Antonio Serrano and Madrid-based Mad Lab have designed a collection of everyday objects inspired by Renaissance concepts of “Utopia.” The set of trays, boxes, and centerpieces are made from inlay maple and cedar wood, each telling “stories of entrepreneurship, design, craft, and technology.”
The collection, which manifests as a form of “scaled-down city,” considers Utopia as an imagined reflection on reality, rather than a yearning for an ideal city. The objects are full of “nods, winks, and gestures that leave us trapped in an illusion of a dream” conveyed through Renaissance architectural elements such as arches and spires.
In this imagined reality of Utopians functional solutions and emotions converge which are clearly inspired by the Renaissance and the geometry of Piero della Francesca. This collection is created with great taste for wood, with a classic pattern aiming to recover the inlay of the secular tradition in a simple way, encrusting ebony over hard maple adding other woods such as Canadian cedar for the insides of the boxes, fantasizing with the sensations felt on opening a lid.
-Mad Lab
Madrid-based Mad Lab strives to create unique, timeless, sustainable designer objects that offer alternative narratives of the world around us. The collections, available to explore on the official website here, are characterized by a bringing-together of digital technology and skilled craftsmanship.
The Utopia collection is one of many examples of architectural forms and typologies manifesting as everyday objects. Last year, Indian design and fabrication studio MuseLAB created miniature architectural wall hooks inspired by the works of Oscar Niemeyer, Le Corbusier, Michael Graves, and others.
Meanwhile, Zaha Hadid Design recently displayed its latest collection at Maison et Objet in Paris, embodying Hadid’s inventive process.
News via: Mad Lab
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