Embrace by Philippe Hohlfeld from usa

my project for the tiff award 2012 is a collective seating area based on thailand's national flower: the cissus flower. this flower has beautiful flowing lines in its stems that look like they are ready to embrace you. so too will this couch reach out with its flowing lines to welcome and embrace travelers staying at any resort. most people will remember this natural embrace as a true feeling of home, no matter where they are located, and, in turn, this will increase any travelers complete vacation experience.

this couch pushes for environmentalism and an overall green feel. the walls of the seating area are made of woven bamboo strips. bamboo is becoming more and more accepted as the go-to material in any environmentally conscious project. it is both very renewable, due to its incredible growth speed, and also naturally resistent to water as well as mold for long periods of time. this means that harmful chemical wood stains do not have to be used, unless the buyer wants this couch in a certain color. the weaving also allows light to pass through the walls of the couch while still protecting any persons on the inside, enhancing the feeling of the outdoors. as for the cushions, they are also covered in a bamboo fabric. therefore, the cushions will last longer in tropical and rainy areas, since the fabric may feel similar to cotton or hemp but it still protects against water like bamboo. of course, some of the bamboo texture will be left in the fabric, but this also adds a unifying factor to the walls of the couch and the seating area as a whole. even though these material choices make the couch ideal for outdoor use, it would also enrich any interior space.

the materials chosen as well as the overall simple design lends itself to already existing manufacturing processes. thailand has always been known for woven furniture. this means that this couch can be produced there locally in existing manufacturing plants or through manual labor, depending on the want and need. thailand's climate also lends itself very well to the promoted growth of bamboo, making it a perfect place for the production of this couch.

the walls of the couch have openings on both sides to let in air as well as lighten up the design so it can blend in with its surroundings. this means that the couch can look good in a variety of settings. the couch was designed to be asymmetrical to contrast, combine, and convey the differences of the outdoors and indoors through their combination into one single entity. one side of the couch is sheltered so that the user feels protected, a feeling of the indoors; the other side is left open so that the user feels free, a feeling of the outdoors. This blend is what I strived to achieve, and personally feel accomplished, throughout the process of this project.