Hoop Shell Module: Innovation in Furniture
BroomeJenkins’ Director Barry Jenkins has published an illustrated essay which considers innovation in furniture design through three highly influential ideas that have shaped the way we make furniture today: hoop, shell and module.
It is often assumed that ‘innovation’ means an extreme level of technological advance but innovation is rarely defined by grand gestures and big leaps and is generally the result of small, significant evolutionary steps.
Innovation in furniture design could be exclusively represented through the design of chairs. So to provide a broader context in terms of execution and application, three influential ideas have been identified: Hoop, Shell and Module.
Within his essay Barry discusses Thonet’s innovation in bending wood at the start of the Hoop innovation and considers Alva Aalto’s impact on Shell innovation before addressing modularisation and a systemised approach to storage in Module.
If you are interested in reading this essay please email alys@broomejenkins.com
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