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The collection’s design, led by Partner and Head of BIG Products Jakob Lange, was inspired by the Japanese art form of Nawabari
Photography courtesy of BoConcept featuring Bjarke Ingels
Danish architecture practice BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) has teamed up with retail furniture chain BoConcept on the launch of Nawabari, a new collection that combines BoConcept’s simple lines with BIG’s contemporary aesthetic.
Led by Partner and Head of BIG Products Jakob Lang, ‘Nawa’ means rope in Japanese, while the term ‘Nawabari’ translates as stretching rope. In this spirit, the new collection is designed to bring people together, from hotel lobby to gallery or residential home.
‘When starting out with this collection we were looking for a new way of expressing furniture,’ says Lange. ‘We were interested in the forms that are created when a material is bound with rope. The result is these sculptural organic shapes that form the core of this furniture family.’
Photography courtesy of BoConcept featuring Nawabari
Comprising two sofa sizes, an armchair, two coffee tables and two footstool sizes, the contemporary pieces easily transform shared spaces, whether used individually as standout pieces or grouped together to create a playful seating system.
‘BoConcept is known for creating elegant designs that are timeless and look good in any interior space,’ adds Paula Mc Guinness, Chief Marketing Officer at BoConcept. ‘This collaboration brings a new spirit of informality and fun, characteristic of BIG’s disruptive approach. We are proud to partner with Bjarke and his team for this collection.’
Staying true to its Scandinavian roots, BoConcept is widely known for timeless design and functional elegance just as Denmark is synonymous with heritage pieces that continue to be popular today. Nawabari, however, firmly looks to the future by taking a holistic and global approach to creating public spaces.
‘BoConcept is an international player that has presence in markets all over the world,’ says Jakob Lange, Partner, BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group). ‘The company has built a team of extremely talented craftsmen and salesmen. Together with our creative forces at BIG, this creates a unique sort of melting pot.’
Photography courtesy of BoConcept featuring Jakob Lange
Bjarke Ingels Group is a Copenhagen, New York, London, Barcelona, Shenzhen and Los Angeles-based group of architects, designers, urbanists, landscape professionals, interior and product designers, researchers and inventors. Led by Bjarke Ingels, the studio is currently involved in projects throughout Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Middle East.
BIG’s architecture emerges out of a careful analysis of how contemporary life constantly evolves and changes. BIG believes that by hitting the fertile overlap between pragmatic and utopia, architects can find the freedom to change the surface of our planet, to better fit contemporary life forms.
BoConcept has been championing the spirit and principles of Danish design since 1952 and is the world’s most global furniture retailer, with over 340 stores spanning 67 countries on 6 continents. The brand works with award-winning designers to create collections of furniture, accessories and lighting for private homes and business spaces.