We were really excited to have Andrew Crombie of Morphology projects join us in the Co-DB workshop last week as he built his latest Mussidae benches for Clerkenwell design week. Morphology Projects have re-arranged the outdoor seating of On the Green, a coffee shop in St. James Church Garden, for the duration of the festival.
London based design company Morphology Projects was set up by Andrew Crombie to create outdoor furniture, sculptural objects, temporary architectural structures and anything in between, for use in public places and community-oriented projects. Drawing inspiration from animated and non-animated forms, Andrew plays with the scale and structural composition of an object to achieve new functions and invite philosophical musings. Besides developing its own range, Morphology Projects is available to design and prototype objects by commission for property developers, architects and city councils.
The Mussidae bench is conceived as a functional piece of sculpture. Its monolithic shape references a pebble on the beach, while the porosity of its segmented skin is inspired by brain coral (Mussidae). The arrangement of the timber elements on steel rods gives the bench the flexibility to level itself on slightly uneven terrain. As it adapts to the ground on which it is placed, the handmade bench looks charmingly animated, especially if grouped in an ensemble. For an ethereal appearance at night, the bench could be illuminated from within.
Follow Andy on twitter @morphologyproj
Follow Andy on twitter @morphologyproj