proportions of space

Through relocating countries we have become hyper-aware of the landscape around us. Previously based in Australia, we had not consciously reflected upon the value of the vastness of the land, and the feelings of freedom it elicits. The variety and unruliness of the landscape, and spatiality of cities is reflected in the mentality of the people that live there, shaping cultural mentality and behaviour.

Our experience in connection with the land in the Netherlands has been conflicting. The distinct flatness of the landscape feels like an open, endless horizon of earth, yet at times also stifling and constrictive. We see how humans have shaped this land, in many ways championing urban order over the wildness of nature, and how this has shaped the Dutch culture. 

Proportions of Space is a collection of tables that explores our relationship to the different landscapes within the Netherlands. Through an analysis of selected locations - determining forms, relationships, patterns, textures, dimensions and experience, this collection seeks to capture intangible feelings that a space evokes. Looking at the pervasive tension between the built and natural environment, we see clusters of offset planes, flat volumes that extend on different axes as you move from space to space. This almost modular construction of the environment is shared between the natural and the built landscape, inspiring the construction style of this collection. 

The glazes of this collection are a collaboration with Daria Biryukova of Studio Mixtura, a designer-maker specialising in waste-based ceramic glazes. The stoneware pieces of each table are glazed with FORZ®Glaze, a ceramic glaze developed by Daria that uses 60% waste incinerator bottom-ash, recycled glass, and paper, reducing the reliance upon virgin materials. Working with her we developed a colour pattern reflective of chosen landscapes, using the grain and variation of the waste material to bring a natural texture to the pieces. 

The modular construction of these pieces allows them to be configured into tables and counters of varying heights, sizes and patterns. As we develop this product we will release more imagery and information, but please get in touch with any questions or requests.

Photography by Bracket Studio

“When a person attempts to determine his relationship to a space, he attempts to understand that which is outside his own body, he attempts to understand existence beyond the material”
Ai Weiwei

Designed and produced 2022.