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Double X Table by Saïd Belmir |
Home > Winners > Design #49734 >Interview |
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FS: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?
BS: The main idea behind my design is to make a modern interpretation of a traditional octagram pattern from the Mauresque geometric art. The Gothic and Mauresque architecture from the Middle Age are my main sources of inspiration. The main principle of this table is an original assembly that no requires screw or glue, and which reveals the octagram.
FS: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?
BS: My main focus was to find for this table a common answer which could be both clever, structural and aesthetic. I wanted to make the process of assembly very playful and pedagogical. The users have to experience this process as an architecture lesson.
FS: What are your future plans for this award winning design?
BS: Dutilleul Industries and myself are now working together to produce and edit this table with the best choices of materials. Also, we would like to take each exhibition as an opportunity to show our skills. And of course, we will be very excited to take soon orders and feedbacks from our customers.
FS: How long did it take you to design this particular concept?
BS: The concept of this table came by accident. I was studying the structure of the ribbed vaults of the gothic churches, and making some links with the development of the Mauresque geometric art in Spain, in the Middle Age. I was fascinated by this knowledge and I begun to speculate a model of mosque made by Gothic builders. Then when I made a structure model, I realised that it could be an awesome table ! From this, as everything was already clear in my mind, the process to design this table has been very quick.
FS: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?
BS: As I said, I've decided to pursuit my inspiration. This idea made me so enthusiastic that I almost gave up the first project for the architecture school.
FS: Is your design being produced or used by another company, or do you plan to sell or lease the production rights or do you intent to produce your work yourself?
BS: My table XX will be produced, and edited by the company Dutilleul Industries. We are currently fixing the last technical aspects of the table, and we will be ready for the first exhibition of the A'Design Award.
FS: What made you design this particular type of work?
BS: The idea came from the wish of reach architectural syncretism, and I finally made a table with this reflexion. Life is like that, sometimes our ideas take unexpected paths, and the most of time, it's for the best.
FS: Where there any other designs and/or designers that helped the influence the design of your work?
BS: My main influences are from the bygone times, where the architects, thinkers, and designers were hardly credited. But their works are still there and they still let us speechless. So yes, it could sound wierd but the Gothic Architecture and the Mauresque geometric Art are my bases for thinking the design of new products.
FS: Who is the target customer for his design?
BS: Considering the very high quality of the materials, the precision of fabrication, finitions, and the ingenuity of the assembly, I would like to target people who know appreciate this table as a great design product.
FS: What sets this design apart from other similar or resembling concepts?
BS: Instead of the other tables in the market, this one has a lot of layers of appreciations. the table XX could be both appreciated for its aesthetic and its modern interpretation of a Mauresque geometric pattern. It could be appreciated for its structural and ingenious aspects. And also for its rapidity and simplicity of assembly/disassembly that requires no screw or glue. So, it's almost impossible right now to find in the market an other table that gather so many qualities.
FS: How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean?
BS: When you have completed the assembly, two X appears on the table, resulting from the encounter of the structure in birch plywood, and the table top. Thus, the table has found its name by itself.
FS: Which design tools did you use when you were working on this project?
BS: I made models in 3D, and also some little ones in plywood at the 1/10 scale. I also did renderings as perfect as possible for transmitting how much this table could be awesome in real.
FS: What is the most unique aspect of your design?
BS: The modern interpretation of the octagram from the Mauresque geometric art is probably the most unique aspect of my design. This is the pattern where everything has come from.
FS: Who did you collaborate with for this design? Did you work with people with technical / specialized skills?
BS: I worked alone for a while with that design, but to make it real I found the perfect collaborators at the Dutilleul Industries. These persons are passioned by their works and they are the most skilled people I ever seen about the wood cutting.
FS: What is the role of technology in this particular design?
BS: Technology is a main subject of the project. How to build this table in the factory, and how to assembly it easily, were central questions that I had to bring technologic answers. I found these answers by mixing knowledges dating from the Middle Age, and our era.
FS: Is your design influenced by data or analytical research in any way? What kind of research did you conduct for making this design?
BS: Yes, this design is influenced by data and analytical research. One research in particular was very useful : " Islamic Star Patterns in Absolute Geometry " by CRAIG S. KAPLAN, University of Waterloo and DAVID H. SALESIN, University of Washington and Microsoft Corporation. This is from this study that I began to investigate on the Hankin's method for developing new original designs.
FS: What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/realization of your concept?
BS: The biggest challenge was to find the best partnership for making the table in real. Collaborations are not always easy, each person has to be in the same wavelength. I searched for almost 2 years before to meet and collaborate with Dutilleul Industries.
FS: How did you decide to submit your design to an international design competition?
BS: I believed in my project, and I needed to get a feedback from an international jury to comfort me on my artistic vision.
FS: What did you learn or how did you improve yourself during the designing of this work?
BS: Everytime I met a new problem, I almost had to learn a new field. I improved myself in 3D renderings thanks to this project, so I became better in its communication, I took more initiatives for meeting new people and produce my design, and I improved my capacity to imagine complex assemblies in my mind.
FS: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
BS: Thank you very much for having taken time to read this interview. I wish to sell the Table XX very soon, so we stay in touch for the next updates !
FS: Thank you for providing us with this opportunity to interview you.
A' Design Award and Competitions grants rights to press members and bloggers to use parts of this interview. This interview is provided as it is; DesignPRWire and A' Design Award and Competitions cannot be held responsible for the answers given by participating designers.
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