Bold is Gold.
Para Designs may be new to the scene, but their design and making qualities both hark back from the historic majesty of their homeland, Egypt, as well as sense the spirit of the emerging future. Since 2019, Para Designs’ portfolio of work beckons this temporal hybridity in their representation of organic forms – sometimes manifesting as an abstract blob, or a gorilla…the possibilities are endless.
And this is perfect for an aesthetic that is so unmistakably digital. There’s a spellbinding rhythmic precision in the slicing that defines the form, unravelling the complexity and abstract nature of the form itself. While the designs do not follow any classical rules of aesthetics, the flow of the geometry is itself both timely and timeless, as its definition will survive by way of its bold but organic minimalism.
While Para Designs have subtly streamlined their work into three main types: seating, wall art and literal representations. The names of their works, however, are decidedly less subtle. Among our favourites are ‘Hippo Scultpure’, ‘Divana Sofa’, and the ‘Bum Bum’ Collection. The naming itself seems to be another subversive act in itself. Besides toying with time (past/present), there’s another suggestive play at work – the natural element, cleanly warped into something beautiful, is teased into a typically opposing but now intertwined (digitally) manufactured element, as a necessary act of its time.
Perching oneself on that sofa is itself a power play, let alone.
Technically-speaking, it’s not the most ground-breaking work, but we’re loving the mainstreaming of the slicing technique (namely, when a digital 3D model is sliced into layers of equal thickness allowing for co-planar shapes). It’s a clear step forward in the design and making industry. These digital shapes are physically cut by means of a flat-bed CNC router out of flat sheets of birch plywood. Ultimately, the final object is brought about by the assembly of all the flat sheets, guided by one or more guiding rods that determine the positioning of each slice relative to the rest.
Then again, truth be told, we like bold. Here’s a nod to the audacity of Para Designs – we look forward to what comes next.
