Henrik Kjellberg and Jon Lindström founded their design studio
o4i (office for ideas) in 2005, almost a decade after they
earned their MFA degrees at Konstfack, the University College
of Arts, Craft and Design in Stockholm, Sweden. They work
with numerous clients all over the world offering colourful and
inspired design that often challenges the status quo of the de-
sign world. Their Dent chair was born as an experiment trying
to mould a double-curved 3D surface out of regular material
instead of expensive 3D veneer. The result using layer-glued
compression-moulded ash wood, challenges the modernist idea
of perfection while also offering welcoming comfort. “Your eyes
tell you that you can’t possibly sit
comfortably in this chair,” says Henrik Kjellberg, “but it’s like
a bed of nails; your body is supported by the knuckles, and
it’s all flat in the middle of the seat and at the lumbar support
where you need it.” Jon Lindström stresses the importance of
the comfortable curvature which cradles your back, and which
is made possible by the double-curved 3D surface.
Their ongoing research in workplace furniture is focused on
flexibility and agility, with the user in focus. A changing work
culture requires new designs, which integrate technology in
furniture solutions, while also protecting the private sphere in
an ever-more open workspace. But the individual pieces by
o4i are the most striking; take Zesty, a superlight stackable
chair with a very different character, but based on the same
playful approach as Dent. During the past ten years or so,
o4i has received numerous awards, among them Red Dot
Award (Germany), IDA, International Design Award and
ADEX Platinum Award, the last two in the US.
O4i | 2O13 – 2O18
DENT
Dent Wood | 2014
Dent Wood Dressed | 2015
Dent Wood | 2018
