Ipe conciously calls back to an object that has earned a place in the history of great design: Enzo Mari’s Putrella, or “Beam”. The origins of Mari’s project lie in its eponymous architectural element, whose form Putrella then transformed into something with a new function; in a similar manner, Ipe morphs a different kind of beam into a stool and a bench. Nichetto’s idea of working with the shape of a slightly curved beam was solidified by a trip he took to Japan, where beams like this are used in the portals of ancient temples. Decontextualizing the concepts of Mari’s Putrella and the Japanese curved lintel, Nichetto reworks these to create a new stool archetype that is hand-made by artisans in lacquered wood. Like a valuable gem displayed in a setting, some of Ipe’s surface has been cut away in order to spotlight the preciousness of its material.

-Via Notcot