a piece from the ‘wooden heap’ series, designed by boris dennler
with ‘wooden heaps’, swiss designer boris dennler injects an element of the unexpected into the world of furniture. referencing the work of ettore sottsass and the anti-design movement, the pieces disguise at first appearance their true function. they are designed so that the revelation of their utility as desks or cabinets comes as a surprise.
with its hidden drawers but obvious legs, this piece invites user play
history is full of examples of misleading objects, from Trojan horses to hollowed out books. the ‘wooden heaps’ approximate this tradition in their form, but diverge from most of these objects in their open-endedness. dennler makes no suggestion of how to use or contextualize his pieces, and this makes the disingenuity of their appearance something that feels charming rather than deceptive. the ‘heaps’ vary in the extent to which they actually camoflauge themselves as piles of wood, but this too only invites further user engagement.
‘wooden heap’ with drawer extended
another of dennler’s ‘wooden heaps’
