Nawa means rope in Japanese, and the word nawabari refers to an ancient practice of stretching rope. When Danish furniture company BoConcept approached BIG – the legendary Bjarke Ingels Group, which works across urban design, architecture and products – to conceive a new range of furniture, the designers turned to this age-old technique.
“When we started out with this collection, we were looking for a new way of expressing furniture,” says designer and head of BIG Products Jakob Lange. “We were interested in the forms that are created when a material is bound with rope. The result is these sculptural organic shapes that become the core of this furniture family.”
The resulting Nawabari collection includes two sofa sizes, an armchair, two coffee tables and – most intriguingly – two pouffes in different sizes. The pieces don’t actually use rope, of course, but strapping around the upholstery gives the effect of rope, creating dynamic, organic shapes that nevertheless have a distinct structure. They’re lively, even voluptuous – yet they maintain a contemporary edge and a unique silhouette.
The pieces are elegantly versatile, available in a range of fabrics and colours from BoConcept’s portfolio, such as Ravello – a luxurious material that comes in six colours including dusty green, dark blue and rose. “We wanted to design something that doesn’t scream too much for attention,” says Lange, “but that you can match together with other objects to create calm and soothing environments.”
Nawabari by BoConcept
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