We had the distinct pleasure to interview award winning designer Moritz Proell about their original and creative extendible sideboard design work. Moritz Proell is an award-winning industrial designer, that makes our world a better place with their original extendible sideboard works.
Moritz Proell ("MP") answered Design Interview ("DI") questions about their award-winning work Telescope extendible sideboard . Interview questions prepared by Frank Scott.
MP : Principle: The main body offers three compartments that rest on a delicate looking steel structure which gives the object a light appearance. What really makes this piece unique is its hidden extension mechanism. Once you pull on one side of the body, the opposite module moves towards the outside in a symmetrical motion as well. An additional open compartment is revealed which adds an eye-catching showcase unit due to its contrasting colour. This feature makes it possible to adapt to individual requirements by adding more storage space and a change of the overall look of the sideboard depending on the personal preference of the user. A clear but exciting structure and appearance with a minimalistic approach was important as well. Idea and inspiration: I wanted to create a sideboard, where the focus is drawn to the main body and which offers something special that does not reveal immediately. When I started this project, the original idea was to create three floating cubes that act as compartments. Also, the piece of furniture should adapt to individual requirements. The supporting structure underneath the compartments should be delicate-looking and not catch too much attention but the same time, have a special appearance. Therefore, it only consists of thin steel bars which add a nice contrast between mass and lightness. In order to achieve eye-catching compartments on top of it, I designed a hidden feature: the pull-out mechanism. This makes the sideboard individually adjustable by changing its look and the number of compartments. The further you pull the bodies apart, the more of the hidden fourth compartment reveals. The mechanism is underlined by the steel structure, which slightly angles to the outside.
MP : A piece of furniture which has an extraordinary appearance and can transform its shape in an easy and elegant way in order to adapt to individual requirements and expand its function due to a special operating principle was the goal. This idea is based on a vintage telescope where you can only look into if it is fully extended. In the figurative sense, in this case you can also only look into the open display case if the body of the sideboard is fully extended. Furthermore, I wanted to achieve an exciting combination of different colours, materials, textures, and volumes which are partly contrasting but still in balance with each other.
MP : Since this project was one of my most challenging pieces of furniture as far as the design as well as the construction work is concerned, it would be great to exhibit it somewhere to show people my design skills, the perfection and the quality of the product and the amount of work I pay to details. This should help to gain general recognition. And of course, I am now going to sell it on the market and try to optimize the production process.
MP : It roughly took eight months from the very first ideas and sketches until the prototype was completely worked out, every detail was thought through and all issue were fixed. Now it is ready for production.
MP : In this case, I pursuit an idea that occurred to my mind. I wanted to create some kind of a masterpiece, where I clearly show my style and the quality of my works. The realisation time did not matter too much for this piece of furniture – I wanted to pay as much attention to every element until the result was satisfying and everything worked out properly concerning the function as well as the overall look such as the proportions, materials and colours.
MP : It is not yet used by another company but it is planned to be offered for sale in furniture stores. I am not going to lease the design rights to any company but I might lease the production rights depending on the offer and as long as my brand logo and the designer’s name remains unchanged and is visible to the costumer.
MP : It is fascinating if something turns out to be different than it seems at first sight. Creating an extraordinary and functional piece of furniture with moveable parts in order to adapt to individual requirements was my first thought. It should act as an eye-catching object and draw people’s attention to it. In addition to that, I wanted to incorporate design elements that form an interplay of lightness and mass and offer an interesting and harmonious combination of materials, colours and textures in one piece of furniture. This challenge made me design this unique type of work.
MP : Not at all – every aspect and all elements of this object were completely designed by myself.
MP : People who appreciate extraordinary pieces of furniture and who love unique and innovative design are mainly the target group. This sideboard might be also the right choice for people who are interested in individually adjustable objects that adapt to their own requirements.
MP : I did a lot of research before I made this design public. There are other pieces of furniture that are also extendible and offer a pull-out mechanism but often these are built in just simply as a design element and not as a functioning part. Often, such mechanisms are used to expand dining tables but not applied in a sideboard. In this case, the operating principle adds a very logical feature by adding an additional compartment that can be used for storage or as an eye-catching display case.
MP : I tried to find a name that fits best for its operating principle and moreover it should make you curious about the design and its hidden function. The main construction of the sideboard is based on a telescope which only works if it is fully extended. So, I thought “Telescope” would be the right choice for its name.
MP : Basically, I just simply started sketching a couple of ideas in my sketchbook. After I figured out the main concept, I kept on working on some more detailed drawings. I did not think about materials or colours at this point – I concentrated on the function and the operating mechanism as well as the forms and volumes. Once this stage was finished, I created 3D models on the computer to get an overall impression of the proportions. Then, I experimented with the colour and material pallet until I was happy with the result. Some things changed quite a bit if I compare the very first drawings and the finished piece. I also created scale models of the sideboard in order to figure out if every angle of the object looks good. After that, I had to draw the detailed construction plans on a CAD software. They were necessary to build the prototype and once that was done, I spent a lot of time in my workshop working out the piece of furniture. This stage is especially important because you get to know the order of production processes and there are always things that only occur once you build the actual object. Some small parts had to be fixed and a few minor design changes were necessary in order to give the sideboard enough strength and stability and also that the extension mechanism works properly. The very last step was to take high resolution pictures of it in my photo studio and do all the calculation to be able to finally determine a prize.
MP : Its pull-out mechanism which makes the body of the sideboard extendible is the unique aspect of this design. Also, the very light and delicate looking steel structure, which carries the compartments on top and the colour contrast of the dark surfaces and the bright yellow open storage unit makes the design extraordinary.
MP : I designed and worked out every element and detail on this project on my very own.
MP : Technology like drawing software helped me in the design process and for drawing the detailed plans for the construction. In addition to that, modern machines, production techniques and materials were necessary to make the prototype and the actual selling pieces in order to ensure a high quality and precision. But the piece itself does not need or use any type of technology or software to function or to be used – all parts work mechanically.
MP : Not really – I tried to only use the inspiration of my mind. That way I do not unintentionally plagiarize any other design and it feels more comfortable to me to just freely draw and sketch relying on my imagination.
MP : There had been two challenging parts during the development: One of them was to create a special mechanism which makes it possible to move the two modules in different directions by only pulling on one side. It was difficult to find the right sizes and positions for the parts of the mechanism in order not to disturb the overall look of the sideboard. Secondly, the steel structure had to have a light appearance but the thing bars also had to carry all the heavy weight from the top without bending themselves so that the body modules slide easily and look properly aligned.
MP : I am a young designer and I just started my own business offering a unique pallet of furniture pieces. The competition and the market in field of furniture design is quite big and it is important to become known and attract attention to your products. As a designer, I have already heard about this competition and the A’ Design Award before and so I decided to give it a try. My main goal is on the one hand to gain recognition of society which will most probably help increase contracts and moreover, I wanted to know how good my designs are. And I am pretty happy with the result: It is the first year I joined a design competition and both of my submitted pieces of furniture won an award.
MP : My overall understanding for furniture design and the interplay of different design elements such as forms, materials, colours and textures increased. Furthermore, it was my first piece with moving components which made this project a bit challenging but also very interesting to design and make. Moreover, I improved my woodworking and welding skills when I made the prototype. I learned to be even more precise in order to ensure its high quality, functionality and user-friendliness.
MP : I would really appreciate a publication of my design. If you are interested in buying this piece of furniture or if you would like some more information about the sideboard or myself, you can contact me anytime via email or give me a call. I would also appreciate if you follow me on Instagram. Thank you! On my website you will find all of my other designs and pieces of furniture including high resolution pictures, detailed descriptions and many other information. Email: office@moritzproelldeisgn.at Phone: +43 660 9007980 Instagram: moritz_proell_design Website: www.moritzproelldesign.at
