Adam Nathaniel Furman’s New Town is a lesson in colour, shape and geometry

The visual odyssey of Adam Nathaniel Furman’s works is one written in the liveliness of colours, geometry, history and architectural influences. Whether it be his series of illustrations celebrating postmodern icons in architecture or his book ‘Queer Spaces,’ Furman’s exploration of design triggers thinking beyond the resultant. As the British designer ventures into newer roles as an artist, author and more, his latest allure comes in the form of a new collection of tiles. Dubbed as ‘New Town,’ the wall and floor tiles collection is a culmination of many inspirations.

The tile design's intriguing use of pure geometries comes from the urban planning of Georgian Bath and Edinburgh’s New Town. The identity of the town came to dwell in the architecture of the place, with neoclassical Palladian buildings that do not contrast with the Roman baths. Similar to the Georgian influences in the City of Bath, the Edinburgh New Town also adorns Georgian townhouses spread amid the broad avenues and large squares. Therefore, the common inspiration for the geometry of the tile design appears to be an extension of the Georgian style's symmetry, proportion and minimal ornamentation.

Italian architect Carlo Scarpa’s use of materials, landscape and the history of Venetian culture in design is an interesting part of the architectural history of Italy. Scarpa’s renovation of the Fondazione Querini Stampalia is often mentioned as a good example of integrating the old with the new. For the design of ‘New Town,’ Furman draws inspiration from the paving of Fondazione Querini Stampalia to establish a controlled irregularity of simple forms. “New Town is a playful and sophisticated coming together of the very best craft traditions from modern Venice, with a contemporary take on the greatest era of British classical design,” shares Furman.

The tiles are handmade in Nove, in Italy's Veneto. Available in a diverse range of colour combinations, they either come in a smooth-surface finish that emphasises the clarity of the interconnected geometries or with delicate grooves cast into the tile surfaces. The delicate grooves reflect on the layout of city streets and also act to catch light in a dramatic manner. However, both finishes become a celebration of the craftsmanship that goes into their making and create a wall surface that, in Furman’s words, is "dynamic and bold, as well as subtle and restrained."

Furman further narrates, “Whether deployed in rich, deep colorways that recall the most sensuous of tropical modernisms, or gleaming in simple white or a milky and diaphanous pearlescence, the geometry of New Town creates a surface that is at once classic, and modern, a delight of pure form.”

Defining the New Town collection, Botteganove shares, “From a chromatic point of view, New Town represents a challenge, because each palette corresponds to different compositions of glazes (up to six for shades of red, blue and green). A complex process for an unmistakable surface that is both classic and contemporary, a joy of pure form.”

As interesting as it is, creating a colourful palette of emotions and expressions of two cultures—Italian and British— in design is a rather challenging process. However, with New Town, Furman has employed colours in a compelling manner that draws on these inspirations and delivers a contemporary manifestation of modern Italy and classical Britain. Across the spectrum of many colours, textures and geometry, the new collection seems to be a playful whimsical extension of Furman’s creative forte to product design and ceramics.