REFLECTING DESIGN
His designs spring from his childhood home.
It was there and then that his passion for architectural context was awakened: how does an object work in the space, how does light work in the space – and how do they influence one another? There are multiple layers to his reflecting design — physical, figurative and conceptual.
Recollection, consideration, anticipation. Reflections and contemplations. Jord Lindelauf is fascinated by the reflection of light onto an object in the space. Aluminium is his thing.
Jord grew up in an 1980s/1990s home – architecturally designed and furnished. He was bathed in a sea of light and surrounded by a plethora of gleaming chrome and high-gloss lacquer. Wherever you looked: from the furniture to the speakers and the stair rail, all were fashioned from materials that reflect the light. ‘These memories serve as the DNA of design.’
The chrome of his childhood has given way to aluminium – naturally in combination with a high-gloss finish. ‘A reflective finish has two advantages: daylight penetrates deeper into the space; and the object does not impose itself, because it blends into its surroundings.’
The ALL U series consists of autonomous mirrors (S-M-L): two curved aluminium sheets are set back-to-back, supporting one another and glued together. One cannot exist without the other: the yin-yang concept. A self-reflecting design: just you & your mirror image. This mirroring leads to reflections on your looks, feelings & thoughts. Playing out in the background is a different view of your familiar environment.
The 808 series reflects a philosophical concept: life can be this simple. The same is true of the design concept: the most elementary form of a table, a chair, a bookcase. Every child draws four legs and a plank. That image is stored in our collective memory. ‘A designer is not a craftsperson! Everything I design I want to be able to make myself. So I keep it simple.’ That’s why the 808 series works with childish simplicity: an aluminium tube (legs) and a wooden plank (tabletop, seat, backrest). The dual balance principle also plays a role here: the harmony of opposites in life, and in nature. The matte, untreated aluminium with its raw texture for the vertical supports. The high-gloss wood for the horizontal, rounded planks. Just imagine: with eight (!) layers of lacquer and polished in between. Result: as mirror-smooth and reflective as premium coated metal. These optically floating planks seem to hang free of the supports. The aluminium tubes run perfectly centred through the cut-out in the planks. An invisible cylinder and distribution plate keep everything in place. The chair’s standout feature is the horizontal backrest: it’s at the same height as the top of the dining table, and serves as an armrest, side table and extension table. A single chair is your personal extension to the table. Several chairs together form a circle. You sit relaxedly on the chair: more or less sideways, nice and casual. Jord is a child of our time.
