Australian designer Tom Fereday has created a chair made out of recycled aluminium that aims to celebrate the industrial aesthetic of the material.
The chair, which has been shortlisted in the furniture design category for Dezeen Awards 2023, is part of a wider collection that also features a sofa and a table.
"The Cove Lounge was named after its sweeping curves that form the ends of the seats, developed as a single arc form referencing the minimal cove forms found in architecture," Fereday told Dezeen.
The chair was made from repurposed aluminium sourced from the waste streams of Sydney's machining industry. This was then melted down and formed using a process called sand casting, wherein molten metal is poured into a mould lined with sand.
The seat features side panels made from flat planes of uninterrupted and highly polished metal that culminate in a protruding lip on their top edge.
The Cove Lounge chair and sofa both have thick cushions upholstered in aniline leather – leather that is coloured with soluble dyes that do not impede the visibility of the natural texture. Cushions can also be upholstered with textural wool fabrics upon request.
"The Cove Lounge acts as a sculptural centrepiece to a space, working elegantly from any angle with the entire structure revealed as a design detail and not hidden," Fereday continued.
"Its mirrored form is designed to reflect its environment, enhancing or contrasting both old and new environments."
The cushions sit atop metal bars, creating a design that aims to showcase both the soft and hard materials that constitute the pieces.
"The cast frames are mirror-polished to celebrate the natural beauty of aluminium and seamlessly joined by polished aluminium dowels that reveal and celebrate the entire structure of the Cove Lounge," Fereday said.
To further help reduce its environmental impact, the furniture is transported flat-packed and assembled using only a single Allen key to increase transport efficiency.
Other design and architecture projects on Dezeen that use aluminium include a micro home clad in aluminium in Germany and an aluminium bench designed to mimic the shape of pasta by Hydro.
The photography is by Sean Fennessey and Pier Carthew.