#okisato

Bell-orgel Hanging Bell, Oki Sato, 2011, Art Institute of Chicago: Architecture and Design

Nendo, a design firm based in Tokyo and Milan, designed this series of Bell-orgel music boxes for the Japanese department store Isetan. This set includes three forms that all adhere to the traditional shape of the bell: a hand bell, a standing bell, and a hanging bell. In each design, the bell shape functions as the switch to turn on the music box, a reference to the traditional function of the bell. Created in conjunction with the composer Ryuichi Sakamoto’s organization More Trees, a global initiative to plant more trees as a natural source of carbon dioxide filtering, the wooden music boxes are made of sustainably harvested Japanese cypress. For this project, 57 designers were enlisted to decorate the bells, with a portion of the proceeds directed to More Trees. The unadorned version, as seen here, highlights the tactile aesthetic inherent in the wood while reflecting the aim to promote sustainably harvested wood. Gift of Nendo Size: 15 × 9 × 9 cm (5 15/16 × 3 9/16 × 3 9/16 in.) Medium: Japanese cypress (hinoki) and music box mechanism

Bell-orgel Hand Bell, Oki Sato, 2011, Art Institute of Chicago: Architecture and Design

Nendo, a design firm based in Tokyo and Milan, designed this series of Bell-orgel music boxes for the Japanese department store Isetan. This set includes three forms that all adhere to the traditional shape of the bell: a hand bell, a standing bell, and a hanging bell. In each design, the bell shape functions as the switch to turn on the music box, a reference to the traditional function of the bell. Created in conjunction with the composer Ryuichi Sakamoto’s organization More Trees, a global initiative to plant more trees as a natural source of carbon dioxide filtering, the wooden music boxes are made of sustainably harvested Japanese cypress. For this project, 57 designers were enlisted to decorate the bells, with a portion of the proceeds directed to More Trees. The unadorned version, as seen here, highlights the tactile aesthetic inherent in the wood while reflecting the aim to promote sustainably harvested wood. Gift of Nendo Size: 20 × 9 × 9 cm (7 7/8 × 3 9/16 × 3 9/16 in.) Medium: Japanese cypress (hinoki) and music box mechanism

Cabbage Chair, Oki Sato, 2008, Art Institute of Chicago: Architecture and Design

Oki Sato created Cabbage Chair in response to Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake’s request that he design a furniture piece out of the pleated paper produced in mass quantities during the process of making pleated fabric and usually abandoned as an unwanted by-product. Finding a new use for this waste material, Sato, with his design company, Nendo, transformed a roll of pleated paper into a small chair that appears naturally when peeled back one layer at a time. This simple design exploits the inherent qualities of the medium; resins added during the paper production process add strength and memory to the forms, and the pleats themselves give the chair elasticity and resilience. Sato’s design also incorporates the user in the design process; the chair is shipped as one compact roll for the user to cut open and peel back. Funds provided by the Architecture & Design Society Size: 74 × 84 × 84 cm (29 × 33 × 33 in.) Medium: Pleated paper

Bell-orgel Hand Bell, Oki Sato, 2011, Art Institute of Chicago: Architecture and Design

Nendo, a design firm based in Tokyo and Milan, designed this series of Bell-orgel music boxes for the Japanese department store Isetan. This set includes three forms that all adhere to the traditional shape of the bell: a hand bell, a standing bell, and a hanging bell. In each design, the bell shape functions as the switch to turn on the music box, a reference to the traditional function of the bell. Created in conjunction with the composer Ryuichi Sakamoto’s organization More Trees, a global initiative to plant more trees as a natural source of carbon dioxide filtering, the wooden music boxes are made of sustainably harvested Japanese cypress. For this project, 57 designers were enlisted to decorate the bells, with a portion of the proceeds directed to More Trees. The unadorned version, as seen here, highlights the tactile aesthetic inherent in the wood while reflecting the aim to promote sustainably harvested wood. Gift of Nendo Size: 20 × 9 × 9 cm (7 7/8 × 3 9/16 × 3 9/16 in.) Medium: Japanese cypress (hinoki) and music box mechanism

Bell-orgel Hanging Bell, Oki Sato, 2011, Art Institute of Chicago: Architecture and Design

Nendo, a design firm based in Tokyo and Milan, designed this series of Bell-orgel music boxes for the Japanese department store Isetan. This set includes three forms that all adhere to the traditional shape of the bell: a hand bell, a standing bell, and a hanging bell. In each design, the bell shape functions as the switch to turn on the music box, a reference to the traditional function of the bell. Created in conjunction with the composer Ryuichi Sakamoto’s organization More Trees, a global initiative to plant more trees as a natural source of carbon dioxide filtering, the wooden music boxes are made of sustainably harvested Japanese cypress. For this project, 57 designers were enlisted to decorate the bells, with a portion of the proceeds directed to More Trees. The unadorned version, as seen here, highlights the tactile aesthetic inherent in the wood while reflecting the aim to promote sustainably harvested wood. Gift of Nendo Size: 15 × 9 × 9 cm (5 15/16 × 3 9/16 × 3 9/16 in.) Medium: Japanese cypress (hinoki) and music box mechanism

Cabbage Chair, Oki Sato, 2008, Art Institute of Chicago: Architecture and Design

Oki Sato created Cabbage Chair in response to Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake’s request that he design a furniture piece out of the pleated paper produced in mass quantities during the process of making pleated fabric and usually abandoned as an unwanted by-product. Finding a new use for this waste material, Sato, with his design company, Nendo, transformed a roll of pleated paper into a small chair that appears naturally when peeled back one layer at a time. This simple design exploits the inherent qualities of the medium; resins added during the paper production process add strength and memory to the forms, and the pleats themselves give the chair elasticity and resilience. Sato’s design also incorporates the user in the design process; the chair is shipped as one compact roll for the user to cut open and peel back. Funds provided by the Architecture & Design Society Size: 74 × 84 × 84 cm (29 × 33 × 33 in.) Medium: Pleated paper

Bell-orgel Standing Bell, Oki Sato, 2011, Art Institute of Chicago: Architecture and Design

Nendo, a design firm based in Tokyo and Milan, designed this series of Bell-orgel music boxes for the Japanese department store Isetan. This set includes three forms that all adhere to the traditional shape of the bell: a hand bell, a standing bell, and a hanging bell. In each design, the bell shape functions as the switch to turn on the music box, a reference to the traditional function of the bell. Created in conjunction with the composer Ryuichi Sakamoto’s organization More Trees, a global initiative to plant more trees as a natural source of carbon dioxide filtering, the wooden music boxes are made of sustainably harvested Japanese cypress. For this project, 57 designers were enlisted to decorate the bells, with a portion of the proceeds directed to More Trees. The unadorned version, as seen here, highlights the tactile aesthetic inherent in the wood while reflecting the aim to promote sustainably harvested wood. Gift of Nendo Size: 18 × 9 × 9 cm (7 1/16 × 3 9/16 × 3 9/16 in.) Medium: Japanese cypress (hinoki) and music box mechanism