Studio Fuho's 'Illigō' at Milan Design Week contemplates form and function

Studio Fuho's Illigō is a combination of two pieces that can be configured to build stools, shelves, low benches and more. Currently on view at Milan Design Week 2023, as part of the Belgian Design Pavilion in the Isola District, the pieces are defined by subtle lines and clean geometries. A note shared by the Belgium-based studio on the concept behind the design of Illigō reads thus:

To attach or connect two things to form one. We exist out of connections. Everything we see, we connect to a preconceived concept we already have of it. When we think of a tree for instance, it has all the primary elements of a tree but it’s not an existing tree as we’ve seen before, but rather visual a concept of one. It is shaped out of only the essence of a tree. The things that make a tree we learned out of previous experiences we’ve had with the concept. The rough sketch of what we call a tree with all the features that make us call it a tree. Everyone has his own sketch. Everyone has his own world.

When we look around we connect what we see to the concepts that we have of things. This is how we make sense of the world. We differentiate the things we see and give them names. These become categorical names for concepts, just like a tree. We live in a shared world. We interpret that shared world according to our own world of concepts.

Illigo invites everyone to become aware of this, by using it. To use it is to interpret its use first. This we do with our world of concepts. Many of its features can be recognized as being anything or nothing. This makes the user free to connect any concept like ‘chair’, ‘shelf’ or ‘side-table’ to it.

Its function is multi-fluid. It is free by not being anything.

It can be everything because it is nothing. It is a play of being since it can be everything and is never limited by its being.

The object itself is able to be attached to another of itself. This shows it connecting the world to itself. Instead of becoming two of itself, it becomes one new piece. It shows how it can be one piece or many. Even in quantity, it is a matter of interpretation. It confronts the user with the fact that the shared world doesn't have a monopoly on reality. We make our own reality.

The design connects us to the shared world. Because the concepts we connect are exactly this; ourselves, our world. It connects the shared world to our world of concepts and makes a between world’ where we live and function.

STIR’s coverage of Milan Design Week 2023 showcases the best exhibitions, studios, designers, installations, brands, and special projects to look out for. Explore Euroluce 2023 and all the design districts—5Vie Art and Design, Brera Design District, Fuorisalone, Isola Design District, Tortona District, and Milano Design District—with us.