Una Corda Piano Piano acústico by Davids Klavins

Una Corda Piano Piano acústico by Davids Klavins is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2021 A' Design Award de Prata in Design de Instrumentos Musicais Competition Category.

PrataInstrumento Musical· 2021

Una Corda Piano Piano acústico

by Davids Klavins

Client: Nils Frahm

A' Design Award de Prata Winner in Instrumento Musical Category

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Verified Award Winner
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The Design

About Una Corda Piano Piano acústico

Una Corda é um piano acústico construído sem caixa de mobiliário. O design aberto permite que o som viaje livremente até o ouvinte. O instrumento possui uma corda por nota, uma estrutura em aço inoxidável e um tampo harmônico de dupla camada. A estrutura em aço inoxidável mantém o piano leve, ao contrário dos quadros de ferro fundido utilizados nos pianos tradicionais. O timbre resultante é suave e nítido. Una Corda é tocado como um piano tradicional, e as partes mecânicas visíveis mostram como cada nota é produzida. O piano é feito à mão e nenhum produto químico é utilizado.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award de Prata

Una Corda Piano Piano acústico conquistou o A' Design Award de Prata, um reconhecimento extraordinariamente prestigiado atribuído a designs de topo de gama, deslumbrantes e impressionantes. Os vencedores da Prata são obras tremendamente brilhantes e extremamente criativas que ilustram a perícia, o talento e a acuidade excecionais dos seus designers. Espera-se que Una Corda Piano Piano acústico seja uma obra maravilhosa e de referência, notavelmente profissional e profundamente inovadora. Este design vencedor do A' Design Award de Prata é uma invenção muito notável e admirada, que beneficia e faz avançar as fronteiras da arte, da ciência, do design e da tecnologia. Una Corda Piano Piano acústico é uma criação imensamente invejada que desperta desejos, traz sentimentos positivos e faz nascer espanto e deslumbramento.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: The Una Corda piano represents an open design, without a furniture "box", which serves for its sound to freely travel. It has only one string per tone, a stainless steel frame, and a double-layer soundboard, these features setting it aside from any traditional acoustic piano.
Dimensions & Packaging: 1330 mm x 670 mm x 1170 mm
Tags: Una Corda, Una Corda Piano, Klavins, Klavins Piano, Piano Innovation
Production Technology: The Una Corda design is strictly defined by the acoustic and technical properties of the piano, utilizing materials that serve best for each particular function. Stainless steel for the static frame serves for the lightness of the design, versus the heavy designs of traditional pianos, which all are equipped with cast iron frames. The Una Corda is completely hand-crafted, utilizing industry manufactured parts only for the action. The Una Corda is essentially a "green"product, no chemicals used.
Design Challenge: A major challenge was to define the most suitable material for the main frame of the Una Corda. All traditional pianos utilize a cast-iron frame, which was prohibitive for the Una Corda, for reasons of weight and cost. After thorough research of alternative materials like steel and aluminum, stainless steel showed most suitable, to pick up the string tension that sums up to 49 kN. Historically there has never existed an open-design acoustic piano, but in light of the rather open-minded public of the 21st century it seems appropriate to offer an innovative product design.
Research: Materials and design research, the objective being to design a piano that reflects the 21st century feel. Investigating existing piano designs by Internet search and based on years of experience with traditional piano design, as well as meticulous analysis of all factors pertinent to piano sound. Building a first prototype, evaluating its weaknesses and applying needed improvements. The final result constitutes a disruptive, strictly functional piano design, aiming to appeal to a public open for innovation on a field of generally rather conservative attitudes.
Inspiration: Frequently clients were asking for a softer sounding piano, compared to the traditional acoustic pianos. In the course of researching piano acoustics, I decided to strip the piano from any and all unnecessary features, invent a new, softer soundboard, and to build a piano by the strict principle of "form follows function" - the one-string-per-note Una Corda piano.
Project Duration: The project was started in February 2014 in Balingen, Germany, and basically finished by May 2015 in Germany, though it was finally completed in every detail only in December 2020 in Kuldiga, Latvia.
Operation Flow: The Una Corda technically is played like traditional pianos, though based on its open design the player can follow the mechanical process of each note pressed. The sound character differs from any other existing piano by means of softness and clarity of tone, because of the one-string-per-note principle, the specific soundboard design, and the specific hammer felt. The action is modified to play faster than typical upright piano actions allow for.
Patents: Copyrights belong to Davids Klavins, 2021
Image Credits: David Klavins
Video Credits: Native Instruments, Berlin