Balance is an object used as coat-and-hat rack, made of split bamboo. It is an experiment to use bamboo strips not to conform a prescribed form but to give the assembly of bamboo strips a different kind of identity.
Global Design & Architecture Design Awards 2023
First Award | Interior Design Elements (Built)
Project Name: Balance
Category: Interior Design Elements (Built)
Studio Name: TN/MOS
Bamboo culms of about 2 – 3cm diameter were collected when they turned completely brown after un unusual freeze killed the above ground part of bamboo plants (Bambusa textilis ‘Gracilis’, known as weaver’s bamboo.)
First, culms were longitudinally split into strips in the usual manner of bamboo processing. These strips were then individually shaped into different curves over the fire, letting each strip to spontaneously find its curve. They are not rigid but maintain the elasticity and flexibility within each strip.
Inside of the culm strips were stained black, while the outside, after the hard skin is sanded down, in reddish brown.
These curved strips were assembled in a way that the fanning out strips towards the ground will find the equilibrium to structure itself as a whole, which is about 2 meters high.
The assembled bamboo strips are not stable as each strip is not rigid, so not all legs are always equally touching the ground. When things are placed on the upper part and applied a weight, the legs coordinate themselves to find the balance to become stable. A rock with a wire hangs from the connector where the strips are held together, and its weight helps finding this equilibrium. Both parts are covered with silver leaf.
The overall structure gives out an impression of being conspicuously unstable and almost seeming to move away. When the hats and other things are hung, this balancing act projects a certain anthropomorphic character in the space where it is placed.
