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 design 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.
What will the workplace of the future look like? ’I have no
idea!’ says Henrik Kjellberg, ‘the definitions of what is work,
an office, leisure time is challenged, and begs the questions
if we are ever to leave this trial-and-error period induced
by fast technological changes. I’m nevertheless convinced
that even in the future we need face-to-face relations in the
workplace.’
What are your recommended readings? ’My latest is Jaron
Laniers ”Who Owns the Future”, but everyone should
definitely read Yuval Noah Harari’s ”Sapiens” and ”Homo
Deus” which discusses human evolution and the challenges
of the future.’
O4i
DENT
Voluptuous Dent
From a distance, the new Dent easy chair looks like it’s sculpted in clay. When you sit on it, it’s all soft,
enveloping leather. The new addition to the Dent family by o4i (office for ideas), keeps the original
three-dimensional surface in ordinary veneer, but now with a large generous ”dressed” seat shell fixed
on a swivel frame. “We have stretched the curvature even more,” says Henrik Kjellberg, who together
with Jon Lindström designed the original Dent chair in 2013, “and it works perfectly!” Dent adds a human
touch to contemporary clean and overly strict architecture, while questioning the modernist heritage where
the straight and meticulously polished are the norm. “Dent’s uncontrolled flow of shapes offers a contrast
to interior spaces that are often experienced as being way too perfect. Even the architecture comes alive
in the presence of Dent.” At first glance, Dent might appear uncomfortable, but the curving shape is well
adapted to the human body where it really counts. This upholstered version is available in fabric or leather
with a classic swivel frame base. The original Dent is also available with or without ”dressed” seat shells
as chairs and bar chairs, all with a choice of frames in steel or wood.
Dent Wood Bar | 2018
