Dezeen Magazine

AC/AL Studio creates martial arts-inspired table and chair set for Petite Friture

Paris-based design firm AC/AL Studio has created a table and chair set for Petite Friture with forms influenced by the practice of martial arts.

Comprising a chair, arm chair and a dining table, the Dojo series is part of French design brand Petite Friture's 2018 collection.

"Dojo, the result of two years of work, is characterised by a rigorous outline," said the designers. "In reference to the Dōjō, a place dedicated to the study of meditation and the learning of martial arts, this collection emerged from a search for essence, and harmoniously unites structural tensions and the fluidity of the lines."

Described by Petite Friture as "refined, elegant and fluid", the Dojo chairs are characterised by their curvilinear silhouettes that recall the form of classic bentwood chairs. While the legs and seats are made from beech, the chair backs are made from steel.

Similarly, the Dojo table features a top made from beech, while the legs are beech at the bottom and steel at the top.

The designers deliberately chose two contrasting materials, explaining that the "combination of materials participates in the fluidness of the curves".

Founded in 2013, AC/AL Studio was set up by ENSCI-Les Ateliers graduates Amandine Chhor and Aïssa Logerot. Both designers spent five years working in architecture before establishing their own studio, with the aim of creating objects that balance function and form.

The Dojo collection marks the design studio's third collaboration with Petite Friture.

Launching at this month's IMM Cologne and Maison&Objet fairs, the new designs will be presented under Petite Friture's 2018 Villégiature PF theme – a concept that runs through the brand's booth design, styled photography, and marketing material.

Meaning "resort" in French, Villégiature PF is an imaginary holiday home depicted by French illustrator Lisa Laubreaux.

Laubreaux's sketches, which depict figures dancing at a late summer bank holiday street party, building sandcastles by the seaside, and having a picnic on the lawn, are collaged together with photography of the new products.

"The reason why we chose Lisa Laubreaux to sketch these happy, familiar scenes that capture the spirit of holidays, is because her humorous stroke makes one smile," said the brand. "Lisa's drawing style was an instant match with our approach to the story of Villégiature PF."

"Petite Friture has placed its new collection within typical holiday scenes sketched by illustrator Laubreaux; each is designed with the invitation to jump into the drawing and reminisce on those familiar moments we've all experienced or encountered at one point in our lives," it continued. "This will be replicated in the booth design at IMM Cologne and Maison&Objet."

Also launching as part of the 2018 collection are Spanish designer Max Enrich's Thin nesting coffee tables that contrast simple, geometric panels with bulky, tubular legs.

The new Villégiature PF collection follows the brand's 2017 collections, which were grouped under the theme of Villa PF – an imaginary villa created by artist Ana Montiel where Petite Friture's designers became the residents.

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