PHILIPPE STARCK KITCHENS GAETANO PESCE DESIGNS DE MAJO LIGHTING FOCUS FIREPLACES ANDY CAO LANDSCAPING February - May 2012 8 885007 530086 SATHU RESIDENCES, BANGKOK SANDY ISLAND, SINGAPORE RIVERSHORES, FREMANTLE MARINELLA, HONG KONG ST MARY, KUALA LUMPUR ST MORITZ PENTHOUSES, JAKARTA SAIGON GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB
palace STYLE KENNETH COBONPUE by Dionne Bel The UNCONVENTIONAL CRAFTSMAN Modern furniture born from indigenous South-east Asian materials and motifs ABOVE Rapunzel, a plush easy armchair made from handcoiled upholstered foam curves supported by steel frames LEFT Cobonpue is primarily inspired by nature, as evident in his design of the Bloom chair, evocative of a giant leaf in the jungle 66 Palace
FROM LEFT The Rhythmic Wave dining table is made of hand-finished walnut and mahogany wood pieces gracefully attached together The Dragnet lounge chair comes in black and red versions I love natural materials because they have so much character. When you understand these materials, they do the work for you Kenneth Cobonpue grew up surrounded by craftsmen, artists and weavers. His mother was a renowned and innovative furniture maker and the family home on the island of Cebu in the Philippines housed her atelier. As a child, he accompanied her to trade fairs as far apart as Paris and Tokyo. Amid this creative atmosphere, it is little wonder that Cobonpue soon developed his own passion and talent for design. After studying industrial design at the Pratt Institute in New York, he worked in Italy and Germany before returning to Cebu in 1996 to run the factory when his father died. He recalls: Back then, every furniture factory in the Philippines was doing OEM [original equipment manufacturing producing goods to be retailed under the purchaser s brand name] for all the big American and European brands. No one was really making anything innovative. Cobonpue had other ideas. I wanted to make a difference in the world of design from our island. So I started to experiment with natural materials and simple structures and created a very skeletal and transparent look that was very new at that time. From this look, I developed the collections you know today and moved on to other methodologies and forms. His furniture pieces fit into environments from beach resorts to modern homes. He emphasises craftsmen s skills by using locally sourced, sustainable, natural materials and >> Palace 67
palace STYLE FROM TOP The Yoda easy chair provides back support through the natural tension of rattan The Croissant armchair is made of abaca rope tied by nylon wires over a hand-sculpted light steel frame This Manolo easy armchair is inspired by a lady s sandal and is spun from stained rattan vines bound with leather strips RIGHT With German designer Albrecht, Cobonpue designed the world s first biodegrable roadster, Phoenix, using renewable sources >> handmade production techniques to create sophisticated, contemporary designs. Materials include palms, sea grasses, bamboo, abaca, rattan and polyethylene fibre. Cobonpue says: I love natural materials because they have so much character. When you understand these materials, they do the work for you. I design things that can only be made with a high level of craftsmanship by hand. Because what I do is always fresh and new, we have to develop new production techniques, even to the point of sometimes inventing new materials. He has won numerous awards and his designs have been featured in several editions of the International Design Yearbook and have also appeared in films such as Ocean s Thirteen. Design is fascinating because I am inspired by everything. It s never predictable, he says. The Voyage Bed is shaped like a boat because he believes sleep is a temporary voyage to a world of dreams. The critically acclaimed Lolah was inspired by a crushed Coke can, and the Parchment table and wardrobe collection resembles stacks of paper. However, Cobonpue is inspired primarily by nature and man s affinity with it. The whimsical Bloom chair, composed of fine running stitches radiating from the seat s centre, is evocative of a giant leaf in a South-east Asian jungle. The Papillion lounge chair and ottoman, with its massive spokes of hand-woven nylon rope attached to the powder-coated steel frame, is shaped like a butterfly. His Pebble coffee tables, constructed from thin, veneered metal sheets, can be arranged like a series of stepping stones in a riverbed. The Dreamcatcher seat is named after the Native American craftwork believed to give its owner good dreams. The Yoda side chair and barstool uses the natural tension of rattan vines which grow out of it like tall field grass to provide good support for the back. On a different track, Cobonpue has created Phoenix, the world s first biodegradable roadster, in collaboration with German designer Albrecht. Both the exterior and interior have leaf-like forms. The 153-inch, lightweight car is made from bamboo, rattan, steel and nylon. The Phoenix challenges convention by sourcing renewable 68 Palace
Because what I do is always fresh and new, we have to develop new production techniques even to the point of sometimes inventing new materials FROM TOP For Cobonpue, even a crushed Coke can has aesthetic potential. It inspired the shape of his renowned Lolah chair The Ima bed is a sanctuary inspired by ancient Oriental temples materials from the earth and using a frame that is built by hand using very minimal tools and energy, says Cobonpue. The creation of an electric tuk-tuk or tricycle with another manufacturer is also in the pipeline. His work is not without its challenges. Availability of materials and costs involved are the main stumbling blocks. My designs usually involve new technology or material that s not fully out there yet. So we have to work with manufacturers to develop the material for us. That takes time from the first sample to the final test, he says. Cobonpue s first ever exclusive showroom, due to open this year, will allow the unconventional craftsman s designs to enjoy even greater recognition. Palace 69