This contemporary marble run gives a minimalist spin to a childhood classic

The Carrera Marble Run is the latest project presented by independent design platform Objects With Narratives. A hybrid concept somewhere between a design gallery and a shop, Objects With Narratives was founded by Robbe Vandewyngaerde, Nik Vandewyngaerde and Oskar Eryatmaz, merging backgrounds in engineering, architecture and finance to create a unique curatorial concept for commissioning and selling design. 

Carrera Marble Run: a contemporary take on a classic

Among the brand’s latest launches is the Carrera Marble Run, created by Austrian designer Laurids Gallée and Studio Narra (of which Nik and Robbe Vandewyngaerde are founders). Shaped like a minimalist version of a traditional marble run, the Carrera references 1960s slot car racing tracks with its sinuous forms. 

The playful design is made of tubular steel, making continuous loops and ascending steeply from the floor to the upper level. Imagined as a hybrid between a toy and a coffee table, its creators encourage play while stressing that it can be used in any way one desires. 

‘About a hundred years ago, the bending of steel tubes was first introduced into the world of design,’ note the designers. ‘Today we can hardly imagine this world without furniture made from tubular steel. Thus the question arises of how we can take something existing and discover a new language?’ An exercise in having fun with a traditional, ubiquitous material, the Carrera Marble Run is the answer to that question, and joins a catalogue of objects that include anemone-shaped chairs and an anti-bookcase where each shelf is made of steel mesh that gently bends under the weight of books.

The marble run follows this approach of playing with materials: ‘Our idea started by creating a gesture that would capture a three-dimensional pattern. As if the steel becomes a viscous substance; solidified into a dynamic piece, seemingly in constant motion,’ continue the designers. ‘The pattern is generated from diverse light-and colours situations of its environment. The object is made from polished steel tubes precisely bent by hand.’

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