Milan 2016: Italian furniture brand Sawaya & Moroni has unveiled a table designed by architect Zaha Hadid, who died unexpectedly last month.
According to the brand, the Mew table was one of Hadid's last pieces of furniture design before she suffered a fatal heart attack in March at the age of 65.
Made from moulded polyurethane plastic, the Mew table is to designed to suggest two separate interlocking surfaces with curved inner edges, but is actually one single piece.
The table top sits upon two legs – one thicker than the other – and appears to pour into its supporting structure.
It is available in bright red, black or white – always in just one colour and a single material – and is designed to be used as a desk or dining room piece.
"Although it brings a successful summary of two distinct surfaces to mind, the Mew table desk starts out from a single enveloping figure to take the form of a futuristic, magically fluid origami," said Sawaya & Moroni.
"Cut through by the horizontal vein that curves where it meets, the top develops almost sensual folds at its apex, before descending vertically to form the two sculptural supports," it continued. "It generates the intentional irregularity that only this queen of architects knew how to instil in her designs."
Sawaya & Moroni described its relationship with Hadid as a "partnership and trust that evolved into friendship, esteem and affection."
Over the years Hadid partnered with the Italian brand to produce a number of pieces, including a chair made from a circle-shaped piece of plastic, and a Z-shaped seat made of polished stainless steel.
"Zaha Hadid’s relationship with Sawaya & Moroni was of the kind that many architects and designers, whether Italians or foreigners, have forged with the drivers of the multifaceted Italian furniture design system," said the brand.
Although best known for her swooping buildings, including the London 2012 Olympic Aquatics Centre and the MAXXI Museum in Rome, the architect had produced a wide range of products, with recent examples including jewellery for Georg Jensen, Adidas trainers, transparent furniture for David Gill gallery, and sculptural marble vases for Citco.
The architecture and design communities have been paying respects to the architect since her death, and many of Hadid's last products are on show during this year's Milan design week, including a crystal and metal centerpiece for Swarovski.
The Mew table is on show at Sawaya & Moroni's stand at the Salone de Mobile furniture fair from 12 to 17 April.
Other pieces launching at the fair include a set of tables referencing Minimalist sculpture by Swedish studio Claesson Koivisto Rune, and a range of desks by London studio Industrial Facility based on park benches.
