Intermodality Desk by Attila Stromajer is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2019 Golden A' Design Award in Furniture Design Competition Category.
GoldFurniture· 2019
Intermodality Desk
Client: Stroodesign Attila Stromajer
Golden A' Design Award Winner in Furniture Category
Verified Award Winner
Verify Award Status for #75835The Design
About Intermodality Desk
The desk imitates the grand piano with three legs, a drop-leaf cover and with its shape. It has a modern parametric design with rustic finish. It was tried to preserve the elegance and charm of the piano while trying to make it as functional as possible. The goal was that through the visual modality the desk bring the auditory modality and musicality into homes. So across the intermodality it symbolizes the the flow experience of music and creative process.
The Recognition
About the Golden A' Design Award
Intermodality Desk is a Golden A' Design Award winner, an immensely prestigious recognition granted to first-rate, marvelous, and outstanding designs. Golden winners are exceedingly innovative, visionary, and glamorously dazzling creations that reflect the prodigy, wisdom, and prowess of their designers. Intermodality Desk is expected to be a highly praised, trendsetting, and monumental invention that delivers unprecedented value. This Golden A' Design Award-winning design is a spectacular, respected project that highly benefits and advances the boundaries of art, science, design, and technology. Intermodality Desk creates intense feelings of desire, evokes passion, encourages creativity, and fascinates us.
Interviews
Grand Interview
Your innovative fusion of a grand piano's elegance with functional workspace design in the Intermodality Desk earned you the Gold A' Design Award - could you share the pivotal moment that sparked this unique intersection of music and furniture design?
Well, the idea was basically simple, the shape of a piano inspired me to design a piano-shaped desk. The desk was inspired by the role of the piano in modern and classic homes. The formal analogy and transformation was just one aspect. The other was that the form represented and symbolized the flow of creativity and music through another modality. Through the form, you can not only see the piano, but also hear its sound.
The Intermodality Desk features a distinctive parametric design contrasting with rustic finishes - how did your background in psychology influence these seemingly opposing design elements to create emotional resonance with users?
With the parametric form and the function of the table, I wanted to highlight the flow of music and creative work, and that the table symbolizes musicality and the transition between sensory modalities, modality shift, and modal transformation. With a more modern parametric design, I tried to preserve the elegance and charm of the piano with a rustic finish that contrasts with it, while trying to make it as functional as possible. The goal was for the table to bring auditory modality and musicality into our homes through visual modality, and to symbolize the flow experience of music and creative processes across different modalities.
What specific challenges did you encounter in preserving the grand piano's graceful proportions while ensuring the Intermodality Desk maintained optimal functionality as a workspace, particularly regarding the positioning of the nine drawers and fold-up cover?
The geometry of the desk was very complex and difficult to design in a way that remained functional, combining modern, parametric design while still being reminiscent of the shape of a traditional piano and representing the ideas behind the design. Finding the right dimensions, proportions, angles, designing and executing precise joints and special surface treatments for each piece were a great challenge, and the assembly process was quite time-consuming.
Behind the Design
Press Kit
Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.
- Unique Properties
- The desk imitates the grand piano with three legs, a drop-leaf cover and with its shape. It has a modern parametric design with rustic finish. When I created the desk tried to preserve the elegance and charm of the piano while trying to make it as functional as possible. The goal was that through the visual modality the desk bring the auditory modality and musicality into homes. So across the intermodality it symbolizes the the flow experience of music and creative proces.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- All parts of the product can be disassembled and mounted on pallets. The table can be done in many ways according to the needs. The legs can be detachable, but the elements of the table can also be dismantled. If necessary, all surfaces and drawers can be taken separately. Size: 180 x 87 x 75
- Tags
- desk, bureau, writing table, writing desk, intermondality, shape, musicality, visuality, stationeries, rustic, moderm, grand piano, rustic surfaces, geometric shapes, antiqued plywood, geometric, parametric
- Production Technology
- The desk made of antiqued plywood and copper drawer handle and leg. The look is built up of modern, angular and parametric geometric shapes contrasting the modern and the traditional design. You can put objects anywhere in and on the table. The special surface treatment and its roughness enhance the rustic ambiance. In the drawers can be stored documents, stationeries, office supplies. The drawers on the back of the desk are removable.
- Design Challenge
- The geometry of this desk seems complex but not to difficult to bring to life in expert hands. The project is also focusing on maximalizing the works functionality while respecting the design. It is quite a big challenging to find the suitable measures, proportions, angles, to plan and carry out the precise joining. The special surface treatment of each piece before the assembling rather time consuming, but it is worth to do it. The table can also be made of solid and plywood and recovered materials.
- Research
- During creating this desk I researched geometry and parametric design. I made a lot of attempts until managed to build this rather complex and difficult structure. The biggest challenge how can a desk imitates a grand piano in a best way, while making it useful to work as possible. I used a lot of technics of design, drawing, paper folding, 3D techniques. The biggest challenge was to adjust the angles of the triangles precisely both inside and outside considering the practicality, measures and proportions.
- Inspiration
- This desk was inspired by the prominent place and role of the grand piano in modern and classic homes. This desk represents and symbolizes the flow experience of the creativity and the music through another modality. Through the shape could see not only the piano, but also hear its voice. I wanted to highlight the flow of music and creative work with the parametric shape and the function of the desk. The table symbolizes musicality the transition between sensory modalities.
- Project Duration
- The project started in january 2018 and finished in February 2019 in Hungary
- Operation Flow
- All parts of the desk are functional. There are nine drawers in the desk where can be put items, dociments, office items. The top of the desk can be fold up without disturbing anyone in work. So it is not nessesary to clear away the objects while the cover is open. The cover is easily can be fold up by a stay-rod, and by this time the desk really resembles a piano. At this point, it can be reach the rear removable drawers. The front drawer is divided into small parts, which are removable.
- Team Members
- Designer: Attila Stromajer
- Image Credits
- Visualization: Attila Stromajer, 3Drendeer, Zoltan Marton, Video: Attila Stromajer, Music: part of Chopin - Fantaisie Impromptu, Op. 66 (Rubinstein)
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