Industrial rawness and limitations define both the Rohling chair and its identity by Ten Letters

“The Type 1’s construction is left entirely exposed,” Neven Cvijanovic, Founder & Creative Director at Ten Letters, tells us, describing the 100% aluminium chair, designed by Studio Gil Russ and Brian Chen and crafted by Rohling. “Its structural transparency is the result of a careful study of chair construction using nothing but standard components.” Ironically, he adds, this combination of screws, nuts, and bolts allows for a surprising degree of structural flexibility – “resulting in an unexpectedly comfortable seating experience.” Produced by the Berlin-based furniture maker in an edition of 100 pieces, the chair’s unique construction exemplifies a growing trend toward transparent design processes in contemporary furniture. Like many pieces in this genre, the dogmatic focus on a singular conceptual starting point gives architect-designed chairs their unique character. This same principle guided Ten Letters in designing its visual identity. “We found the idea of these limitations and use of basic, utilitarian materials in this new context very exciting and adopted this exercise in restraint to our design process,” Cvijanovic tells us, where the team delved into “pragmatic” design examples. “The small markings on a car windshield, warehouse inventory labels, industrial elevator interfaces, the typography on the bottom of a thermos, or the silver sticker on a power tool battery,” he lists. “Often overlooked, we found these elements have a quiet, pragmatic beauty.”