The Touch

Furniture made with concrete encourages an approachable relationship to the industrial materials found in urban centres; goods that have an immediate purpose and with which we form intimate relationships facilitate dialogue with the city around us. Our intimacy with domestic goods contributes to our sphere of security, that is, an environment where we are willing to rest and be vulnerable. When domestic goods utilize industrial materials they enter our sphere of security consequently enabling residents of urban centres to take ownership of and pleasure in their urban surroundings. 

Concrete is integral to the construction of cities; our relationship with the material is limited by the scale that it is often used.  Smaller scale, domestic use of concrete creates a different relationship with a material.

The strength of concrete is reflected in the monolithic forms and structures it is commonly found in: straight lines, thick massing, and smooth textures.  This rigid structure is contrasted by people: soft, expressive, and unexpected.  

The Touch is a visualization of the connection between people and concrete.  The soft organic shape touches the concrete with just the tip of the surface. We should reach out and touch what is around us to develop a better connection with the underappreciated features in our lives.  By touching these features, we can build better connections with one another.  The Touch is a totem of urban construction and an authentic representation of a civilization united in the creation of a city. The concrete base of The Touch mirrors the concrete foundation of our urban skylines.  Contrasting this is a form that is cast from resin and finished to a mirror polish; organic, yet refined.  The concrete is polished to a terrazzo appearance, displaying the inner beauty of the material.

The Touch encourages users to view their surroundings in a different way by contrasting materials and the users’ expectations of them.

Design engages and contributes to the development of the user’s identity. The Touch represents the very heart of the urban landscape from which it is formed. By bringing The Touch into their sphere of security users develop an intimacy with their urban environment which, in turn, propels a sense of ownership and a vested interest in the health of their city.