On new work for Walter Knoll

Martin: The interesting thing about the ‘Atelier’ chair is that when you look at it from the front it looks solid. But, when you look from the side, it is empty. So, it is a play between volume and not volume. It consists only of steel tubes and leather. The chair adapts to the body because you can height adjust the back and there is a space between the structure and the headrest, which is just the leather itself. It’s not the feeling when you sit on foam. It’s the feeling that you’re just sitting on a skin and the skin adapts to your body. It’s a very comfortable feeling.

Gernot: I think it’s a play with the definition of comfort. The upholstery is something [that] directly gives you the information that it provides comfort. This seems to be less comfortable, but provides your body a position that is comfortable. We worked very hard on this geometry. It is the position of dreaming. We wanted to create a chair for dreaming. It’s a different typology for us. When you have cars, you have sports cars, family cars… it’s a different type of chair. You need such projects in order to develop aesthetics.

On working in a continuous system

Martin: The work is always in flow. There is no direct inspiration for one particular work. One object is transformed into another object. There is a lot of the ‘Coil’ chair in this project. This is the advantage when you work with a company like Walter Knoll (who we have been working with for 12 years) you do not go from zero to an idea. You go from one idea to the next idea to the next. You have a big space to work each object.

Gernot: It is important for our work to think in a continuous system. So we always try to have long-term relationships. I think it is an experiment with material also. There are very specific qualities of thick leather, so there is a couple of projects where we try to explore how we can use it, and how we can create comfort or some decorative element. The experiment with materiality is an important aspect.

Walter Knoll is available in Australia through Living Edge and Stylecraft.

Walter Knoll
walterknoll.de 

Living Edge
livingedge.com.au 

Stylecraft
stylecraft.com.au

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