DESIGN BY DOSHI LEVIEN, 2014
Uchiwa is a capacious armchair, taking its soft and open shape from the traditional Japanese hand fan. Generous and inviting, new and familiar at the same time, the armchair comes in two upholstered versions: in a softer quilted model for a more domestic environment and in moulded foam for a more demanding contract context. The base is available in water-based lacquered oak.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Capacious and inviting armchair, taking its soft and open shape from the traditional Japanese hand fan.
- Available in two versions, a soft quilted version, ideal for home use, and a moulded foam version suitable for more demanding contract contexts.
- The Uchiwa collection also include an ottoman.
- Variety of textiles, colours and base finishes.
- FSC™ certified.
- Suitable for a wide variety of private and public environments.
- Qualified for contract use
Construction
The wood base is composed of 4 cylindrical legs, 2 sidebars and 2 crossbars assembled with 2 wooden pins in each connection. The base is CNC milled to match the polypropylene shell. The moulded reinforced polypropylene shell is pre-attached to the frame using 4 machine screws and features a front moulded HR polyurethane foam part. For the quilted version, the moulded HR polyurethane foam is sectioned and glued in individual blocks to the shell. A wadding layer is glued to the foam block for extra volume. The front textile is pre-sown and clicked onto the shell.
Materials
- Shell: Reinforced polypropylene shell with moulded polyurethane foam.
- Quilted shell: Quilted shell with moulded HR polyurethane foam with a wadding layer for extra volume
- Base: Solid oak base.
Dimensions
- Uchiwa: Width: 87,2 cm x Depth: 88,4 cm x Height 106 cm. Seat Height: 40 cm. Seat Width: 49,5 cm.
- Uchiwa Quilted: Width: 87,2 cm x Depth: 88,4 cm x Height 106 cm. Seat Height: 40 cm. Seat Width: 49,5 cm.
- Uchiwa: Ottoman: 61 cm x Depth: 49 cm x Height 39 cm.
Colour & Finish
- Base: black water-based lacquered oak, water-based lacquered oak
- Fabroc & leather – see Hays Fabric overview.
About the designer
Doshi Levien is a London based design studio founded in 2000 by Nipa Doshi (b. 1971) and Jonathan Levien (b. 1972). Doshi grew up in India and studied at the National Institute of Design, while Jonathan, who is from Scotland, trained in fine cabinet making followed by industrial design. They met while studying at the Royal College of Art.
The designers have established a strong reputation for creating design that is both technically advanced and imbued with cultural resonance. They have been internationally acclaimed for their work and in 2008 were awarded the prestigious Future Legends of Design by the Cooper Hewitt National Museum of Design in New York.
Together, they bring to bear a complimentary set of skills to the projects they work on. Doshi is primarily concerned with visual culture, an aesthetic understanding of the world and the materiality of things, while Levien is more focused on industrial precision and technique. They have worked on projects for industry leading companies and institutions in the fields of furniture, fashion, homewares, technology and lighting. For HAY, they have created the Quilton Collection, Uchiwa and Dapper.
