Palette 茶几 by Rita Kettaneh 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

Palette 茶几

by Rita Kettaneh

Client: KRAY Studio

A' Design Award 铁奖 Winner in 家具 Category

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Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #98918

View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Palette 茶几

Palette是一款专为混合色彩而设计的模块化茶几。设计灵感源自约瑟夫·阿尔伯斯的《向方形致敬》系列，将嵌套方形转化到三维空间之中。每个桌面均嵌有两片相互重叠的亚克力板，从而形成混色效果。将一张桌子的上层板滑移至另一张桌子上，即可产生全新的色彩组合。上部结构与不锈钢底座锁合，因此每张茶几均可作为一个整体移动。多张茶几还能并排组合，形成更大的台面。

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award 铁奖

Palette 茶几是 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Palette 茶几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。Palette 茶几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: The Palette is a table for mixing colors inspired by Josef Albers' "Homage to the Square". It invites the users to engage in color experiments to suit their interior and state of mind. In simple sliding motions, the top layers are interchanged among tables like Albers' "platters to serve color" and the colors are mixed through overlapping sheets. The Palette is a coffee table that is modular and dynamic: multiple tables may be arranged side by side in one's layout of choice.
Dimensions & Packaging: Width x Depth x Height: 500 mm x 500 mm x 435 mm
Weight: 13.6 Kg
Tags: palette, palette table, coffee table, rita kettaneh, kray studio, josef albers, hommage to the square, geometric table, colorful coffee table, color mix table
Production Technology: The top section of the table is made up of steel sheets that are CNC laser-cut and bent with a press break. Welding is used to assemble the parts. The base is made up of stainless steel and is produced through a similar process. The top is powder-coated and includes two acrylic sheets, while the base has a brushed finish.
Design Challenge: The design of the base had to embody the concept of the square while complementing the top's planar form and silhouette. Multiple designs were assessed through cardboard mockups and 3D modeling software.
Moreover, experiments were done to identify the best performing mechanisms. In terms of locking the top to the base, bolts provided smoother locking and unlocking than rods. As to the sliding mechanism, it was reduced to sliding bars so the top sheet is easy to carry and slide into place.
Research: The color experiments were carried out in three stages: the first developed color schemes through overlapping sequences of acrylic samples. Next, a constraint was added which is that the scheme would be made up of three pairs of overlapping samples to correspond to three tables made up of two layers each. Thirdly, the color mixes had to go into Albers' configuration. Layers of foam core and acrylic samples were used to model the nested squares and colored paper was added to finetune the colors.
Inspiration: This design was inspired by the works of the Bauhaus icon Josef Albers, namely his "Homage to the Square" where nested squares demonstrate how color interacts. The Palette deconstructs the squares into three dimensional space while preserving the play on transparency. It encourages users to create different moods by participating in color experiments as Albers advocated. Moreover, Palette answers a need to offer users the flexibility to tailor and refresh their space based on their preferences.
Project Duration: The project started in December 2018 in Kornet Chehwan, Lebanon and was completed a year and three months later in Mazraat Yachouh, Lebanon in February 2020 when the final prototype was produced.
Operation Flow: The user can experiment with colors by sliding the top layer off a table and unto another where the overlapping sheets result in a new color mix.
The entire top section of the table locks into the base to facilitate moving the table around as a single unit. This is done by fitting the pins of the top into their respective holes in the base and then sliding the top section sideways until the pins reach their stops and the top locks into place. The reverse motion is done to unlock the two parts.