I found myself searching for truth in plastic, like the rings in wood reveal its age. By designing process-first, Dirk van der Kooij crafts furniture according to the will of unlikely materials. The resultant collection grows slowly, in step with machine and material discovery. In a 1920’s ex-military warehouse, a specialized team of craftspeople oversee the production of Kooij’s limited, intentional collection of forever furniture—objects designed to sustain generations of use. Maintaining a delicate union of machine and craft, the studio is able to re-imagine over 30T of waste plastic each year.
A decade since Dirk’s first forays into plastic recycling, the collection represents ongoing investigations into value perception, texture, and material integrity. Select pieces have joined the permanent collections of the Stedelijk Museum, MoMA New York, Centre Pompidou, and the Design Museum, London. |