Mexico-based Garza Studio has created a solid aluminium bench topped with two seating plates that move on top of a plane of steel bearing balls for the Collectible design fair in New York City.
The project, called Move a Little Bit Further, allows two people sitting on top of it to move towards and away from each other as the aluminium seats – made from thin, plate-like pieces of metal – glide over the array of bearing balls.
Garza Studio placed the balls in an inset that takes up most of the face of the sleek aluminium bench, with tight ledges running around the perimeter, keeping the balls in place.
Though the balls don't cover the whole bench seat, the seats are weighted and the balls are distributed in a way so that the motion of the seats is even, responding to the movements of the seated person.
Its construction is minimalist, with polished faces and a set of four steel fasteners affixing the seat to the legs on each side.
According to founder Leonardo Garza, the piece was designed to mimic the "fluctuations" in human relationships. Users drift towards and away from each other on the bench, and as noted during its presentation, the two plates can sometimes collide.
He said it was made after reflecting on a recent break up.
"With this piece, I was trying to put out my feelings after a breakup. At that moment, I explored the idea that nothing is static and we are constantly moving. I wanted to see if I could use furniture design as a medium to express my feelings more similarly than in art," he told Dezeen.
"The result is a bench on which a couple can adjust the distance between themselves by sliding their seats over bearing balls, giving a physical representation of the proximity fluctuations we experience during different phases of relationships."
He added that he hopes the piece, of which seven were made, might develop an "organic patina" over time as fingerprints and scratches are left on the metal.
As far as where the piece would live outside of a showcase, Garza said that he envisions the piece in a living room or entranceway.
"I believe that in living rooms and entrances it would fit great, either for an apartment or a building," he said.
"During Collectible Fair, many people have told me it belongs in a museum, which is quite flattering."
Garza worked closely with a metal shop in Mexico City to produce the work, which is just under six feet long (1.8 metres).
The concept for the piece was informed by Nina Farkache's Come a Little Bit Closer bench for Droog, which featured similar plates sliding on top of stationary marbles.
Studio Garza's piece was exhibited in a section called Architect<>Designer during the Brussels-based design fair Collectible's first iteration in New York. It included a video of the process and use of the piece on a retro television set.
All metal furniture has become increasingly popular in recent years. This spring, we put together a list of furniture collections rendered solely in metal during Milan Design Week.
Collectible is open from 5 to 8 September at Water Street Project in Manhattan. For more events, talks and fairs in architecture and design please visit Dezeen Events Guide.
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