GDA - Gesamtverband der Aluminiumindustrie e.V. : Walter de Silva and Audi Design produce armchair with “shaped aluminium element”

06.01.14 - 

Walter de Silva, Chief Designer of Volkswagen Group, has joined together with the Audi Concept Design Studio in Munich to design an armchair with the name "Luft". A shaped aluminium element - symbolic for Audi lightweight construction - lends the armchair its weightless appearance. The production of the designer piece was preceded by two years of research.

An aluminium element defines the contour of the armchair from the backrest to the chair's legs, and also acts as the chair's base. The elegant shape and the lightweight material make the sitting area seem to float in the air. The armrests and the sitting area together form a curving line, which is suggestive of the extended wings of a bird. The covering is made of high quality and extremely soft Pelle Frau® leather. "The armchair finds its balance in the contrast between the cool aluminium with its technical feel, and the warm, supple leather," said Simona Falcinella, Head of Design Colour & Trim of AUDI AG, describing the special features of the armchair.
The concept behind the armchair is to create a place to unwind. Walter de Silva has this to say of the design: "In the image of a chair I see order and discipline, but an armchair, on the contrary, suggests precisely the kind of relaxation that I long for at the end of a long work day." This was the approach that the designers had in mind as they chose the materials and planned the thoroughly functional design.

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