster + Partners, has an opening for a concept artist to create visualisations of projects during the design stage at its studio in London.

Find out more about this role ›

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Architectural visualiser at North Made Studio

Manchester firm North Made Studio created architectural visuals for The Quadrangle, an apartment complex located in north London's Harringey. The practice is recruiting an experienced architectural visualiser with proficiency across all aspects of 3D design to join its team in Manchester, UK.

Find out more about this role ›

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Senior 3D artist at Squint/Opera

Squint/Opera has an opening for a 3D artist with experience of creating architectural CGIs to join its studio in London. The firm produced a series of visuals that depict a flooded London in the year 2090, after the impact of climate change has become clear.

Find out more about this role ›

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3D design internship at On

Running brand On completed a reflective, zero-impact mountain cabin in the Swiss Alps, to celebrate the launch of a recent footwear collection, which included its first hiking shoe. The company is offering a 3D design internship which will include the production of design visualisations, at its studio in Zurich, Switzerland.

Find out more about this role ›

See all the latest architecture and design roles on Dezeen Jobs ›

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A 3D Artist Imagines the Realistic Fossilized Skulls of Endearing Cartoon Characters

“Canis Goofus – USA, 1932.” All images © Filip Hodas

A Prague-based artist is memorializing some of his favorite cartoons with a series of convincing fossils that provide an unconventional look at the skeletons of animated characters. Filip Hodas’s Cartoon Fossils series features preserved skulls of Spongebob, Tweety Bird, and other familiar characters, accompanied by the years they first were spotted on television and their zoological names like Anas Scroogius, Homo Popoculis, and Mus Minnius.

The artist’s surreal compositions mimic the fossils and assemblages displayed in history museums, although Hodas said in a statement he wanted to add to their playfulness with bright, solid backgrounds. He also embellishes his characters with hats, glasses, and even stacks of coins to amplify their fictional roles.

Initially, I wanted to make them stylized as dinosaur fossils set up in a museum environment, but later decided against it, as the skulls didn’t look very recognizable on their own—especially with parts broken or missing. That’s why I opted for (a) less damaged look and also added some assets to each of the characters.

To create each piece, Hodas used a combination of programs including Cinema 4D, Zbrush, 3D Coat, Substance Painter, and Substance Designer. Find more of the artist’s work that intertwines history, science, and pop culture on Instagram and Behance.

“Mus Minnius – USA, 1928”

“Anas Scroogius – USA, 1947”

“Anas Scroogius – USA, 1947”

“Spongia Bobæ – USA, 1999”

“Homo Popoculis – USA, 1929”

“Homo Popoculis – USA, 1929”

“Canaria Tweetea – USA, 1941”

“Canaria Tweetea – USA, 1941”

 

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