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Beam Armchair by Oato

Beam is a minimalist design created by The Netherlands-based design firm Oato for Kuperus & Gardenier. This is the first piece of a collection of products that will include an armchair, various sized dining tables, and an upholstered version of the armchair. The chair is made from oak wood and was inspired by stacked beam structures used in many cultures.

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The designer describes the creative process of developing Beam as an inverted approach to designing a chair. They began by designing the supports first, focusing on the aesthetics of what is usually only a functional afterthought on a chair. The chair started to take shape from the supports outward, and resulted in a final design that centered around this base structure.

The resulting chair is a clear and honest construction that contains only the essential parts, each of which gives the chair a specific character within the total design. The designers were also careful in producing a chair that would be within people’s price ranges without negatively influencing the visual outcome. This was considerably difficult due to the fact that most of the chair is completely manufactured by hand.

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Leo Lei translates his passion for minimalism into his daily-updated blog Leibal. In addition, you can find uniquely designed minimalist objects and furniture at the Leibal Store.