Originally created together with high school students from Ishinomaki for an outdoor film festival held after the Great East Japan Earthquake, this bench continued to be used even after the festival as a place for communication and gathering. We have long cherished the spirit of the bench—born outdoors and shaped by the connections it fostered at that time.
Evolving from our earlier outdoor sofa designs, the collection has now been developed into a flexible system in which sofas and tables can be combined in a variety of configurations, allowing people to gather and spend time comfortably in outdoor settings.
Design : Keiji Ashizawa
(b. 1973) lives and works in Tokyo, Japan. After graduating from Yokohama University School of Architecture in 1995, Ashizawa spent the first ten years of his career working as both an architect and steel fabricator. The unique skills and experience gained throughout these early years, including a valued understanding of metals, continue to influence his approach to design.
Keiji Ashizawa presents work of ‘honest’ design – simple yet refined, thoughtful and of a light manner – derived naturally through the process of attempting to maximise the potential of each material and its function. He excels in applying these ideas to projects of various scale, from furniture and lighting design to architecture and exhibition design.
His furniture and lighting have been exhibited internationally since 2001.
In 2011, Ashizawa was awarded a ‘Special Award’ by the Japan Institute of Design for his principal participation in the inception of Ishinomaki Laboratory – a DIY furniture workshop established in Ishinomaki city, Japan, after it was devastated by the tsunami triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake.
www.keijidesign.com
