Bello! bench by Lars Beller Fjetland for Hydro

Dezeen staff | 6 April 2023

Dezeen Showroom: Norwegian designer Lars Beller Fjetland has created a bench informed by the design of pasta for aluminium producer Hydro.

Bello! from Hydro is created for indoor or outdoor use and is made from nearly 90 per cent recycled and 100 per cent recyclable aluminium.

It will launch next month at Norway's annual Milan design week showcase, Norwegian Presence, where it will be available to order in neutral hues as well as vivid blue and terracotta colours.

Silver, blue and orange benches in mid air — Beller Fjetland based the bench's shape on a piece of penne rigate pasta

The bench was produced through aluminium extrusion, a process in which heated metal is pressed through a hole shaped according to the desired form, similar to the way that pasta shapes are made.

Beller Fjetland partly based the shape of Bello! on a piece of penne rigate, giving it a ridged surface texture.

"The subtle ridges add so much value – you just have to run your fingers across the surface," said the designer. "These tactile discoveries mean so much to me."

Bello! aluminium bench — The product was made using the process of aluminium extrusion

"With this design I really wanted to emphasise the possibilities of extruded aluminium," he added. "It is very much a culmination of everything I appreciate – from the planes, trains and buses that were designed in the 1930s–1970s, to brutalist architecture and, last but not least, pasta."

Its aluminium structure means that Bello! is lightweight, strong and durable, and was intended to be suitable for high-traffic places like public transportation hubs.

Blue bench — Nearly 90 per cent of the aluminium in the bench is recycled

An internal support structure means Bello! can be modified to integrate additions such as tables, lamps, or chargers, or for multiple benches to be joined together seamlessly.

Despite the high proportion of recycled material used in the bench, no traces remain of the aluminium's former uses – such as a drinks can or a window frame.

Designer: Lars Beller Fjetland
Brand: Hydro
Contact: [email protected]

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