roe magdassi designs a reading space of abstract animal figures

roe magdassi designs a reading space of abstract animal figures
all images courtesy of roee magdassi

roee magdassi, a graduate industrial designer from the bezalel academy of arts and design in jerusalem, has created ‘tre’, a collection of furnishings whose forms originate from the shapes of wild beasts. while explaining his creative process, magdassi said, ‘I explored the morphology of animals – a world which each individual has its own different and unique character, behavior and appearance. yet, they all have a broad common ground, in the fields of vision and conception. I applied a process of abstraction and reduction of animal figures, until they almost vanished, leaving only the being, expressed by a few strokes or a single color stain.’

in other words, the artist had to define the essential elements that compose the proportions of the bodies, and then simplify their forms down to basic geometric shapes that were applicable to pieces of furniture. thus, conceptual sketches feature a graceful pink flamingo cocking its neck to look forward, an ostrich raising its gaze to become aware of its surroundings, and a praying mantis lifting its pincers for combat. these creatures, amongst others, can be seen throughout the set that includes an armchair, side table, and lamp to provide users with a serene reading environment. 

first step of the abstraction

the table of the collection articulates the movements of a crouching leopard ready to pounce on its prey. three thin legs attach to corresponding vertices that give depth to the supported red-orange surface. above, a small, accented platform layered on top of a larger solid oak plane is designated for cups of coffee, laptops, and other special everyday items.

the appearance of the table changes from different view angles

the milled bottom enables strong grip of the legs

the lamp metaphorically represents a giraffe grazing through a safari. its off-kilter base evokes movement to enable two different lighting positions: strong and focused, or gentle. this ability is accompanied by a tactile interaction. in order to increase and decrease the LED lamp’s brightness, its metal frame must be touched. the combination of features allows luminance to be configured in relation to the sitting space.

the lamp displaying its organizations

the LED lamp provides strong and warm light suitable for reading

the purple bottom radiates warm light onto the floor

light dimming by touch

the couch presents itself with a bold character texture sewn by black fabric contrasted with thin strands of white string. following the anthropomorphic theme seen throughout the project, its largest component, the back head rest, resembles a face with two teal eyes sewn into its cushioning. this links down into the seat with one square arm rest located to the left. the dark material choice is complimented by round wooden bars for the chair’s construction.

the couch

detail of the button ‘eyes’ that have been asymmetrically sewn into the fabric

the ‘animals’ together in a space

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.