Chaotisch
The Chaotisch side table concept was developed for the traditional carpentry in the Austrian countryside. Over generations, artisans like those working in said carpentry have built custom made furniture for the people of their region. Due to the competition of global furniture shops, their business has changed significantly. While nowadays most people can only afford industrial veneered MDF furniture, the carpenters more and more became resellers and assembly operators for big companies. This development as a whole is threatening the precious woodworking knowledge all these carpenters have. After getting to know said carpenters via a cooperation for a different project, I started to develop a concept for a small batch production, enabling them to show off their woodworking potential while at the same time lowering the price compared to the artisan work, done only for very wealthy customers. The carpenters begin by selecting and preparing the strips of nut and ash wood, which are being joined together forming a u-shape. During the next step, the C&C mill gives them exact proportions and drills the holes for the dowel plugs. Afterwards, the carpenters join all the single pieces together and finish with the surface treatment. For too long, design has mainly focused on the appearance or functional side of things. I like to think of this piece as process-related design, making the product itself and its fabrication process transparent. On the even side, it shows the result of all the woodworking knowledge in form of a solid wooden board. On the other side, you can see a preliminary stage with all the strips spreading apart, highlighting every single one. Additionally, this piece can be seen as a portrait of the situation the carpenters find themselves in. Since our economies are rapidly changing, they can continue to work like they used to and let fate decide the future of their profession. Alternatively, they can reach out to designers and technicians, as in this project, and find new ways of making furniture in the 21st century.
Dimensions: 170 x 58 x 50 cm
Material: Nut & Ash
Production: Tischlerei Konrad Fadenberger
C&C Technology: Hermann Deutscher
Awards:
2. Platz Craft Design Award 2018
Exhibitions:
Design Monat Graz 2019
Stadthalle Graz 27.9.2018 - 1.10.2018