lazzoni + rit
Metaproject 13 participants will have their designs showcased as part of the 2023 New York City Design Week.
The designs were first displayed at Madison showroom in celebration of the success of the project.
A High-End Collaboration
RIT students created innovative seating solutions in partnership with Lazzoni, merging Vignelli principles with their unique design approaches. Metaproject 13 started in Fall 2022 and concluded in 2023 with 13 designs by students. As a first in project's history, all design are set to be prototyped by Lazzoni.
Lella & Massimo Vignelli
Vignelli Center for Design Studies | RIT
Collaborating with the best of the industry, Lazzoni partnered up with Josh Owen, professor of industrial design at The Rochester Institute of Technology for Metaproject 13 to be a part of the annual project that represents the values of the Vignelli legacy.
Josh Owen
Selected by Lazzoni
Shell Chair was selected as the winner of the class by Lazzoni. Dylan Malone describes the process as such; “Furniture is my favorite part of design. It’s the intersection between something super functional but also you need to take into account the aesthetics. To me, it’s the perfect balance of where design meets art.”
Dylan Malone
Shell Chair
Transforms from a sleek armchair into a relaxing lounge with just a pull. The tri-tone upholstery gives near infinite customization for any modern home or office. The design language is expandable to a wide range of related products such as loveseats and sectionals.
Rebecca Harris
Arc
Arc is an interactive seating device designed for and not to constrain the body. Using Vignelli design sensibilities and Lazzoni's established brand language, this is a seat for the home that allows for lounging, focused work, and everything in between.
Ruth Shin
Havadan Sudan
"Submerged in a crowd
Am I you or am I me?
Who am I to thee?”
The Havadan Sudan seating object defies typical seating classifications and cultivates a micro-climate of shared consciousness for its participants who are challenged to sit in, on and with its physical structure.
Brynna Justice
Tas
Tas is seating that holds space for the user and encourages conversation in comfort within the vessel. Tas has the ability to be modular and custom for large scale contract work, while also developing an open and comfortable environment for every user and every activity.
"Hagia Sophia" by Danny Harig
The modular Hagia Sophia Seating System brings endless combinations of seating solutions into a living space. Inspired by Turkish architecture and tempered by the Vignellis’ restrained approach, it is a home of relaxation and conversation.
"Temel" by Rebecca Arens
Emerging from the ground, this sofa brings the user down to their roots. The sofa comfortably sits two lovers together. The curvilinear form is soft and welcomes you to sink in and relax.
"Moon Chair" by Will Davis
The “Moon Chair” is a chair and ottoman combination that takes inspiration from the crescent moon pictured on the Turkish flag to create an affordance for the placement of a circular ottoman. The circle shape of the ottoman nests into the crescent shape of the chair allowing the pieces to work harmoniously.
"The Honeycomb" by Max von Bartheld
The Honeycomb Collection is a basic geometric shape elevated to incorporate design and comfort. Inspired by nature and the vast honey culture of the Turkish people and the Laz tribe.
"Enjoy Chair" by Linying Xu
The Enjoy Chair intends to create a space for relaxation and a place for small items which often get lost. TV remote, phones, and other items fit neatly into the storage slots in the chair arm. Combining functions leads to users’ enjoyable seating experience without concerns and disturbances.
"The Stage Lounge" by Emma Yee
The Stage Lounge is a place that supports togetherness or separation, collaboration or solitude, work, rest, or even play. The movable, weighted cushions all for an easy shift from one scene to another.
"Hafıza" by Matt Hotaling
The Hafıza is a minimal but elegant barstool for the home. Inspired by the Laz typography, hafıza means memory in Turkish, a perfect name for remembering and creating new memories.
"Hareket" by Clare Maxwell
The Hareket seating system utilizes inventive typology through simple geometry and encourages rearrangement to promote various social interactions. The simplicity of the form of the leaves its use to interpretation instead of dictating how it should be sat on.
"Şebeke" by Joey Ruan
The Şebeke is a gridded system of tufted modules that can be easily reconfigured from an armless chair to a sofa. With a back that can fold down in two orientations, one can create varying seat depths/widths, armrests, and surfaces, with its modularity offering endless possibilities.
