Branca Stool

Branca Stool

In stock

$1,229.00
$1,229.00
ITAItaly Certified Sale

Mattiazzi

Sam Hecht & Kim Colin

Ash Black
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Like wooden branches of a tree, Branca is a chair that is familiar to the eye.

Designed by Sam Hecht / Industrial Facility, Branca is made from a single piece of wood produced robotically and its back leg supports the critical joints of the armrest, the seat and the back. The joints are seen as a part of the seamless nature of the chair and its simple outlines belies the complexity of production. Branca is inspired by wooden branches that turn, twist, meet and branch off. The result is comfort to the eye, to the body and to the hand.

Branca is a chair, a stool and a table.

Ash or Oak of European origin and legal wood cutting (controlled deforestation).

  • Ash Black

    Ash Black

  • Natural Ash

    Natural Ash

  • Ash Green

    Ash Green

  • Ash White

    Ash White

In 2009, Mattiazzi approached Sam Hecht and the office of Industrial Facility with an idea: — to imagine a design office not commonly known for wooden furniture immersing themselves into the world of Mattiazzi and producing furniture family.

This combination of intelligence with all that is wood (Mattiazzi) and innocent naivety (Industrial Facility) was to result in a familiar typology produced in an unexpected manner. It was to be Mattiazzi’s second collection under their own brand, the first having been designed by Nitzan Cohen. This new trajectory for Mattiazzi asks important designers of the 21st Century: what is a new relevance for wood as applied to furniture? — for Industrial Facility this was undoubtedly an unusual project, says Hecht. — our studio normally finds itself tackling items of mass— production, where the origins of production are rarely the same place where the project is commissioned. Industrial Facility has never lost sight of reality when it comes to the reason for a project: its use, its production and even its marketing. This attitude has set them apart from what design has gradually become, because the studio sees great value in how something is made, its materiality, and its message, rather than succumbing to the proliferation of a rendered reality and an “at arms length” vision of production.

After several trips to Mattiazzi’s factory, along with close discussions with their craftsmen, Industrial Facility wished to push Mattiazzi further into the position of the robotic craftsman. What is a chair whose ingredients are a combination of highly complex parts (made possible with CNC machinery, most notably their eight axis robot which they had become expert at), alongside simple traditional shaping and finishing by hand?

— I observed that the power of the robot, the repetition of the machine and the skills of the craftsmen already have synchronised relationships at Mattiazzi, where each process is as carefully selected as much as the wood blocks that were to be shaped — says Hecht.

Sam Hecht & Kim Colin

Branca Chair
ITAItaly Certified

Branca Chair

Mattiazzi
Branca Table
ITAItaly Certified

Branca Table

Mattiazzi

Inspiration

Sam Hecht & Kim Colin

Sam Hecht was born in London in 1969. His training began at the Central Saint Martins School of Art. His interest in industrial design and architecture led him to apprenticeships including David Chipperfield. Hecht thus began to define the style that characterises his personality as a designer. A profound search for the essential, acute observation of the world we live in and a belief that simplicity can be inspirational. In 1993 he completed his masters at the Royal College of Art, followed by three years in California with Ideo, and three years in Tokyo. This period involved the collaborations with Naoto Fukasawa, producing some startling product typologies over the course of six years.

In 2002, he co—founded Industrial Facility with his partner Kim Colin. He began to work with Manufacturers, and the number of clients increased in just a few years. For Muji Japan he created the “Second Phone” (2004), which led to him being invited to become retained designer for World Muji. For Taylor’s Eye Witness, a Sheffield company, he also became main designer producing notable sequels to Robert Welch’s work, selected for the Museum fűr Kunsthandwerk, Frankfurt and awarded the Design Plus and of Gold Prize for 2006. More recently he has been appointed design advisor to Herman Miller. Between 2006 — 10, he acted as senior tutor at the Royal College of Art, London, forming Platform 12 and in 2011 was appointed visiting professor of HFG Karlsruhe in Germany. in 2010 he was awarded the ‘Designs of the Year’ for the Branca chair.

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