SolidNature BUDDE

Each piece BUDDE designed tells a unique story through the different stone colours, textures, and characteristics. The exclusive collection is the perfect equation of five furniture pieces made from seven different types of stone ranging from marble, onyx, granite to travertine. The layered pieces transformed into two side tables, a console composed of three high tables, and two small coffee tables.

This exclusive design collaboration was carved from the earth, resurrected and unveiled at Rossana Orlandi Galleria as part of Milan Design Week 2023. It is available for purchase via the gallery.

BUDDE is a Cologne-based design studio founded in 2019 and led by Architect Johannes Budde and Meike Papenfuss. As a strong duo, Johannes Budde is the creative mind behind BUDDE, complemented by the business and brand expertise of Meike Papenfuss.

Arising from the field of architecture, the studio’s work stretches across typologies such as furniture, lighting and home decor. The BUDDE practice is characterised by eliminating excess and relying on essential forms. Purposeful details and intuitive functionality are paired with a commitment to outstanding quality and longevity.

Q&A with Johannes Budde

What was the brief for this collaborative FIVE x SEVEN project?
SolidNature inevitably faces a growing inventory of natural stone offcuts from their global custom projects. They approached us with their mission to reevaluate the value and utilisation of leftover stone slabs. Driven by our courageous spirit, we accepted the intriguing challenge. Months of collaboration were initiated and ultimately led to FIVE x SEVEN.

What was the inspiration for these stone furniture pieces?
The heterogeneity of natural stone fascinated us from the start. We sought to highlight the diverse range of colours and characteristics that marble offcut offers and knew the collection would become the most colourful design we created at BUDDE so far. It was clear to us that FIVE x SEVEN should celebrate the stones’ diversity in a captivating way. At the same time, using exclusively available offcuts from SolidNature’s production site provided us with an exciting design challenge and supported a mindful use of material.

What was your design process alongside SolidNature?

We brainstormed, iterated and collaboratively created this collection together with SolidNature. The project united our two completely different sets of expertise which allowed us to create something monumentally unique and recognizable.

What stretches across our works is that BUDDE objects are functional and very versatile, hence the offcut collection needed to suit and integrate seamlessly into a wide range of environments – from foyers and high-end showrooms to private living spaces.

In the end, we combined seven different stones that create a thrilling colour composition together. Fifteen offcut slabs were combined per furniture piece and carved out on four sides to create a captivating shape that revealed the beauty and richness of natural stone.

Every piece of the collection was designed to work in a modular system: either as a standalone product or combined so that the owner can create exquisite new designs tailored to their space. The collection can also be given another spin, literally — when you play with the stone colours. Place a red slab on the front, and on the other side a white one, then rotate the pieces to easily create different aesthetics in a room.

How were these FIVE x SEVEN furniture pieces created?
The collection was produced by SolidNature in a multi-step process in April 2023. At first, the selected off-cut slabs, which were already present in SolidNature’s warehouse, were cut into ‘T shapes’ with varying thicknesses. A computer programme facilitated the process by smartly planning the cutting frames on a slab to maximise the use of material. Once all slabs were cut and attached, each of the four sides was carved out seamlessly using a CNC water-jet machine. The machine also cleans the water and circulates it back, so it is re-used again in a new cutting process. The stone’s polished finish was carefully done by hand in the final step.

What do you think stands out in these five finished furniture pieces?

• The colour palette is naturally striking – all materials were hand-picked by BUDDE, then placed side by side in the SolidNature Stone Atelier until the right combination was achieved.

• The way the stone was meshed together into stripes almost mimics how natural stone is made in nature, layers of sediment becoming a slab.

• The furniture collection was uniquely designed as standalone pieces or to be combined into larger pieces—depending on the room or space. They were made so that different angles give a completely different colour and aesthetic.

What is your favourite thing about working with natural stone?  

What makes working with natural stone unique and inspiring is that you can discover surprising characteristics and textures once it is cut and polished. Every piece is a one-off and cannot be replicated. Oftentimes, stone is used in a rigid way with square cuts and less free-flowing. We wanted to achieve a striking aesthetic by carving the stone more organically. In this case, we could tap into the offcuts’ full potential by accentuating the different colours and characteristics of each stone.

www.johannesbudde.com

@johannesbudde