Dezeen Magazine

Khora collection by Adrian Cheng and Shigeru Uchida

Shigeru Uchida's last work to be shown at Milan design week

Japanese designer Shigeru Uchida's final work is the Khora furniture collection, created in collaboration with Chinese designer Adrian Cheng and featuring patterns made using traditional joinery.

Comprising five pieces, which will be shown during Milan design week, the series is said to be the last Uchida worked on before his death last year at the age of 73.

Khora collection by Adrian Cheng and Shigeru Uchida
Photo by Tim Wong

Partly inspired by Japan's scenery, the Khora collection features seats and tables attached to complex woven or gridded wooden screens that cast patterned shadows.

Japanese craftsman Chuzo Tozawa made the pieces using bamboo and chestnut wood – chosen for its wood grain. The table also features washi paper and Japanese lacquer.

In his lifetime, Uchida worked on everything from tea room and shop interiors to furniture and lighting, and was often noted for his minimal approach.

He created boutiques for fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto, designed the Kobe Fashion Museum, and his work is included in collections at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art and Hong Kong's M+ Museum.

The Khora series marks Uchida's first design collaboration. His studio, Uchida Design Inc, continues without him, and is co-presenting the collection in Milan.

"With this collection we are illustrating the power and role of furniture, and the essence of Asian sensibilities, particularly in the simple act of sitting down," said Cheng, who is also an entrepreneur and founder of China's K11 "art mall", as well as the K11 Art Foundation.

Khora collection by Adrian Cheng and Shigeru Uchida

The furniture will be shown at the Wander From Within exhibition, which will bring together design concepts and prototypes including one of Uchida's tea rooms – a cube wrapped in web-like strips of wood – where he and Cheng held their last design meeting.

Khora collection by Adrian Cheng and Shigeru Uchida

Haikus will accompany images to tell the story of the collaboration, and on the exhibition's opening night, Tozawa will be demonstrating Japanese craft techniques.

The Wander from Within exhibition will take place from 4 to 8 April, a Villa Necchi Campiglio in Milan. Other exhibitions taking place during Milan design week include a showcase of work by young Norwegian designers and a "blossoming sculpture" installation created by Studio Swine for COS.

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Khora collection by Adrian Cheng and Shigeru Uchida
Khora collection by Adrian Cheng and Shigeru Uchida