How aluminium led me to rethink my approach to design
Design to me is not just about creating something new. It is also about testing the limits of what is possible. Lately, aluminium has become a big part of that journey for me.
I spend most of my time in my London workshop, where I am very much hands-on with my work. Normally, I work on larger furniture-size projects, but on a recent project, I was challenged to work on a smaller scale than usual, designing a tabletop lamp.
This lamp would be made up of two extruded aluminium profiles. I called it “prøve,” which is a Norwegian word meaning “to try” or “to test out,” and this really captured what I was aiming for – a demonstration of what is possible with extruded aluminium.
Utilizing the warmth and softness of aluminium
One aspect of aluminium that I find particularly intriguing is its flexibility. There is a part of the assembly process for the lamp where you have to flex the metal slightly, fitting the shade profile onto the base by squeezing it out of shape just a bit before releasing it to let it snap back into place.
The fact that aluminium has this softness to it allows me to almost manipulate it by hand, in contrast with other materials, like steel, for example, which feels very cold, hard and unforgiving. I love the fact that I can cut it on my own woodworking chop saw, drill and machine it, and tap threads in it very easily.
A steep learning curve with extrusion
I love learning. And even though I have previously used extruded aluminium profiles in the past, this project was the first time I had ever made the actual profiles myself. I wanted to use it as a learning curve, which is demonstrated in the final profiles.
Well, it was a steep learning curve. There were times when I thought that something which might seem obviously possible or extrudable, turned out to be the exact opposite.
Aluminium sparks many new ideas
Indeed, learning to work with extruded aluminium was a new adventure for me. It led me to rethink my approach to design, to try and figure out how each profile could be both practical and visually interesting.
Instead of focusing solely on surface design, I had to consider how each profile could serve both functional and visual purposes. This approach involved a fair amount of trial and error, particularly when it came to understanding the nuances of extruded forms.
I was given sample profiles that showed off the potential of aluminium, including options with kinetic elements, like hinges and moving parts. This sparked so many ideas about what was possible with kinetic and structural elements, and that really motivated me to keep pushing the boundaries of this material. Aluminium is not just another metal – it reminds me every day that strength and softness can work together in amazing ways.
Design, to me, is all about discovering new ways to work with what we already know.
