We had the distinct pleasure to interview award winning designer Pablo Vidiella about their original and creative Chair design work. Pablo Vidiella is an award-winning industrial designer, that makes our world a better place with their original chair works.
Pablo Vidiella ("PV") answered Design Interview ("DI") questions about their award-winning work Hana Chair. Interview questions prepared by Frank Scott.
PV : Hana Chair is an elegant, daring and cutting edge piece of furniture inspired by plant nature. Like a flower, Hana blossoms into two petals as a structural and functional solution to the requirements of a chair, by embracing both the backrest and the seat. The human eye is used to curved lines and surfaces, they have always been present in nature. Its attractive shape, together with the warmth of the material, makes the user to come closer and interact with it in a natural way.
PV : When I created Hana Chair, I wanted to create an object that interacts with the observer in a natural way. The human eye is more used to curved lines and surfaces, they have always been present in nature, they surround us. That instinct lingers in our animal subconscious, and the soft, natural forms give us tranquility and pleasure. Its attractive shape, together with the warmth of the material, makes the user to come closer.
PV : I would like to see Sankao in other types of wood, and try to promote the table in specialty design stores internationally.
PV : It took 2 or 3 weeks to design, and around 2 months to manufacture.
PV : This concept was not a commission, it's was a personal need to pursue an inspiration, a need to continue creating and increase my portfolio.
PV : Hana Chair is available to purchase at my own store, as well as in some selected design galleries and stores in different countries. The production is still mine, no intention of selling or leasing the production rights.
PV : As I said before, it was a personal need to increase my portfolio and continue creating. I love learning from challenges, and Hana was a big manufacture and design challenge.
PV : If I'm honest, apart from nature, my biggest source of inspiration is architecture. There are several architectural practices that obviously influenced the way I design, I was trained as an architect. Architectural studios like BIG or MAD are some of my inspirations, among others.
PV : These are high budget pieces of furniture. The material and manufacture process are so complex, that the potential customers are people or companies that are seeking for a really special and unique piece of furniture.
PV : The organic concept. Hana is almost a living being, it's more than a conventional chair.
PV : Hana: from japanese はな , meaning "blossom".
PV : During my experimental phase I use materials like plasticine or paper, and tools such as drawing and 3D software, usually Rhino.
PV : It's organic shape. It turns to be magnetic to the viewer.
PV : In order to create and manufacture Hana Chair, I collaborate with specialized wood artisans. They helped me a lot to understand how the material works and how it can be shaped to achieve the final piece.
PV : Hana equally combines technology with craftsmanship. In order to cut the wood parts, we made use of a 5-axis CNC milling router machine, which was critical in order to achieve the complex surface geometries I wanted to create.
PV : No, I didn't considered this when facing my design.
PV : The main challenge was to model and cnc cut the wooden pieces with such a complex geometry. It was tough to design the manufacture process.
PV : I wanted to test the design, see what specialized design experts think about the piece. See if it really works.
PV : It's very satisfying to clear challenges. Hana was a big challenge for me, and fulfilling every part of the design process was very rewarding. I learned to have confidence in my capabilities.
PV : Just wanted to say thank you to A' Design Awards for the opportunity, we should all work in the same direction to to enhance the world of design.
