Letting the starting point shape the result
Kabel’s studio describes materials, natural phenomena and context as active guides in the design process. Its account places his practice in Rotterdam after studies at Design Academy Eindhoven.1
That gives a useful route into the work. Instead of beginning with a fixed family resemblance, look for the question that each situation makes available. A material may suggest a method; a room or a group of users may suggest an arrangement.
The finished objects can look different while sharing that way of paying attention. Their connection lies partly in how the problem was found.
Context can be a material to work with
Mesh Chair offers a compact material example. In MoMA’s account of its 2005 chair, Kabel compares cut expanded-metal panels and welded seams with the making of clothing. Joined surfaces acquire a three-dimensional role.2
Wood Ring changes the scale of attention. Galerie kreo’s 2012 presentation describes a circular bench as both public and intimate, with a choice between facing into the shared centre and facing out towards the room.3
The two examples involve different kinds of relationship. Mesh brings pieces of material into a volume. Wood Ring brings possible occupants into a shared spatial arrangement.
In both cases, what lies around an element matters. A panel meets another panel; a seat faces a centre or an exterior. The surrounding conditions help give the object its meaning.
A way to look across unlike objects
A viewer can ask what was allowed to guide the design. Was it the behaviour of a cut surface, the line of a seam, the grain of timber or the direction in which a person might face? Each question leads attention towards a different part of the furniture.
That is the pleasure of following Kabel across objects. The method creates room for a new situation to produce a new result. A chair begins with a sheet; a bench begins with a centre; both make their relationships worth noticing.
