raw edges installs a relaxing cluster of concrete seats facing london's NOW gallery

after graduating from the royal college of art, yael and shay set up raw edges design studio where their imaginations could take flight: furniture, installations, and products began to develop with a strong accent on playfulness and childlike wonder. in their project featured during london design festival 2017, the artistic duo designed ‘steps’ — a cluster of concrete seats created with MASS concrete’s manufacturing expertise which lives outside NOW gallery, creating a space for two to nest, invite people to dwell, play, and relax in this new swathe of the city. 

the simplicity of the seating will both stand out from the contrasting concrete metropolis and blend into the surrounding verdant peninsula gardens. raw edges‘ main influence was people’s search for resting spots within the city; we can all find relaxing spots that are not designed to become seats like stairs, pavement edges or low brick walls. the designers looked into this behavior; this hunter’s eye that looks for the ideal resting position, such as students during a lunch break, a group of builders having coffee on site or a bunch of friends sitting on the pavement and came up with this small urban landscape that is made from a cluster of concrete units. each unit is like a scaled up domestic armchair, and when arranged together with their different heights, these ‘armchairs’ create an urban texture that invites people to step on, climb and relax.

raw edges steps
video © raw edges design studio

project info:

name: steps

designer: raw edges

presented during: london design festival 2017

in collaboration with: MASS concrete

presented by: NOW gallery

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lynn chaya | designboom