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A slender bench seemingly floating in mid-air, all of six metres long, with just two supports yet incredibly strong. This is the recipe that has brought success to Komplot Design at the International Composites Design Competition in Brussels. The competition is sponsored by the Flemish Government’s Design Council in partnership with a number of European design institutions and universities and with support from the European Commission.
Big Bank, the bench whose length and slender construction are part of an experiment that takes furniture design to its extremes, was conceived by Poul Christiansen and his colleague Boris Berlin from Komplot Design of Copenhagen, Denmark.
“We were looking to create a lightweight, elastic and almost transparent piece of furniture. But by exploiting the characteristics of the advanced composite to their limits, we have at the same time cut away all superfluous material, thereby saving on both energy and natural resources,” says Poul Christiansen, who in addition to the design award received prize money of EUR 7,500 at the award ceremony in Brussels. Big Bank will subsequently be put on display in Brussels, Paris, Barcelona and a number of other major European cities.
“We arched the profile vertically into a curve resembling a longbow. This was something so novel that some persuasion was required before we were allowed to try. However, we were successful, and we were rewarded not only with a stronger profile capable of supporting weight, but also with a seat that was elastic and comfortable to sit on. Used outdoors, the bench also conducts away rainwater,” says Poul Christiansen.
Inspired by play
The idea for the bench came to Poul Christiansen while he was idly playing with a composite profile during a visit to Danish manufacturer Fiberline Composites. Fiberline already supplies strong, lightweight profiles to a number of industries, including the building industry, and to European manufacturers of windows and facades. The company’s high-tech production process – pultrusion – enables production of very stiff and robust composite profiles of almost unlimited length. Poul Christiansen was immediately seized by the idea of challenging the material and demonstrating its strength by designing a bench of virtually unprecedented length that was also both strong and stylish.
Found a manufacturer
“Poul Christiansen contacted Skagerak Denmark, a producer of branded goods and designer furniture which itself was searching for new technologies and materials to use in creating furniture with novel properties as a supplement to furniture of wood. “Skagerak became the co-developer and subsequently the manufacturer of Big Bank. Skagerak will produce the bench to order and deliveries will commence from the end of 2007,” reports product developer Søren Slebo of Skagerak.
“We see Big Bank as a successful slender and lightweight alternative to large, heavyweight bench designs. Rather than dominate the room, it becomes a part of it. This means it can function as a sculpture by itself, also when not being used. Big Bank is self-explanatory and straightforward,” says Søren Slebo, who is also delighted that the lightweight bench is so easy to move around.
Big Bank can be painted in all the colours of the rainbow, but a translucent version that provides attractive lighting effects can also be produced.
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