The aesthetically pleasing, yet intricate complexity of the natural form fascinates Amsterdam-based designer Robert van Embricqs. While he found inspiration for his designs in bone structure, plant life, and movement, one question persisted: ‘To what extent is an object capable of dictating its own design?’
This question inspired him to create a minimalistic design approach that he describes as a balanced collaboration between the designer and his material. With the help of the creator as a conductor, the material is given the opportunity to blossom in the designated way, shape, or form in this relationship.
Flow Wall Desk
The Flow Wall Desk recognizes the possibility of combining functionality and art. As a result, a desk is created within one’s indoor environment. With just one twist, having a separate working area when needed becomes a true joy. It can be subscribed to as a piece of functional art that builds on the design track record of space transformations. This one, on the other hand, provides a part of the interior that changes over time: a cozy workspace during the day becomes a compact wall hanging after being used.
Inspired by recent global events and the longer-term trends that preceded them, I created a statement piece that elevates the digital workspace through craft, warm textures, and durably engineered fastenings. The Flow Wall Desk is versatile, and with its modern design elements, it can be used in homes, libraries, hotels, and a variety of other interior settings. Throughout the design process, van Embricqs worked hard to integrate the desk’s execution with its design formula, resulting in a unified whole.
Rising Chair
The Rising Chair highlights the natural shape that an object can take on by transforming itself. To complete this transformation, each piece of the chair must complete its own task. It’s very easy to amass a large collection of various chairs, and there has been an astounding abundance of them over the years, in all shapes and sizes. But it was a simple question that fascinated me during the research: “to what degree is the object you’re creating capable of dictating its own design? Is it even possible for an object to ‘tell’ for which form it’s best suited? And if so, what will the end result be?”
Rising Table
The Rising Table is a component of the Rising furniture collection. This means that the origins of this design can once again be traced back to the relatively simple idea of beginning with a flat surface capable of transforming into a piece of stylishly designed furniture. It was critical in the design of the Rising Table that the source materials both dictated and guided the final design while ensuring practical appliance and usability.
According to Robert van Embricqs, it was critical to stay as close to nature as possible during the design process. Various methods of transformation were studied without the burdensome involvement of man, using natural design concepts as inspiration. This inspired the incision pattern in the flat surface of the wood, which resulted in the creation of a latticework of ‘woven’ bamboo beams that form the table’s center. A seemingly random collection of bamboo beams organically merges to form the figuratively beating heart of the Rising Table by emphasizing nature’s logic.
