Dimensions:
L: 53 x W: 46 x H: 84 cm; H

Materials:
Natural/Pinted oak, Cork

Imagery:
Feature image – Carl Kleiner
Styled image – Silvia Puntino
Interior shots – Hem

Posted in

Drifted chair

[ 2013 ]

The inspiration for the ”Drifted” series came from a visit to Øygarden, outside of Bergen on the coast of Norway. While walking along the waters edge I became aware of all the varied materials and objects that had floated ashore.

Driftwood bleached and scoured by the ocean, old cork that had been ground to unrecognizable shapes. These textures, shapes and material set the basis for the ”Drifted” series. The name plays off the materials ability to drift with the current.

The seat in cork represents the soft, warm and flexible, while the construction in ash stands as a representation for the robust, static and hardy. The fusion between these materials creates a functional, as well as visual harmony.

The chair incorporates form-qualities that create remembrance to the traditional craftsmanship of Scandinavian furniture.

Hem Lars Beller Fjetland Drifted Chair 4

Lars on process:

“I was presented with a real challenge when Renato Preti (CEO of Discipline) asked me to develop the Drifted chair. A chair is a far more complicated construction than a stool, as the implementation of a backrest creates all sorts of challenges. I refused to “cheat” by integrating wood or metal into the cork seat, although it would have made things at lot easier.

The back endures a lot of stress and I had to come up with a construction that would break and absorb this energy. Each spindle in the backrest acts as a break, evenly distributing the forces from the back into the cork seat. The main arch of the backrest penetrates the seat before it gets anchored into the main traverse that’s connecting the left side with the right side of the chair. The rear legs are positioned in such a way that they lean towards the arch creating a counteracting force. The breaking force of the rare legs grows in accordance to the weight you add to the seat.
All these elements are carefully planned and executed, and I love how the end result manages to some how appear obvious.”

About manufacturer

Hem

“Hem – Swedish for ‘home’ – was founded in 2014 and is based in Stockholm. However, with a range of over 300 products available in 34 nations, and with the largest markets being the US, Great Britain, Germany and France, our nationality is somewhat of a side note.

Hem was born from the love for pioneering design. Our straightforward direct-to-customer model allows us to pull off what we envisioned right from the beginning: to conceive and manufacture trailblazing design of the highest quality and making it available to an international audience.”

excerpt from hem.com