We had the distinct pleasure to interview award winning designer Javier Olmeda Raya about their original and creative Table design work. Javier Olmeda Raya is an award-winning industrial designer, that makes our world a better place with their original table works.
Javier Olmeda Raya ("JOR") answered Design Interview ("DI") questions about their award-winning work Dendrone Table. Interview questions prepared by Frank Scott.
JOR : Dendrone is a table inspired by the structure of a neuron. Dendrites, terminal receptors found in nerve cells, try to reach out and connect with other cells. The table’s shape resemble those terminals.
JOR : My main focus is always trying to create parametric objects which can yield families or similar items with relative ease. Based on geometrical parameters, I can manipulate the final shape according to specific needs.
JOR : I plan to reproduce it as much as I can.
JOR : About a month or so.
JOR : It was partly a commission by a private client, and partly my own research on natural formations and structures.
JOR : It is being produced by my company in association with other manufacturers. But if the opportunity comes, and under favorable conditions, I would lease the production rights to other companies.
JOR : It’s part of my own process as a designer to keep exploring and describing new ways for designing objects with the available tools I have at hand. I’ve always been interested in the human brain and how it works, so one thing leads to another and all of a sudden we come up with beautiful designs.
JOR : Yes, I don’t work alone, I have a team of designers and fabricators which help and contribute to the overall design.
JOR : It’s not intended to a particular target customer.
JOR : Sometimes the name surfaces during research or initial design phases, but this one came after the design was completed. I saw an article on the human brain in a National Geographic Magazine and came across with a neuron’s diagram. I was struck with my design’s resemblance with a neuron and found the name dendrites. I further looked its etymology and it comes form the greek language. It means a short branching structure.
JOR : I usually work in a parametric environment called Grasshopper for Rhinoceros. There I establish a set of geometrical associations to have control over different aspects of design, such as shape, width, height, and extension of the various components.
JOR : The ability to adapt its shape to any condition without having to re-design everything. A simple tweak here or there and a new design emerges, similar to the one before, but with slight changes.
JOR : My partners in the studio. There are some architects, sculptors, artists and designers within our team.
JOR : Digital technology allows us to come up with multiple solutions before entering into production phase. It also enables us to see how is it going to look like before actually building it.
JOR : Research was done primarily on Voronoi diagrams and how we can divide space in a way similar to how Nature has done for millions of years. After that, the striking resemblance with neurons added another layer of data. Working in a parametric environment allows us to design with mathematical operations that are turned into geometrical descriptions.
JOR : The main challenge was achieving a light, fluid piece made of a fully functional parametric 3D model, and then taking it into production phase, even though its shape looks difficult to achieve, it’s rather simple to build.
JOR : A friend of mine, who also is a designer and won an award last year encouraged me to submit my design.
JOR : There’s always room for learning from every design we make. In terms of geometry, we’re more close to designing things that can be easily produced within the industrial realm. In terms of production, maximizing the use of materials and minimizing production costs makes us better designers.
