Morgan Furniture and studio INTEGRATE launch Rio 2
Morgan Furniture and studio INTEGRATE reveal their latest collaborative collection, Rio 2.
Launched during this year’s Sleep + Eat event, contract furniture designer and manufacturer Morgan Furniture have revealed their new Rio 2 collection. Created in collaboration with studio INTERGRATE, the Rio 2 table collection has been designed for the contract market, and includes 3D printed components; the collection is the first of its kind within the sector that includes this cutting edge technology at a commercially viable price point.
The first Rio collection was launched in 2016, and combined the skills and expertise of the Morgan Furniture team with Mehran Gharleghi’s – the director of studio INTERGRATE – intricate knowledge of new technologies. The collection explored the relationship between “the craft of yesterday and the craft of tomorrow”; the second generation, Rio 2, adds to this with two new table designs and a greater understanding of 3D technology.
With the new collection launching at Sleep + Eat 2018 this week, we spoke to Gharleghi to find out more about Rio 2, the benefits of using 3D printing, and what inspires his work:
Tell us more about the Rio 2 collection?
A few years ago, I worked with Morgan Furniture to develop Rio 1, a brand new collection which we exposed to the mass market and contract furniture industry. We experimented a lot and learnt so much from it. We listened to our customers and took their feedback into account. Ultimately we decided to add a new variation – Rio 2 – to the existing collection, and this has been an exhilarating journey. With Rio 2 we have carefully designed a collection that maintains the iconic shape and the unique experience that we wanted to provide to our audience with the first generation, but which has a distinctly different look and uses new materials.
What inspired your designs?
I find inspiration in nature, history and culture. Seemingly they are very different; however, they all have one thing in common. They all evolve gradually, over a long and extended period of time in a step by step manner. I believe we have followed the same principal in designing the Rio collection. We haven’t viewed emerging technologies such as 3D printing as an element that disrupts traditional craftsmanship. Instead we consider it as an addition to existing methods of making. We have maintained the traditional and careful craftsmanship of Morgan Furniture and added a new dimension and experience to it. Using the new technologies enabled us to go one step further and provide a new experience for our audience.
Did you enjoy collaborating with Morgan Furniture?
My relationship with the Morgan team began very positively a few years ago. It got better and better over time to the point that we now consider each other as one extended team and have established a seamless collaboration method. Our working process is very enjoyable, which I believe is crucial when creating ambitious and high risk projects and products.
Our collaboration on Rio 2 has been the most successful by far. We managed to combine our different areas of expertise and methods of design and experimentation to reach a whole new level. Morgan Furniture have dedicated a lot of resources, energy and time to the Rio 2 collection and we all feel very happy to be part of it.
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What is the benefit of 3D printing to your work?
Utilising 3D printing and digital fabrication has enabled me to work and experiment in industries that are not directly linked to my background. Over the years we have been involved in designing a diverse range of furniture and accessories. Digital fabrication and 3D printing significantly reduced the cost of experimentation for us, allowing me to go through quick trial and error until something proved feasible.
In some instances, 3D printing was used to create the finished products. A door handle collection we designed and produced for a house in London, a GeMo collection of vases and the Rio 1 and 2 collections are some examples. Utilising additive manufacturing in all of these collections were hugely advantageous. In most cases, it wasn’t even possible to produce our designs with any other technique. This was either due to geometrical complexities, mass customisation or cost implications. The technology is a lot more accessible today than it used to be and will hopefully be even more so to people in the future. In 2014, however, it was very unusual and ambitious to use these methods when starting to design the first Rio collection for the contract furniture market!
Using 3D printing was very fashionable at the time, but we wanted to create an iconic design that people could afford to buy and use every day. Rio was the first of its kind in this market. We all worked hard and feel very proud of it. It is the result of 10 years of experimentation with this method of design and production.
How has this changed your design process?
Digital fabrication has provided a lot of opportunities, but I believe it is most effective when it is combined with possibilities of algorithmic and systematic methods of design. This is when possibilities become endless. To learn this method of design I had to study natural systems, evolution, and embryological development. This journey not only completely changed the way I design, but also it changed the way I look at life and everything around me.
