Design explores new experiences indulging one’s five senses. At this year’s Maison & Objet in Paris, Nendo created a multi-sensorial sweet chocolate lounge following his win as Designer of Year for the prestigious fair. The spatial design of the chocolate lounge titled Chocolatetexture is defined by a forest of 2,000 thin aluminum pipes that have been painted in chocolate colored gradations to create the feeling of being surrounded by large rippling waves of chocolate. Amid the pipes, are several of the Japanese designer’s known pieces for companies such as Cappellini, Desalto, Emeco, Glas Italia, and Moroso, that have been custom made in the color of chocolate creating an even color resembling the sweet treat meanwhile offering a place for Maison & Objet visitors to take a rest. In addition, Nendo has produced a limited edition of 400 Chocolatetexture sets of bite-sized architectural miniatures. The nine chocolates are named after various Japanese expressions used to describe texture.
A metaphor to his design philosophy, the Chocolatetexture lounge expresses Nendo’s core values evident by Oki Sato’s choice of his design company’s name. Nendo in Japanese means modeling clay, a fluid substance that signifies flexibility and the ability to reinvent oneself. With a current studio in Milan and Tokyo, Nendo has transformed spaces and inspired lives across the globe with projects in the fields of architecture, interior design, furniture, products, events and graphics. For Nendo, the simplest ideas and the smallest designs create the most unusual experience, just like the texture of a chocolate alludes and creates different sensations.
Luminaire has been a big advocate and played a pivotal role in introducing Nendo and his design philosophy to the American public. In 2012 Luminaire Chicago welcomed Oki Sato to a reception and exhibit featuring several designs in which Oki Sato collaborated with innovative companies such as K%, DePadova, Bisazza Bagno and Cappellini. In December 2014 his Softer Than Steel collection was featured as part of DESIGNJAPAN, an exhibition during Art Basel in Miami Beach at Luminaire Lab. Throughout the years, Luminaire has showcased several pieces by the designer such as the Brushstroke tables, Deep Sea collection, Byobu tables and more. Luminaire strives to continually provide inspiration and design education to the public with enriching conversations of design and collaborations with some of the world’s most innovative designers and visionaries reaffirming that good design does start with good collaboration.
February 2015
