Displayed at a unique exhibition space in the Zona Tortona, the ONYX Sofa adopts the idea of using unusual combinations of materials, first introduced with the carbon fiber and copper ONYX Concept Car.
The goal of the project was “to question the performance of materials, […] with no antagonism between progress and nature, between ultra technological materials and raw and natural materials.”
The ONYX Sofa has been displayed along seven sculptures, from 10 to 70 cm: lamps, shelves, armchairs, tables, etc…, designs that explore other alliances of materials, marrying obsidian with concrete, red ferrous jasper & steel, quartz crystal & aluminium, sculpted wood & 3D printing, black palm & basalt, marsh oak & Corian.
The price of the ONYX sofa has been set 135,000 € for this version in carbon fibre/ Volvic volcanic rock. The prices for other creations will depend on the cost of the materials chosen by each client. It took a total of 70 days work to make.
Designers’ statements
Peugeot Styling Director Gilles Vidal commented: “[…] At Milan, with the ONYX sofa, we are drawing a thread between the ONYX concept car, an alliance of efficiency and the use of audacious and natural materials, and the ONYX sofa. By means of a sharp straight cut, this contrast is powerful, voluntary and assumed in the way we look at the materials and how they are used: the hi-tech carbon fibre with its very structured and technical texture, its shapes precisely adjusted to the volcanic stone with its texture & fault lines, perfectly adjusted in its dimensions and proportions, but with which one accepts not being in complete control, like the stonemason’s random chisel marks.”
Speaking about the development process, Peugeot Design Lab Head Cathal Loughnane, said: “This project was started in May 2013. From the beginning we had a very raw, very powerful sketch.
“The ONYX sofa is an illustration of a new concept that we intend to explore: unique pieces of furniture, made to measure, to suit the choice, origin and personality of the customer, but which always respects a common idea: the union, via a pronounced clear cut, between hyper-technological materials – carbon fibre, glass fibre, aluminium,…- and raw and natural materials – rock, wood, stone.
In a world where high technology changes products very quickly, where people grow tired of things very quickly, we want new & disposable objects, we want to offer technological furniture that remains respectful of natures materials & the ancestral craftsman’s skills, a balanced marriage between performance and responsibility.”
About Peugeot Design Lab
Launched in 2012, the Peugeot Design Lab is a studio dedicated to non-automotive design. Since its launch the Global Brand Design has released in partnership with Pleyel an iconic grand piano, and a number of different concepts, spanning the industrial design, bike design and yacht design fields.
(Source: Peugeot)
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