In the world of design, furniture ranks fairly high among objects that define one’s individuality and sense of space. Our featured furniture designers have made a wide array of contributions to the global design landscape, adapting disciplines from different schools of design to showcase the sheer power furniture has on our perception of our surroundings.

Lujaine Rezk’s contribution to Amman Design Week 2017 is meant to provide a space for conversation and communal engagement, which she believes are lacking in modern society. Born out of her residency in the Tanween program by Tashkeel in the UAE, her display, titled “Mirkaz,” is composed of three central pieces: a stool, a small table and chair, all of which are potent symbols of what Lujaine describes as a “rupture between people and places in an urban setting".

Jafar Dajani’s series, “The Occasional Cube Table,” explores the motion and rotation of squares and rectangles around a three-dimensional object, in a manner reminiscent of the De Stijl movement. The layers are positioned so that each aspect co-exists, but maintains independence, contrasting the textures between the different natural materials – wood, marble and brass.  

Inspired by natural shapes of the Wadi Rum desert in Jordan, Hanna Salameh created FLO DESK using digital modeling software that merges art and design. The optical illusion created by the layering of organic shapes also features hidden sockets and drawers that clears the surface of any clutter. ‘FLO Desk’ is the second of Hanna’s 3D printing and digital fabrication line, FLO, the first of which was displayed at Amman Design Week 2016’s MakerSpace exhibition.

Naim Snobar’s piece, dubbed “The Alveolar Table,” is a feat of engineering, design and contemporary craftsmanship, exploring dynamic organic forms. The table abstracts dynamic organic forms into simplified geometric shapes for ease of production using mathematical and geometrical methods. The shapes were machine cut out of steel sheets, then bent, welded, painted, and finished. The Alveolar table serves as an iconic realization of that concept on that scale, paving the way for an exploration into its applications in buildings, towers, and even on an urban landscape.

SULi&NAi DESIGN & CRAFT, founded by two brothers; Suliman and Nabil Innab who came together to create “C Chair & Trio Light” to be exhibited at Amman Design Week 2017. Suliman is an architect, creative director and award-winning designer who has participated in many local and international exhibitions, while Nabil is civil engineer who has had a longstanding fascination with all structural forms in nature.

The chair structure is made up of three elements; the arch running front to back along the centerline of the chair, supported by the frame which comprises the legs and a cross element, and the back support which is supported on the arch. Using the steam bending technique to create their chair allowed the wood to dictate the process of creation through its strength and weakness. A key feature of this chair’s design is the mechanical connection of the armrest with front legs and the back supports, which adds to the comfort of the chair. The same technique was used to design a trio stand light formed from bending three elements of solid wood in different directions to create a sculptural floor lamp.

Hala Younes's piece, 'TABLIYÈ' is a reinvention of the old traditional Middle-Eastern tabliyeh – a low wooden table that was used for sharing meals and still holds a profound sentimental value within the Middle-Eastern communities. Sponsored by Art Media, the piece can be used both as a coffee table and a dining table for the purpose of space optimization. It is designed with a parametric pattern on two of the three rotating multi-level surfaces. The patterns are inspired by Middle-Eastern geometric shapes and Arabesque traditions.

Aisha Hamdan’s first piece, 'The Rocking Hammock', explores the concept of floating and weightlessness. The structure uses three points instead of the two commonly used by a hammock, utilizing minimal engineering that keeps the head of the chair cantilevered while using rope as a material for the body to soften the harshness of the steel frame. 

Her second piece, 'Haven Lounge Chair', evolved from the rocking hammock chair; the concept has developed into a more elegant and soothing lounge chair, yet retains the same spirit of the rocking hammock, emphasizing the concept of floating on the body of the chair which looks suspended from the steel frame, using wood as the body of the chair.