Based on the island of Bornholm, Danish designer Line Depping and Jakob Jørgensen have been collaborating since 2010, while maintaining separate practices in design, sculpture and art. Guided by functional possibilities and inspired to explore different materials and structures, their creative process begins with experimentation in the workshop, and ends with simple, straightforward design solutions, perfectly tailored to situation and setting, and imbued with sculptural beauty.
How did you come to collaborate with TAKT?
We met Henrik, the founder & CEO of TAKT, at an exhibition we hosted in 2018 where we started to discuss the possibilities of collaborating with Arc Chair.
How would you describe TAKT and your collaboration?
TAKT is a company with a strong clear vision. They work with simple beautiful knock-down furniture and have an ambitious approach towards sustainability. They work with a few good suppliers, that they know well – and on top of that they’re a company with a lot of good energy – determined to reach their goals.
How does Arc Collection sit within your body of work as whole?
We are interested in the industrial processes and craft. We do mockups, prototypes, and experiments to find new ways for making design. It is important that the final design is simple, self-explaining – but also has a story to share. For Arc Chair the meeting between the armrest and the legs was essential and we really feel that the result shows a good collaboration between our goal as designers and the actual possibilities in the industrial machinery. Arc Dining Table echoes and expands upon the design language of Arc Chair.
What materials did you choose, and why?
Arc Chair is made from a steel frame and a wooden seat and armrest. By working with such frame, you’re able to have a much thinner construction, but steel can on the other hand also feel like a very rigid material why our work with the saddle connection at the top end of the steel tube soften the construction. Arc Dining Table has a solid timber frame, with options for customizing the legs, stretchers, and tabletop. The extensions for the table are available in either complementary or contrast colours (grey, black or red), that enables the user to turn their Arc Dining Table into a statement piece of furniture, as well as a practical one. For both design pieces our love for working with wood as a material hopefully seems clear. Wood is simply a fantastic material. It can renew itself, it gets more beautiful by use, and comes with a lot of possibilities.
What was some of the biggest challenges you faced when designing the Arc pieces?
For Arc Chair, the saddle connection was our starting point from where we wanted to make a knock-down chair. The challenge was to make a beautiful knock-down armchair. We made several tests and experiments with the armrest to find the most optimal way of working with the armrest. Our starting point was simply the metal tube, since the mockup chair was made like that, but meanwhile we aimed for even greater comfort for its back and armrests. It shares references to archetypes of wooden armchair from the 50 centuries but still you see a difference – the backrest is made for industrial manufacturing as we know from today. This means that every curve continues in the same radius – why you are able to produce the armrest in an industrial way.
For Arc Dining Table it was a matter of staying true to the original design of Arc Chair as a starting point, by using some of the same form principles. Often, extendable dining tables compromise their aesthetic integrity when extended so with Arc Dining Table, in contrast, we designed it with the focus on maintaining a clear design expression at all sizes. Proportions have been carefully considered to achieve a sense of balance; the legs’ considered position in each rounded corner makes transforming the table simple and intuitive, via an extension mechanism concealed by the oak stretchers. That mentioned, we also worked intensively on optimizing the size of the table – so suit the daily use and meet TAKT flatpack principle and shipping.
Share a few words about the design process of Curve Coat Rack?
Form principles has been a key word, as the same profile repeats itself in the board, hook and the shelf. We aimed to create a simple coat rack, inspired by the Shaker-style, and in similar way add extra functions. The upper surface of Curve Coat Rack features an L-shaped lip that allow you to position small items, as letters, photos, on top as well as the optional shelf that can be mounted anywhere on the rack. This allows the user to divest themselves of phone, keys and other trappings.
We have worked with the colours, so not to make is completely black or completely red but have tinted them to create it more vibrant for its surroundings.
How important is sustainability to your work?
It feels good to work with a company like TAKT that has sustainably in front of everything they do. As designers we can design furniture with a long-lasting lifetime, is possible to disassemble as well as use sustainable materials, but the big difference comes when the production company also have a strong commitment and act responsible towards the environment.
The design is clean and simple, yet with a sculptural expression. The chair frame is made of metal tubes combined with a unique saddle connection to ensure a smooth transition where the hard metal meets the softer wood.
Depping & Jørgensen