Robert van Embricqs

Dutch Designer Robert van Embricqs graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld Academy on the strengths of his Rising Chair design. Post graduation, he focused his attention on finding new ways to adapt the techniques he developed during the chair’s design for different projects in smaller and bigger scale. In his research, Van Embricqs became fascinated by the esthetically pleasing, yet intricate complexity of the natural form. Finding inspiration for his designs in bone structure, plant life and movement, one question remained ever present: ‘To what degree is the object you're creating capable of dictating its own design?’ This led him to develop a minimalistic design approach that can best be described as a collaboration between designer and his material. With his design for furniture Van Embricqs starts out by making small incisions in a flat surface, then sits back to watch and study the otherwise rigid wood’s reaction to the new shape it is able to assume. An important aspect of his design process is Van Embricqs’ conscious focus on marrying functionality with an esthetically pleasing look. Too often, flexibility is designed with mostly practicality in mind, resulting insome rather unappealing final products. What sets apart the Rising Furniture line, is the fact the products always revert to their base form. Whether it is the Rising Chair, the Tables or Stool, at the end of the day they all return to the flat, wooden surface material they originated from…Ever ready to rise again. Aside furniture Robert van Embricqs established flexible concepts on bigger scale in which movement creates interaction between the users and the architecture.