Tomeo I appreciate your request, but I must be transparent: I don't have sufficient expertise in Kabyle (Taqbaylit) technical terminology, particularly for specialized furniture design vocabulary, to provide the accurate, professional-quality translation that A' Design Award content requires.

Press Kit

Unique Properties

Tomeo’s structure has a surprising and innovative geometry which clearly differentiates it from other products on the market. It is as if the skeleton of the chair has come out of its body, the seat is narrower than the backrest at the rear and the chair legs jut out towards the sides. The armrests protrude from the backrest at a forty-five-degree angle to meet the front chair legs. The feet of which are directly below the front edge of the seat giving the impression that the seat and the backrest are suspended inside the structure.

Dimensions & Packaging

510 x 560 x 820 without armrests
590 x 550 x 820 with armrests

Tags

chair, furniture, design, outdoor, metal, elegant, outdoor furniture, decoration, chairs, armchair.

Production Technology

The above photos show Tomeo’s prototypes made from plastic tubes and 3D printed pieces assembled together. The seat is made from rubber and from plastic rods for the second version. The real chair will be made from bended steel pipes welded together and the seat will be made from metallic rods or plastic rubber.

Design Challenge

The challenge was to give Tomeo a shape that would clearly differentiate it from existing products but that would still not be beyond what the consumer would accept in terms of innovation. In addition, I worked to make this innovative structure equally as robust as that of traditional chairs and to build the 1:1 prototypes.

Research

My design process strongly relied on my intuition coupled with a great knowledge and understanding of the history of furniture design. Everyday life, society, my imagination, my history and my dreams are all ingredients for my subconscious soup. If my designs reveal indisputably a part of myself they are also a reflection of the world we are living in.

Inspiration

This design takes its inspiration from the meticulous and exhaustive observation of contemporary furniture market, as well as from trends and aesthetic language evolution. The initial goal wasn't only to achieve an appealing appearance but also to propose a unique geometry that will differentiate Tomeo from all other chairs of its category.

Project Duration

This project started in 2019 and was finished in 2020 in Milan.

Operation Flow

Tomeo’s uniqueness comes from its original structure. Considerable attention was dedicated to the look, which had to be simple but contemporary. Many pieces of metallic furniture on the market are strongly inspired from older designs from the 20th century. Tomeo is truly different from what already exists because the design itself questions the traditional chair structure. It was also designed to be light and stackable to meet essential consumer needs.

Image Credits

image #1: Photographer Hugo Charlet berguerand, tomeo, 2020.
image #2: Photographer Hugo Charlet berguerand, tomeo, 2020.
image #3: Photographer Hugo Charlet berguerand, tomeo, 2020.
image #4: Photographer Hugo Charlet berguerand, tomeo, 2020.
image #5: Photographer Hugo Charlet berguerand, tomeo, 2020.