We had the distinct pleasure to interview award winning designer Onur Ozkaya about their original and creative Coffee Table design work. Onur Ozkaya is an award-winning industrial designer, that makes our world a better place with their original coffee table works.
Onur Ozkaya ("OO") answered Design Interview ("DI") questions about their award-winning work Cellular Table Coffee Table. Interview questions prepared by Frank Scott.
OO : The main idea has been exploring "lightweight" material properties by using difficult materials like metal but with the help of digital design tools, making quite precise reductions and refinements.
OO : We have been exploring how to use metal in a more different way for a while. Before this project, we have successfully finished another table which is made of marble and metal with flat but highly perforated morphology. With cellular table, we wanted to go beyond the flat morphology and explore metal behaviour in a much more complex but efficient structure by using multiple layers in different densities.
OO : We have managed to build two prototypes so far and currently we are looking at more industry partners to bring this to a mass production level. The idea of using 3dprinting and metal finishing is still quite crucial in order to achieve the precision that brings different spatial conditions with this project.
OO : The design process for this particular table was less than six months but this specific subject has been at least four or five years in my research field.
OO : The idea of pushing the limits of using metal and 3dprinting in a new particular furniture type came from our industry partner and previous client (Janusta) with the success of our previous collaboration.
OO : We are currently collaborating with Janusta on this project but in order to achieve a bigger influence we are also discussing with other industrial partners for fabrication and distribution.
OO : I have been interested in cellular structures in nature for a while and particularly their both structural and spatial performances were fascinating.
OO : Although they are architects, the works of Le corbusier and Enric Miralles have been quite influential for me in terms of precise material and form manipulation on multiple scales.
OO : Anyone who needs a table!
OO : The idea of creating a very lightweight metal piece with this project has been quite crucial so we have been lucky to avoid any specific trend or style.
OO : Cellular has been an easy choice as we are both looking at the usage of multiple layers with minimum material waste.
OO : Algorithmic design tools have been quite essential on my work to refine specific design evaluations. I usually work with visual basic or C+ programming languages to define overall design criteria and later-on bring all these information to any CAD software that our manufacturers or fabricators use to produce both prototypes and actual results.
OO : It's extremely light and the sculptural quality of its structure brings very different spatial conditions to any specific interior space.
OO : Fabricators and our usual rapid prototyping partners.
OO : Technology helps to refine some of the engineering issues and also avoids any confusion between designer and fabricators by simply communicating via digital design files.
OO : Due to its geometry (spherical mesh topology), the digital files have been quite heavy so we have to update our computers to handle the project!
OO : I have been advised by some colleagues and friends to submit this project on A'Design Awards. The opportunity to share this type of project and research with a larger audience is always exciting.
OO : We have gained a lot of technical knowledge about metal works and rapid prototyping tools.
OO : Thank you!
