Herzog & de Meuron creates reading spaces with own furniture at Tokyo art centre

Architecture studio Herzog & de Meuron showcased stools that sit at the "crossroad between analogue and digital", as well as floor lamps and books at the SKWAT art centre for design event Capsule Plaza Tokyo.

For the event, SKWAT showed the Capsule Plaza Tokyo exhibition within book distributor Twelvebooks' shoppable warehouse.

Herzog & de Meuron aimed for visitors to sit and immerse themselves in the studio's work.

Wooden stools inside Tokyo art centre — Above: the stools are nestled among scaffold-style bookshelves. Main image: the exhibition was shown at SKWAT

Visitors to the space could take a seat on the studio's wooden X-Rocker stool and its X-Hocker stool, shown in a bright blue hue called Kreta, and look through its monographs.

"The concept was to create a series of intimate spaces within a scaffold bookshelf system, placing our stools, lamps and books to create six reading niches," Herzog & de Meuron told Dezeen.

"Here, our furniture and lighting pieces meet our complete six-volume monographs titled Herzog & de Meuron: The Complete Works."

X-Hocker chair in Kreta blue — The X-Hocker stool and Pipe lamp were displayed with Herzog & de Meuron books

The nooks in which the stools sit, beneath a scaffold bookshelf system, were illuminated by the Pipe and Unterlinden floor lamps that Herzog & de Meuron created together with lighting manufacturer Artemide.

"The stools can be sat on or used as a side table and exist as a sculptural object when not in use, which we like in the context of this dual setting of bookshop and design exhibition," the studio said.

"We chose two floor lamps, the Pipe and the Unterlinden, because they create adjustable but precise cones of light that pool beautifully, illuminating the stools and monographs."

Colourful stools and books in Tokyo art space — Bright blue and wooden stools alternate in the space

The exhibition, which took place as part of Italian design platform Capsule Plaza's first Tokyo edition, marked the first time that Herzog & de Meuron had shown the X-Rocker and X-Hocker Kreta in Japan.

The X-Hocker is assembled from four CNC-cut wooden legs that interlock and cross at a central knot, while the X-Rocker was informed by gym balls and designed to create movement and balance for the body.

According to the studio, the design of the wooden stools has a connection to Japanese craftsmanship that makes them especially suitable for the Capsule Plaza Tokyo exhibition.

"Japanese woodworking is highly respected worldwide, particularly for its emphasis on simplicity, minimalist, clean geometries and intricate joinery without the use of nails or screws," Herzog & de Meuron said.

"It is this Asian approach of bringing wood together that inspires us," it added. "These stools are a crossroad between analogue and digital, using CNC milling processes to create pure interlocking joints that appear simple but are in fact complex."

Wooden stool and black lamp — The black Unterlinden light illuminates the wooden X-Rocker stools

Capsule Plaza Tokyo took place during the city's Designart Tokyo design week, which showed a wide variety of projects, including a pair of speakers made from space rocket fuel tanks.

The photography is courtesy of Capsule Plaza Tokyo.

Capsule Plaza Tokyo took place across Tokyo from 30 October to 9 November during Designart Tokyo. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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