The Atelier
Historically, artists and architects have been closely involved in the making of their pieces and projects and Areti sees itself in this tradition of designing as well as creating the material work.
The aesthetic and the physical quality of a design object are two sides of the same coin.
A beautiful idea, sketch or photorealistic render speaks to the aesthetic quality of the object.
The aesthetic quality relates to how beautiful, meaningful or innovative a design is.
It is entirely possible however, that the material execution of a beautiful idea is done on a level inferior to that of the design.
A beautiful design that is executed in an average manner, cannot be an excellent design object.
It might be an excellent design idea, but it is not itself an excellent design object.
The material execution must be on a very high level to honor the beauty of the design itself.
For this reason, a designer cannot but be intensely involved in the fabrication process.
It has taken us many years to establish our own atelier. It has been the most difficult experience because matter behaves in an infinite number of unexpected ways.
We now have an atelier with a dedicated, experienced and innovative team, who have managed to give material life to our designs, often even beyond our hopes and imagination.
When the material execution brings an additional depth to the design, and is able to elevate the design, the material object has reached its full maturity.
We aim for this in every object. The quality of the pieces produced in our atelier is exceptional.
We are consistently revising existing models to further refine details. New manufacturing methods developed for new designs are integrated into the manufacturing of existing models.
Images do some justice, but seeing the pieces in person, feeling the weight, solidity, and refined surfaces allows for a full appreciation of the exceptional craftsmanship and engineering.
Below we share some images and insights.
Example: Harlequin Desk Light
Below we share some steps in the production of the Harlequin Desk Light shown at the top of this page.
Once the design has been determined in terms of proportions and materials, construction drawings are made which try to remain true to the original design concept. The drawings are precise and reflect the production process in detail.
Often before making the light itself, custom tools need to be made, to make parts of the light. In this case metal tools were necessary to correctly position the solid aluminium blocks on the rack of the milling and turning machines. In this case, 3 tools had to be made to precicely manufacture the two main cones.
Once the two blocks have been sawn off a larger piece, they will be mounted on the milling and turning machines. The blocks have to be worked from different sides, and thus need to be repositioned.
One of the blocks is place on the custom tool and worked on. The pieces are worked on with a precision of less than 1/10 of a mm. Angles and dimensions need to be extermely precise, or the various pieces will not fit together perfectly.
After the cone shape has been finished, further details are machined into the cone. These allow for the passage of cables and precise mechanical attachments.
The images below show the two finished cones. To arrive at this, the cones had to be mounted and repositioned several times in 3 different machines.
The two cones have been attached such that from the outside nothing is visible. The two cones seem to connect at a single line.
On the exterior, the two platonic solids of the cone remain perfect. From all sides the two solids seem to attach in just one line seamlessly. All connections are precise, the tip of each cone aligns perfectly with the base of the other cone. All horizontal lines are exactly level. The globe is precicely centered and sits without visible joint on the base of the upside down cone.
After all parts have been made, a test assembly is made to check that everything fits perfectly. Then the light is taken apart, and each part is finished. The metal parts are brushed, sanded, cleaned, coated in primers and the final lacquer. After all parts are finished, the light is assembled. Electrial components such as lampholders, cables, switches, dimmers etc. are mounted.
After this the light undergoes safety tests and is then prepared for packaging and shipping.
The above shows a simplified version of manufacturing this desk light. Many interim steps required to achive this result were not shown to keep the length acceptable on this page.