Designer Katrin Greiling took over the Toyo Ito-designed Kinnasand showroom in Milan to create a series of experimental forms with rugs and textiles from the brand.
Called Structures, the exhibition featured Kinnasand textiles arranged over two types of frame, to transform them into objects based on Middle Eastern traditions.
"With my background as a furniture designer, it was clear to me from the start that my goal would be to develop something that could be considered furniture to either sit or lay on," said Greiling, who is currently based in Berlin but has previously worked in Sweden and Dubai.
"Drawing references from my years in the Middle East I decided to elevate and transform the surfaces into three-dimensional objects," she explained.
"The aim was to be able to experience the surfaces not just with your feet but with your entire body."
The two powder-coated metal frames created by Greiling, called Structures and Longarm Very Long, were combined to create 11 objects, including four different kinds of furniture – an ottoman, a daybed, a bench and a table.
Each frame was finished in a colour to complement the textile, ranging from white to brilliant blue, coral and softer pink and grey.
"Structures invites the visitor to sit or lay down, to get comfortable," continued Greiling.
"Longarm reaches into the height of the space with its airy curtain fabrics. To contrast the lightness, each Longarm is grounded with a heavy rock on its base."
The pieces were arranged around the Kinnasand showroom designed by Japanese architect Toyo Ito in 2014, and covered with textiles from the brand's Space Tunes collection by its creative director Isa Glink.
The colour palette of the selected fabrics was directed in part by the "honest" materials of Ito's design – wood, glass and stone.
"As the space can be experienced as narrow it was important to both have calm elements as well as luminance a few metres into the space to create an organic movement," said Greiling.
"The quality of each of the materials – powder-coated metal and hand-knotted and woven woolen surfaces are accentuated in contrast to each other, soft to hard, matt to glossy, light to heavy."
Structures is the latest output from Kinnasand Lab, an initiative set up by Glink in 2017 to explore collaborations with designers beyond the Kinnasand product range.Â
The installation was on show during Milan design week as part of a collection of events and exhibitions by Kinnasand's parent company Kvadrat, including the latest collection from its circular materials brand Really.
At last year's Milan design week, Greiling curated Everything Is Connected, an exhibition of Norwegian contemporary craft and design.
Her other previous projects include the Design Bar at the 2011 edition of the Stockholm Furniture Fair, and the Bidoun Series of sofas, which has been described as one of the first contemporary furniture design products from the UAE.