British designer Thomas Heatherwick is to open an exhibition of new work at London’s Haunch of Venison Gallery this week.
Following on from last year’s ’Extrusions’ show - which featured a series of benches made from ribbons of extruded aluminum - Heatherwick’s latest offering, ’Spun’, will showcase a series of five, extra-terrestrial-style chairs.
Shown in both brushed and mirror-polished steel and copper, the chairs - all of which resemble gigantic spinning tops -- are formed from a single profile, rotated 360º.
Constructed from six separate cylindrical forms - made with metal spinning techniques, most commonly used to produce industrial kitchen equipment and timpani drums - Heatherwick then welds the component parts to create the spiralling volumes.
Part alien seating unit, part oversized plaything - the chairs can be angled to spin freely around the space. The peripheral edges of Heatherwick’s chairs are cleverly rimmed with soft leather, to prevent damage to the floor.
