Cologne 2013: Italian designer Luca Nichetto has created a lounge chair with a folding backrest for Finnish design brand One Nordic.
Luca Nichetto added concealed hinges to the backrest of the Hai chair so that it can fold down in transit, in line with One Nordic's philosophy of cost-effective shipping.
The chair was shown at trade fair imm cologne last week as part of an installation by Nichetto imagining the house of the future.
One Nordic will also present the chair in three colour options at the Stockholm Furniture Fair in February.
One Nordic launched at last year's Stockholm Design Week with an inaugural collection by Swedish studio Form Us With Love, followed by products including a stool held up by three curved legs inspired by skateboards.
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Here's some more details from One Nordic:
Hai by Luca Nichetto
One Nordic Furniture Company is proud to present a new lounge chair in a series of launches this spring. Hai sets the tone as the perfect combination of Italian inventiveness and Nordic functionality, designed by Luca Nichetto. The lounge chair was first shown at IMM Cologne where Nichetto, as “Guest of Honour” created his own vision of the perfect house – in the extensive expo “Das Haus”.
"Hai is a combination of functional requirements and stylistic values. The brief was to create an object of great quality and strong personality, while meeting the requirements related to packaging derived from the world of online sales," says Nichetto.
Nichetto is the first non-Nordic designer to collaborate with One Nordic and the collaboration opens up for an interesting interpretation of Nordic design. Born in Venice, Nichetto has strengths in both classical and contemporary Italian references. However, fascinated about Nordic form, Nichetto opened his second studio in Stockholm in 2011, combining his Italian innovative heritage with his fascination for Nordic functionality. "Designing the Hai chair, I wanted to create a new product with historical reference. A product with Italian touch but with a typical Nordic way of sitting”, says Nichetto.
"We knew that Luca was perfect for this project, he has deep understanding for Nordic design. Having spend a considerable amount of time in Sweden he has the ability combine his Italian Heritage with Nordic functionality and form," says Joel Roos.
Following the One Nordic philosophy of designing for effective shipping, the Hai chair is a welcoming character with a foldable backrest, using less space and less energy when transported. The concept for Hai is focused on a simple yet strong feature, a well-made lounge chair challenging the flexibility of online furniture retail.
The concealed hinges in the backrest enable the lounge chair to be transported at almost half the chairs original size and assembled without tools. The effective solution is a hidden well-designed value, remaining until the chair needs to be moved or transported again. “We want to challenge the status quo of online furniture retail by producing something as complex as a lounge chair adapted with an effective transport solution and easy assembly”, says Joel Roos Founder of One Nordic Furniture Company.
The chair will be available in three colours. Price and final colours collections will be presented at the Stockholm Furniture Fair on the 5-9th February along with the first launch of the full One Nordic Furniture Collection.