The end of 2010 marked the start of our research towards using stainless steel in the production of contemporary design furniture. At the same time, our practice was seeking to achieve a more authorial aspect in our interior projects – by designing furniture in a continuum with the projects. To be part of them. It so happened that we were then commissioned to design a sort of garage-lounge. Our brief was to design for a young bold entrepreneur, a lover of art and design, of motorcycles and speed. For him we designed a multifunction room, where he could relax and entertain his friends. As express requirements the space was to be as transparent as possible so that the luscious tropical vegetation on the site would be integrated into it – hence the choice for building a glass box – contain signed design pieces, contemporary art and essentially have practical and versatile furniture. So the idea arose to build a stool/bench, or rather, a seating system made from stainless steel. As a starting point, we thought of kinetic art. Our end goal envisioned a piece that would have a strong spatial presence, having versatility as one of its strong points and which would definitely incorporate the idea of movement into its design. Just as kinetic art broke from the static condition of painting, our idea was to move away from the fixed condition of furniture. This is how Infinite Steel came to be: a seat that can be split into several others and which, thanks to its building material, can be used both inside and outside the lounge, abolishing the limit between indoor and outdoor.
Technical specifications
Custom-made, the Infinite Steel seat is made up from independent modules that fit together, 80 X 40 X 45cm, each one weighing about 22 kg. Strictly speaking, in line with the very design concept, there is no limit to the number of units that can be attached to each piece – hence its name.
Made from welded folded steel sheets and internally clad in plywood, the outer finish of the seat is textured to provide a satiny finish; each one of the modules reflects continuity in its design, as the modules fit together – without touching, however – the two units on either of their sides.
For the steel manufacturer responsible for producing the seat, it was the first time steel, a highly resistant material, whose use is practically restricted to the building sector, was used to manufacture a piece of furniture. As a matter of fact, they had never envisioned steel being treated like a sheet of paper, capable of producing folds of great plastic effect.
To the designers, though, few materials are as now as stainless steel. Besides being one of the least environmentally impacting materials in the building industry as it is 100% recyclable, i.e. after reaching the end of a long life of service it can still be used indefinitely without losing any of its quality. These were determinant in the choice of material, which is also easily cleaned and corrosion-resistant. In addition to the naturally sustainable aspects of stainless steel, the manufacturer only uses coal from managed areas in Brazil in its production.
