Constructive freedom
Having a head for science and a creative spirit is not a contradiction in terms.
Miguel Vanwetter (b. 2000) is both a qualified architectural engineer and a designer-in-the-making. The dynamic between the two disciplines leads to experimental constructions. How and where will you deploy the piece in the here and now?
Miguel is obsessed with nature and architecture. You see this coming through in the constructions and the materials of his designs, such as the Slide rack. He uses a reverse-thinking technique in the design process. His starting point is the freedom of the user in space and time. He aims to liberate said user from limiting choices. Think of the standardised offering on the market. The notion that ‘once you’ve chosen a piece, you’re stuck with it’, even with made-to-measure items. After that, the piece is unalterable.
Slide, conversely, can be adapted to your situation and space. The core of the design is the packed construction: wooden planks sit within an aluminium casing and run on a nylon conduit. This allows you to move them laterally, sliding them out from beneath the aluminium to suit your needs. You can simply widen the rack plank by plank, or make it narrower again. The sliding construction bypasses fixed dimensions. This makes Slide life-course resistant and therefore durable.
As you would expect, the rack is a free-standing and dismantlable piece of furniture. Would you like to position the shelves a little higher or lower? Replace parts? Put the rack in the middle of the space, or site it against a wall? Move it (internally) or temporarily store it when it’s not in use? You have endless options, and free rein to experiment.
The shapes and materials are as appealing as the construction is ingenious. Miguel is fully immersed in the cross-pollination between rational and emotional creativity.
