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Cracks, splutters and discolouration define Mario Tsai Studio's 'Rough Collection'
Rough collection by Mario Tsai Studio
Video: Courtesy of Mario Tsai Studio
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Cracks, splutters and discolouration define Mario Tsai Studio's 'Rough Collection'

The China-based design studio crafts a 'rough' furniture ensemble for the third edition of DESIGNEW.

by Anushka Sharma
Published on : Aug 18, 2022

Perfection is an evasive yet ever-coveted conquest, a subjective commentary that dons a different visage for each. In the realm of design, the same impeccability carves its niche through immaculate facades, precise construction and visually faultless compositions that enshroud every supposed glitch. Apropos of utility, when a furniture design achieves normal function, how important are smooth surfaces free from stuttering, natural cracks and colour differences? Based in Hangzhou, China, research-based design studio Mario Tsai Studio poses this question with their recent furniture ensemble labelled Rough Collection. Assembled for the third edition of DESIGNEW, a platform for young designers both inside and outside of China, the collection embodies the studio’s interpretation of the theme ‘Correct Incorrect’ which translates to 'Tolerating Errors’. The studio helmed by the product designer Cai Liechao unveils ‘rough’ chair designs, a decorative table and a bookshelf as its effort to embrace flaws. “We try to improve error tolerance in the design and production, and Rough Collection is the result,” says Cai Liechao.

mario-tsai-studio-explores-a-rough-expression-in-latest-furniture
Rough collection includes chair designs, a table and a bookshelf Image: Courtesy of Mario Tsai Studio
mario-tsai-studio-explores-a-rough-expression-in-latest-furniture
Mario Tsai Studio was founded by Cai Liechao in 2014 Image: Courtesy of Mario Tsai Studio

A piece of work journeys through multiple stages–design, production and use–and errors are inevitable in each of these. Stepping away from the customary finesse, Mario Tsai Studio moulds the furniture pieces by acknowledging and even using the defects that dot the process of design–‘rough’ is no longer seen as a wrong or incomplete stage, but as a normal characteristic of an object’s singular identity. “If such ‘errors’ can be transformed into details and accepted by consumers through rational design, the use and form of furniture will become more diversified, and the efficiency and material utilisation in the production process will be greatly improved,” Liechao explains. The Rough series expands on this approach from the perspective of use, initiating meticulous studies of ‘rough’ properties with the design and production phases that ensue.

mario-tsai-studio-explores-a-rough-expression-in-latest-furniture
Rough collection uses defects in design as details Image: Courtesy of Mario Tsai Studio

The series includes four products: Rough chairs, Rough lounge chairs, decorative tables and Rough bookshelves. Each of the four product designs stems from fundamental forms to meet the functional requirements. The Zhuangxiu Table, for instance, draws inspiration from a very common decorative table in Chinese design–a simple nevertheless sturdy structure. The table design wears its scars as a crown, retaining the glue and rough marks left during the production process along with the colored markings on the end surfaces of the wood panels. Rough Cabinet–that shapeshifts as a screen–is a matrix system cabinet shelf composed of solid wood flat panels. The cabinet doors that open and close on both sides add dynamism to an otherwise minimal design, all while flaunting their coarse textures.

mario-tsai-studio-explores-a-rough-expression-in-latest-furniture
Rough Deck Chair Image: Courtesy of Mario Tsai Studio

The Rough Deck Chair and Rough Chair maintain a smooth seat and back, while the legs and the back of the chairs carry the saw marks from furniture production. These scratches-turned-signatures do not baulk the design’s functionality, rather, give it a unique identity–design thinking of a handmade artisanal production. The very ‘mistakes’ in production–the wood end colour block, carpenter's mark, the misalignment of the patchwork, the extrusion of glue during assembling as well as the saw marks–integrate with the creations and give them a new expression. Shapes and forms are not the protagonists of the Rough Series and what shines through are new and untapped possibilities of wooden furniture. “I hope to treat materials seriously and rationally, and understand people's most basic requirements for furniture,” shares Cai Liechao.

mario-tsai-studio-explores-a-rough-expression-in-latest-furniture
Rough Chair Image: Courtesy of Mario Tsai Studio
mario-tsai-studio-explores-a-rough-expression-in-latest-furniture
Rough collection highlights new possibilities of wood furniture Image: Courtesy of Mario Tsai Studio

Errors are inescapable anomalies in craftsmanship during the manufacturing process that, in this case, embellish the final product–a refreshing deviation from the incessant dodging and masking of mistakes and their likes. The Rough Collection, actualised for DESIGNEW, reflects and reconstructs the design and manufacturing processes, pushing one to reconsider the extant definitions of the term ‘error’ as it takes on new meanings. Mario Tsai Studio, which prides itself on innovative thinking to produce sustainable designs, builds on this almost philosophical approach of accepting imperfections with an open mind–using design to diversify errors, diverge from tradition and seek new expressions.

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