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Furniture by Benjamin Hubert for De La Espada

Furniture by Benjamin Hubert for De La Espada

London Design Festival 2011: here are some photos of a collection of furniture and lighting by industrial designer Benjamin Hubert for Portuguese brand De La Espada, presented at the Tramshed during the London Design Festival

Furniture by Benjamin Hubert for De La Espada

The project involved working with with hand-turned marble, granite and leather craftsmen from the car industry.

Furniture by Benjamin Hubert for De La Espada

Pieces include a pedestal dining table that's weighed down by granite balls in a steel cage, a lounge chair with a seat woven from strips of leather and a dining chair with a leather seat strapped over its ash frame.

Furniture by Benjamin Hubert for De La Espada

The Quarry lamps were each carved from a solid block of marble and retain the tool marks inside the cavity.

Furniture by Benjamin Hubert for De La Espada

Since founding his studio in 2007, Hubert has designed pieces for brands including Casamania, Zero, Örsjö Belysning, Viaduct, Decode, De Vorm, Heals, Blå Station and more, but this is the first time he's been invited to design a complete collection.

Furniture by Benjamin Hubert for De La Espada

See all our stories about Benjamin Hubert here and watch interviews we filmed with him in Milan and in Cologne on Dezeen Screen.

Furniture by Benjamin Hubert for De La Espada

Tramshed was part of Shoreditch Design Triangle.

Furniture by Benjamin Hubert for De La Espada

See all our stories about the London Design Festival here.

Furniture by Benjamin Hubert for De La Espada

Here's some more information from Benjamin Hubert:


Benjamin Hubert x De La Espada

The collaboration between Benjamin Hubert and De La Espada presented the opportunity to develop a range of interior products utilising the skills and knowledge of artisan craftsmen, affording fewer compromises than more industrialised projects.

Furniture by Benjamin Hubert for De La Espada

This allowed for greater exploration in the handmade and manipulation of natural materials with greater emphasis on quality.

Furniture by Benjamin Hubert for De La Espada

The result is a range of crafted products with an industrial aesthetic, made utilising tactile materials where the hand of the maker can still be seen and valued.

Furniture by Benjamin Hubert for De La Espada

This is  embodied in hand-turned marble with the organic marks of the cutting tool clearly visible, woven automotive leather with hand-stitching and overt timber joinery detailing.

Furniture by Benjamin Hubert for De La Espada

The range has an industrial, minimal language with a playful look at functionality, honest construction and engaging materiality.

Furniture by Benjamin Hubert for De La Espada

Above: Cargo. Perforated automotive leather, ash, steel fixings. A leather panelled dining/occasional chair. Hand-crafted self-supporting leather panels attach to a light Ash timber frame with mechanical fixing. Cargo is inspired by the automotive industry’s use of leather, specifically in convertible soft tops with pronounced fixing details and tailored panels.

Furniture by Benjamin Hubert for De La Espada

Above and below: Quarry. Marble, acrylic, LED. Hand-turned, thin-walled marble pendant lights with roughly finished interior, to add texture and describe the story of stone production.

Furniture by Benjamin Hubert for De La Espada

Quarry utilises the marble’s translucent properties to diffuse the light and reveal its veining.

Benjamin Hubert

The traditional material is offset by the use of an LED, which allows the large hand-turned internal cavity to remain open and uncluttered.

Furniture by Benjamin Hubert for De La Espada

The interior surface is reminiscent of the first cut by renaissance sculptors to rough out a form.

Furniture by Benjamin Hubert for De La Espada

AKFD manage the factories the lamps are produced in, ensuring fair working terms, and actively pushes for safer working conditions.

Below: Perforated automotive leather, steel. A hand-woven leather lounge chair with stitched automotive leather and a leather-wrapped steel frame

Furniture by Benjamin Hubert for De La Espada

This large lounge chair is inspired by the small ‘coracle’ boats traditionally used in Wales since the Bronze Age, with its woven construction used to support the user.

Furniture by Benjamin Hubert for De La Espada

The crafted ‘tri weave’ is complemented by a leather wrapped steel frame with industrial reference points found in bike handles, creating a tactile touch point for the chair.

Furniture by Benjamin Hubert for De La Espada

Below: Gabion. Ash, powder-coated steel, granite. A pedestal dining table with a metal cage base containing the ballast that creates the structures stability.

Furniture by Benjamin Hubert for De La Espada

Subverting the idea of traditionally hiding ballast in pedestal tables, most commonly sandbags, the dining table utilises an overt granite ballast as its focal point within a steel frame with ash surface.

Furniture by Benjamin Hubert for De La Espada

Below: Silo. Granite, Ash. Turned Portuguese granite storage/side table for magazines, soft goods etc finished with an ash surface.

Furniture by Benjamin Hubert for De La Espada

Inspired by grain storage devices with its crafted stone aesthetic, the Silo tables utilise the space normally reserved for a solid base or table legs, as storage. The tables’ focal point is created by a graphic interpretation of a traditional grip feature cut into the timber surface.