Pohihi 玄关边柜 by JOHI Furniture & Design is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2020 A' Design Award 铁奖 in 家具设计 Competition Category.

铁家具· 2020

Pohihi 玄关边柜

by JOHI Furniture & Design

Client: JOHI Furniture & Design

A' Design Award 铁奖 Winner in 家具 Category

10,835

Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #89072

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

Colors

The Design

About Pohihi 玄关边柜

Pohihi 是一款为现代住宅收纳需求而设计的玄关边柜。柜体采用染色榉木制作，四个抽屉面板则选用雨树木（猴荚豆木）。抽屉以实心榉木打造，沿木质滑轨推拉。手工编织的丹麦纸绳构成了柜门与低层搁板。编织柜门既是装饰性表面，也充当把手，因此未另设拉手。磁吸配件使柜门保持闭合，内部设有一层搁板。编织工艺呼应了阿拉伯与夏威夷的文化传统。

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award 铁奖

Pohihi 玄关边柜是 A' Design Award 铁奖得主，这是授予满足人们对设计精良的创作所期待的专业与工业要求的优良设计的声望认可。铁奖得主展现出其创作者的高超技艺、高度专业化、专家级的理解力和创造能力。预计Pohihi 玄关边柜将成为一件备受推崇、令人钦佩且被珍爱的创作，既实用又创新。这件赢得 A' Design Award 铁奖的设计整合了行业最佳实践，并拥有与专业知识和才华相结合的称职技术特性。Pohihi 玄关边柜因其严谨而受到尊重，旨在提供有助于让世界变得更美好的生活品质改善。

Behind the Design

Press Kit

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

Unique Properties: Monkeypod drawer fronts & handwoven laced danish cord stand out as highlights of this piece, framed with a stained beech body. The drawers are completed with solid beech, sliding naturally on wooden tracks. The danish cord cabinet door gives this piece a unique, clean, organic touch. Open the cabinet door to find a spacious interior with shelf. With an easy push the magnetic fittings will secure it closed. Mirroring the woven door, a low shelf allows a gorgeous touch, functional and decorative.
Dimensions & Packaging: W 394mm x L 1156mm x H 1067mm
Tags: furniture, home, joinery, weaving, residential, interior, storage, modern, living
Production Technology: Materials-wise, we needed to design around Hawaii's fluctuating climate, throughout the year moving from from humid to dry, hot to cold. For this reason, we chose to make the frame in dimensionally stable hardwood plywood and use traditional wood joinery that accounts for wood movement.

You'll find more about our approach to weaving and reason for weaving with laced danish cord in the Research section.
Design Challenge: One of the most challenging aspects of designing a piece with multicultural intent is leaving flexibility for future clients or customers to impart their own style and interpretation on it. There's also much more to share from a cultural and locale perspective than what is stereotypical. There is more to island style than white washing wood; more to Hawaiian design than kapa motifs. There is more to Arab art than calligraphy and geometric pattern. Our goal was to design a contemporary piece that represented a common ground of our cultures and felt true to ourselves.
Research: We challenged ourselves to design around commonalities in Arab and Hawaiian cultural practices. We looked to our personal experiences from youth to adulthood as well as cultural readings and contemporary practice in both areas. Rather than focusing on visual pattern, we were drawn to the process of weaving.

In the Arab world, Sadu (السدو) is the tradition of geometric embroidery for furnishings, rugs and saddles. This practice is historically carried out by the women of Bedouin communities, and it offers a chance to gather and share news and stories. As the world changes, this tradition is being left behind and is now considered a UNESCO Cultural Heritage Tradition in need of safeguarding.

The same may be said of needing to safeguard knowledge here in Hawai'i of making and using cordage. Within Polynesian voyaging, fishing, and land cultivation culture, there was always great need to create strong durable kaula (cord/rope) from available natural resources. The plants often used include olona, pulu niu (coconut husk fiber) & hau (sea hibiscus). After gathering and crafting certain sizes and lengths of cordage, it could be used for canoe lashings, carrying handles or net bags, slings, sandals, a sewing material, and more.

In reviewing weaving materials, we settled on weaving with laced Danish cord, a paper base product that began gaining popularity for use in furniture after WWII. Most cords feature a 3-ply construction, where paper is twisted together to produce a very strong laced cord. While it can be a little tricky to work with at times, knotting up on itself and untwisting, the cord is a perfect material choice for stressed applications and longevity in furniture.

Experimenting with different weaving styles, we ultimately found the design needed variation between a less complex weave and one with more density to create a stronger visual dynamic.
Inspiration: Designed to tuck away bits and bobs while jointly displaying household favorites. We strove to highlight weaving, as it is an important technique used in my family's cultures, Arab and Hawaiian. As modern homes tend to get cluttered quickly, it was important to create a clean aesthetic that could l provide ample storage. Together, the wood and laced danish cord are intended to bring a warm modern feel to the home.
Project Duration: Location: Haliimaile, Maui, Hawaii, USA
Year: 2019
Operation Flow: The handwoven Danish cord of the cabinet door acts both as artistic visual interest and a type of handle, as no distinct handle is in the design. The drawer handles are similarly low profile to let the clean lines of the overall design shine.
Patents: Copyrights belong JOHI LLC, 2019
Team Members: Holly Badr-El-Din
Image Credits: Image #1 - #5: Photographer Raja Badr-El-Din, Pohihi Entry Console, 2019