Arctic 咖啡桌 by Wai Ho Cheung is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2017 A' Design Award 铜奖 in 家具设计 Competition Category.

铜家具· 2017

Arctic 咖啡桌

by Wai Ho Cheung

Client: Wai Ho Cheung

A' Design Award 铜奖 Winner in 家具 Category

12,260

Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #50628

Visit Site View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Arctic 咖啡桌

Arctic 是一张底部带有动态波浪的咖啡桌，会产生一种视觉错觉，让静止的桌子看起来像是在移动。在中国五行中，黑色对应于水元素，因此桌子被涂成黑色，同时强调波浪的视觉错觉。在设计师的理念中，美观等于功能。因此，条带负责支撑框架的功能，而波浪也可以实际使用：顶角可以用作 CD 支架，波浪可以用作杂志支架。

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award 铜奖

Arctic 咖啡桌是 A' Design Award 铜奖得主，这是授予以创造力、独创性和敏锐见长的杰出设计的极具声望的认可。铜奖得主是技艺娴熟、创意惊人的作品，印证了其设计师丰富的经验、想象力与机智。预计Arctic 咖啡桌将成为一件备受推崇、令人钦佩且被珍爱的物品，兼具显著的专业性与创新性。这件赢得 A' Design Award 铜奖的设计融入艺术、科学、设计和技术领域的最佳实践，并因注重细节而出类拔萃。Arctic 咖啡桌出色地满足需求，触动渴望，迷住情感，并吸引好奇心。

Behind the Design

Press Kit

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

Unique Properties: Arctic is made of painted metal strips with dynamic waves at the base which make the still table appears as moving. The strips and supporting frames are interwoven useful space, as well as the waves underneath can be functional. In this coffee table, aesthetics also means functionality, which is what contemporary design should fulfil in my opinion.
Dimensions & Packaging: Width1200mm x Depth600mm x Height420mm
Tags: furniture, coffee table, waves, metal, strips
Production Technology: Arctic is a coffee table made of looped metal strips with a wave bent at the bottom of each and fixed by supporting frames. Each strip is placed inversely to others alongside that interweave dynamic waves, like currents in ocean. In Chinese Five Elements, the corresponding colour to Water element is black. Therefore, the table is painted in black which can also emphasise the visual illusion of the moving currents.
Design Challenge: As the combination with those factors is always thought to be the product only appears in utopia, Arctic is created in order to challenge the mission. Incidentally, Arctic is the second version of this project. The first version was designed with 3 types of materials, so the hardest point of this project was to reduce the material types used, at the same time to keep the dynamic outlook and to emphasise it.
Research: In nowadays market, customers always demand products to fulfil the combination on 3 aspects: high functionality, low cost and high aesthetics. On the other hand, companies are always asking for products with: high profit, high market share and economy production process.
Inspiration: The form is inspired by tidal wave hence the inspiration is conducted to mathematical sinusoidal wave with the keyword, wave. In the meantime, the functionality is inspired by park bench slats; the structure of the slats with gaps in between is considered to be highly functional. In Chinese Five Elements, the corresponding direction to Water element is north. Thus, it is named as the largest ocean in the north, Arctic.
Project Duration: The project started in April 2016 in Hong Kong and finished in April 2016 in Hong Kong.
Operation Flow: The metal strips are responsible to in term of both aesthetics and functionality. On the top corners, the strips can be used as CD stands with the supporting frames. Moreover, the waves underneath can be used as a magazine stand. For extra, users can hang a little basket on the supporting frames beside. The dynamic waves at the bottom appear as currents in the ocean, which make the still table seems to be moving hence make the living room vigorous.
Team Members: Wai Ho Cheung