Industrial materials inspire Oneseo Choi’s furniture collection

Originally from the industrial city of Suwon, South Korea, designer Oneseo Choi recalls growing up surrounded by skyscrapers and building sites, a recurring view that shaped his aesthetic and approach to design. 

‘The main inspiration of my work comes from my relationship with nature. In particular, for me, nature is recognised as the buildings and construction sites in the industrial city where I grew up,’ he explains. ‘Due to this influence, industrial materials are used as major materials for my work.’

‘Pattern of Industry’ furniture series by Oneseo Choi

As a student on the Technoproduct design course at Hanyang University, Seoul, Choi spent two years developing a body of work inspired by the industrial milieu of his upbringing. The ‘Pattern of Industry’ series comprises furniture designs such as benches, vases, lamps, chairs, tables and plinth-like multi use structures.

The collection is a demonstration of Choi’s approach to design: his works, he explains, start from exploring the physical and aesthetic properties of a material, and developing a function and shape from there.

The pieces in ‘Pattern of Industry’ are made from aluminium profiles (often appearing in compositions of yellow, blue and black tinted material, or combined with glass and wood), used both to build the furniture’s structure and surfaces and as decoration, as their edges become the starting point for a distinctive pattern running through the collection.

The modular  furniture design, the designer explains, convert aluminium elements used throughout industrial sites ‘into a new aesthetic substance’. The simple construction of each piece is enlivened by the geometric motifs of the cross-section profiles.

‘The project offers scalability, as the pieces are designed by assembly method,’ adds Choi. ‘A functional advantage of aluminium profiles.’

Dream collaborator: I would like to collaborate with brands or artists related to music and fashion.

NFORMATION
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