david chipperfield: bookshelf for riva 1920

shelving system by david chipperfield

in response to ‘tra le briccole di venezia’, a projected hosted by italian company riva 1920, david chipperfield has developed a bookshelf design made from recycled chestnut wood. showcased at the triennale museum during milan design week 2010, the project featured 22 projects by designers, artists and fashion designers. each created a piece to support ecologic values linked to the recycling of a peculiar product inherent to the venetian landscape: the ‘briccole’.

‘briccole’ are chestnut oak posts on which venetian gondolas are docked. corroded by tides, here artists and designers are asked to re-interpret this historic material and turn them into works of art.

detail of shelving system image © designboom

on the creative process of his shelving system, chipperfield stated that ‘the challenge in all physical realization of design was to give status to material as well as to form. the more beautiful the material is in its natural form, the more difficult is to maintain this quality through the formal and technical process’.

‘bookshelf’ image © designboom

detail of ‘bricole’ wood corroded by tides image © designboom