With his family's workshop as his childhood playground, the industrial designer channels his knowledge of woodworking into his innovative designs
In the Glockenbach district in Munich, Germany, a tranquil forest path leads to the studio of industrial designer Stefan Diez. The former joinery has been transformed into a modern workspace; almost everything in it was built by Diez and his team, together with his father who’s a fourth-generation cabinetmaker.
Diez studied in Stuttgart and then worked in Konstantin Grcic’s studio before founding Diez Office in 2008. One of his earliest works, the 404 chair for Thonet, draws from the German brand’s century-long tradition of bentwood production, while creating a contemporary knot-like form. This was followed by the much-admired Houdini chair for E15; its unusual silhouette was inspired by techniques used in the construction of wooden gliders and aeroplanes.
The process by which the designer came to create these chairs sums up his way of working perfectly—by discovering the best way to work the material and enhancing it as much as possible.
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