Contemporary outdoor bench in metal for public spaces (with backrest)
SLATS by Bertjan Pot
Gispen International
%u201CAll is made out of very basic material and although the materialisation is inevitable it is an often forgotten but integral part of the design process%u201D.
%u2018Slats is transparent, looks sober and is unexpectedly comfortable.%u2019
The Slats sofa and chair do look transparent, but due to the minimal upholstery offering a comfort one would not expect. Bertjan Pot designed Slats together with the Seamless Chair on invitation by the Sofa Foundation in the Netherlands; an initiative to promote the use of soft materials in interior design to break through a trend of young designers using hard materials. He came with two designs; one for the future and one that could be taken into production right away.
%u2018The Seamless Chair, a felt/wool design, will be manufactured as soon as the felt process of wool will be readily available. Hand made this will take about 40 hours per chair, making the model extremely expensive%u2019.
By contrast Slats is much more down to earth. Slats is transparent and a counter reaction on all those massive living settees fully upholstered but not much more than foam and a piece of fabric. Slats is simplicity. By shaping multilayered wood, that is upholstered with a special fabric, a different way of comfort comes forward. The shape, a slats bench, is an approved concept and the upholstered seat and back do change the appearance drastically.
