The Norman Foster Foundation and Tecno have unveiled a groundbreaking new furniture system that promises to redefine the future of workplace and residential design. Named Cosmos, this innovative system is a testament to the power of collaboration, innovation, and a commitment to pushing the boundaries of what is possible in furniture design.
The Cosmos Table and Furniture System, an initiative of the Design and Innovation Unit of the Norman Foster Foundation, has been created with the ambition of exploring the intersection of aeronautical engineering and material innovation in furniture and product design.
Cosmos is a modular furniture system that opens up to endless connections and layouts: single desks, meeting tables, shared workstations and equipped bookcases, all freely configurable and combinable with one another while offering the possibility of including wiring, screens, extensions and lighting.
The design feature is the use of the least amount of material possible. For this purpose, an innovative structural concept has been developed: a slender, iconic and elegant solution accommodating all the needs of cross-functional environments which require a fluid use of the space. From a single and domestic table to a system of solutions including shelving units, the design enhances the system’s utility and adaptability across different environments and uses – from the workplace to executive areas, from universities and libraries to hotels.
Cosmos is: Experimental. The inspiration to stretch the structural potential of metals and composites was the slender profile of road racing bicycle frames and the attenuated forms of high performance sailplanes. Through a process of 3D modelling, structural software and 5-Axis CNC machining, the system has been refined in recyclable aluminium to reach maximum slenderness, load bearing capacity and lightness.
Cosmos is: Slender. The aesthetic of Cosmos grows out of the outstanding strength of the spine with its cluster of four ellipses that branch, like a tree into the legs and top supports. Following the maxim of ‘doing more with less’ the system is typified by the minimum number of components; each one of which is homed to its most slender profile.
Cosmos is: Modular. Cosmos is a family of interchangeable components. These allow the spine to grow and double up, providing an instinctive range of variations. At the small scale the table is ideal for domestic or executive spaces, with its wider range of elements, which are easily added or removed. The system can be tuned for large scale installations in the workplace – from office and studios to high industry.
Norman Foster, President of Norman Foster Foundation, Founder and Executive Chairman of Foster + Partners, stated: ‘Cosmos explores the potential for state-of-the-art fabrication and materials to create an elegant and flexible skeleton system for the workplace and the home’.
Giuliano Mosconi, Chairman of Tecno S.p.A. said, ‘The collaboration with Norman began in the 1970s with Nomos, which is still one of our company’s long sellers. By developing this new product, Tecno confirms its vision linked to experimentation and creativity while continuing to promote the values of design, excellence and innovation’.
The Cosmos Furniture System marks a new step in the collaboration between Norman Foster Foundation and Tecno, and will continue to push the boundaries of modern furniture design.
Norman Foster Foundation
The Norman Foster Foundation(NFF) promotes interdisciplinary thinking and research to help new generations anticipate the future. The first mission of the Norman Foster Foundation is to make visible the centrality of architecture, infrastructure, and urbanism for the betterment of society. To this end, the second mission is to encourage new thinking and research across traditional boundaries in order to help younger generations anticipate the challenges of future change.
In particular, the foundation speaks to those professionals who are concerned with the environment: architects, engineers, designers, urbanists, civic leaders, planners, and artists. The NFF’s educational initiatives are structured around research, workshops, fellowships and forums.
The Norman Foster Foundation operates globally from the United Kingdom, the United States and Spain with its headquarters based in Madrid.
Tecno
Tecno has been involved in design since 1953, a name that reveals the origins of the company designing and producing technically advanced furnishing, partition and seating solutions for the workplace, community, hospitality and travel settings.
Tecno has fine-tuned craftsmanship culture with industrial logistics, in-depth knowledge of materials with innovation, design with technology, working on every scale: from product collections to interior architecture realisations, boasting 47 industrial patents, completed projects in 45 countries and multiple awards.
Since seventy years, it offers unique and distinctive products and solutions, which translate its lucid view of contemporary life. A leading company disseminating Italian Design all over the world, via its branches and thanks to a world-wide network of partners, always at the side of managers, architects and designers, but first of all alongside people.