Cologne 2012: Japanese designer Yota Kakuda has created this collection of small wooden storage and display units for French brand Ligne Roset.

Pieces in the Mortaise range are made from thin sections of oak topped with black lacquered MDF slabs.

They are joined with long tenons that pierce right through their mortises to stand proud on the other side.

The collection is currently on show at imm cologne which runs until 22 January. See all our stories about Cologne 2012 here.

Here’s more from Ligne Roset:

Designed in a country where space is at a premium, the Mortaise collection fits perfectly into the long tradition of Japanese furniture which is both highly functional (each piece has its use), mobile (easy to move) and light and  airy (it  should not darken the space and should therefore allow one to look through it).

Uncluttered, simplicity, modesty to the point of joyful austerity are the watchwords of this project which rests on the association of blocks of natural oak and tops in black lacquered MDF, held together by tenon and mortice joints. The collection comprises a shelving unit, occasional table and double-shelf bedside table, all of which are capable of multiple uses, in any room in the house: the shelving unit could be used as a hall console, a mini bookshelf in the sitting room or office, and even as bathroom shelving, whilst the occasional table could be a small low table, sofa  end table, bedside table or even a plant stand...

A pared-down, timeless and light piece which achieves a perfect balance between full and empty, light and dark.

Yota Kakuda was born in Japan in 1979. He studied at the Royal College of Art and worked in a number of design agencies in London, amongst which that of Ross Lovegrove. On his return to Japan in 2008, he became a product designer for Muji before founding his own agency in Tokyo in 2011.