Somewhere for the things between activities
A table can serve breakfast, work, a newspaper and a game in the course of one day. Ineke Hans's Drawer Table starts with the moment between those activities: the objects from one need somewhere to go before the next can begin.3
Her studio dates the design for Arco to 2015. Drawers fit beneath a thin-looking top, bringing storage close to the surface people are using. The studio describes felt-like drawers made from recycled PET, sized in relation to a person's sitting place.3
The important observation is social as well as physical. Changing an activity is easier when its small belongings have a nearby destination. A drawer can help a table remain shared space.
The arm becomes useful space
Smallroom, dated 2012 and developed for Offecct, asks another question about an easily overlooked area: what can the arm of a seat do? Hans's project account describes options for ordinary upholstered support, a working surface or a shallow container for reading material and plants.2
The arm becomes the boundary between a seated person and the larger room. Giving that boundary a surface or a container changes what can happen beside the seat.
The back and side panels address a related balance. The studio describes them as giving privacy while keeping the surrounding space visually open. Furniture helps define a smaller place within a room, at the scale of someone sitting down.2
Designing around social habits
Hans's studio biography identifies social context as a recurring concern in her furniture, products and spaces. She set up her studio in the Netherlands in 1998, with furniture and product collections alongside later client work.1
The two projects give that broad interest a concrete form. One looks beneath a tabletop; the other looks beside a sitter. Both find useful space in a familiar piece of furniture by paying attention to what people are trying to do.
That is a rewarding way to look at Hans's work. Start with an ordinary transition—put the laptop away, pick up a book, move from conversation to work—and notice the small part designed to make room for it.
