Dezeen Magazine

Form Us With Love designs minimal Atal chairs to be affordable and stackable

Swedish design studio Form Us With Love has created a range of affordable, minimal chairs based on a single wooden shell for French furniture brand Alki.

Launching at Milan design week, the Atal collection is a series of five oak chairs designed to "go beyond aesthetics". Each one comprises the same A-shaped shell, but with a different set of attachments.

Each configuration offers a different type of comfort and is suited to a different purpose.

Atal chairs by Form Us With Love for Alki
The Atal chair comes in five configurations, each with the same A-shaped shell

For instance, the shell can be left as it is with no added elements for a simple dining chair, or it can be mounted on longer legs with a short backrest to better suit a breakfast bar.

Alternatively, the seat's shell can be made to tilt further backwards for a more relaxed seating posture, and a padded back and seat can be added to offer more comfort.

Atal chairs by Form Us With Love for Alki
All five chairs are designed to be stackable

"In the design of Atal, stripped down functionality is strategically unpacked: mobility, tactility, the need for differences in seating angle, and the urge to sit both concentrated upright and informally slouched are present," said Form Us With Love CEO Jonas Pettersson.

"We tried to be as rational as possible without losing the poetry, adding value in every sequence of this typological collection," added creative director John Löfgren.

Atal chairs by Form Us With Love for Alki
Elements added to the basic shell allows each chair to take on a different function

The Atal collection will be showcased at this year's Salone del Mobile, which takes place during Milan's annual design week from 9 to 14 April 2019.

The series aims to build on Alki's wood crafting expertise by bringing in a new perspective through the partnership with Form Us With Love.

"We wanted to see how we could stretch what was possible," said Ander Lizaso, creative director at Alki. "It was interesting, bringing a new perspective to Alki's strength in wood production."

"The challenge we proposed was to design a chair that was both affordable and stacking, and yet have the warmth and attention to detail our wood craftsman are renowned for," Lizaso added. "The Swedish studio shared their perspective that is both material and strategically driven."

In addition to a natural wood option, the chairs and their add-on elements are available in an array of pastel-hued colours including orange, green, blue and white.

"To put one chair across all surfaces may appear cohesive," said Peio Uhalde, CEO of Alki. "But actually, today you need to prevent things from becoming too homogeneous, instead, a diverse set of comforts are applied."

Atal chairs by Form Us With Love for Alki
The Atal collection will be showcased at Milan design week from 9 to 14 April 2019

"Today, architects are constantly looking to solve a diversity of spaces, without compromises, and it is evident that Atal speaks to a width of scenarios that need to be catered for," he added.

Form Us With Love also recently collaborated with acoustic products brand Baux and a team of scientists specialising in biomimicry to create a line of biodegradable acoustic panels made from a new paper-like, plant-based material.