Milan 2013: Japanese industrial designer Naoto Fukasawa will launch a wooden stool with a stainless steel footrest for Italian manufacturer Plank in Milan next week.

The Blocco stool is an addition to the Blocco chair designed by Naoto Fukasawa for Plank and launched in Milan last year.

Made from ash, the stool comes in natural lacquer, black stained lacquer and three matt colour finishes: grey, white and blue.

The stool will be on show at Plank's stand at Salone del Mobile from 9 to 14 April – see all news and products from Milan 2013.

Here's some more information from Plank:

With enthusiasm, as always, Plank presents its products at the Salone del Mobile. The company seeks to go beyond the presentation of simple objects, suggesting more than just a "product", rather an idea of how to enjoy your own space at best.

This year the project that has passionate the company, is the expansion of the BLOCCO family designed by Naoto Fukasawa. The concept for the chair is the idea of simplicity given by the equal partition of the wood and its harmonious proportions which create the entire architecture of the chair. The product is both a chair and armchair, in natural ash and in matt open grain colours.

The stool, the last born product, enhances the great precision in the planning process and the attention to the proportions thanks to a careful method of formal reduction. The ring for the foot rest changes material to alienate its self from the wooden architecture of the stool pending and hiding any kind of fixation or joint mechanism.

Moreover this year Plank is dedicated to the presentation of the most prestigious products of its collection. The company looks back at the last years of its history, rewarded with great success and with products that have marked the history of Italian design.