yii design: cocoon plan by rock wang

‘cocoon plan: sofa’
image © designboom

taiwanese culture honors the harmonious relationship between man and nature. unfortunately, many taiwanese crafts bred from this fundamental value are now extinct. yii is a brand conceived by the taiwan craft research institute, that aims to transform traditional taiwanese crafts and bring them into the contemporary context through design. ‘yii’ is derived from three chinese characters. on character represents the concepts of eastern philopsophy – the sun and moon, yin and yang and the changing and unchanging laws of nature. another character reflects exquisite craft. the third means, original design.

the work of nature influences the creative process of ‘yii’ projects. the ancient secret of organic methodology was revived through design, to enrich both the environment and the mentality of the contemporary world. taiwanese designer rock wang, in collaboration with craft artist kao-ming chen have developed  ‘cocoon plan’ a series of seating designs: a sofa and stool, made from bamboo and silk. wang is also the designer of the ‘brick plan’ vessels which he created with craftsman pei-ze chen.

side / back view

‘cocoon plan: sofa’ brings together two objects in the shape of a cocoon to create a sofa. they are constructed by a mass of intertwining bamboo strips.

detail
image © designboom

‘cocoon plan: sofa’
image © designboom

‘cocoon plan: sofa’
image © designboom

the ‘cocoon plan: sofa’ is also covered by a smooth, silky surface, which is a result of the natural cocooning process of the silkworm.

side view
image © designboom

front view
image © designboom

‘cocoon plan: twin stool’

the ‘cocoon plan: twin stool’ follows the same production process as its sofa counterpart. it is meant to be a contemporary symbol of ‘thousand-year-old wisdom’.

gijs bakker at the ‘yii’ exhibition
portrait © designboom

dutch designer gijs bakker was invited to be the creative director of ‘yii’. under his direction, these newest works focus on the revival of the increasingly extinct taiwanese craft in contemporary, exploring methods of bamboo work, ceramic, fine silver works, lacquerware, wood carving and other ancient craft processes. forty-five craft pieces were created through the collaboration between 15 taiwanese designers  and 20 master craftsmen. during milan design week 2010, yii presented the resulting projects to an international audience  through an exhibition at the triennale museum, milan.