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Patkau Twist by Nienkamper

From the Audain Art Museum to the Temple of Light and the Polygon Gallery, an impressive number of Canada’s most striking new cultural and spiritual spaces bear the architectural signature of one firm: Vancouver’s Patkau Architects. This year, the acclaimed designers have turned their distinctive talents to a debut collection of contract furnishings, unveiling a trio of elegant wood seating solutions for industry leaders Nienkämper.

It’s signature Patkau. Informed by the designers’ own award-winning “Warming Huts” installation in Winnipeg, the Patkau Cocoon offers a singularly refined retreat for the modern workplace. Visually and acoustically insulated, the curved plywood and wood veneer cocoons elevate an organic form with a more deliberately sculpted, poetic presence.

Patkau Cocoon by Nienkamper

Nienkämper’s Patkau Bench is a more subtle evocation of the firm’s design philosophy. The two solid wood sections that comprise the bench are contoured to emphasize the natural beauty of wood variations while creating a comfortably sloped seating surface. Resting on stainless steel hairpin legs, the minimal but thoughtfully detailed bench is as well suited to galleries and cultural spaces as office lobbies.

The Patkau Twist Chair is a more playful, kinetic design. Fabricated using a patented process developed by Nienkämper specifically for the chair, two layers of birch plywood are “twisted” to form the complex curves that lend the shell of the Twist Chair its declarative shape and style. Like the Patkau Bench, the chair features slender steel hairpin legs, reinforcing a subtly energetic sense of lightness.

Initially slated to be debuted at NeoCon 2020, the Patkau designs are complemented by Nienkämper’s newly unveiled collection of functional and deftly understated workplace tables.

Comprising a compact media table and a larger conference worktop, the Cantilever series offers height-adjustable solutions that cater to the flexible – and fast-evolving – nature of modern offices. Supported by a secure base wrapped in stitched leather, the Cantilever series combine a quietly luxurious look with serious performance. The media and conference tables are engineered to support weights of 450 lbs. and 375 lbs. respectively, with the wire cables kept discretely out of sight.

Klaus Nienkamper portrait
Klaus Nienkämper: Confessions of a Chair Man
In 2008, on the occasion of his company’s 40th anniversary, Klaus Nienkämper reminisced about some – but by no means all – of the chairs he’s loved before. Read this archival interview never before available on our website.

Finally, the Metronome Trestle collection by Toronto-based designers Fig40 fosters a less formal collaborative space. Combining the strength of a metal frame with the inviting softness of a wood design, the standing-height tables are equally at home in boardrooms and break rooms. It’s understated, everyday office furniture imbued with more than a hint of high design.

More information about Patkau’s 2020 launches – also including new designs by busk + hertzog – is available via the PDF below:

Nienkämper 2020

This content was published by Azure on behalf of Nienkämper.

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Complementing Nienkämper’s striking NeoCon 2020 debuts, the acclaimed architects unveil a trio of masterfully refined designs.

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