Berlin-based product designer Uli Budde created a minimalist and poetic kinetic object made from innovative rattan material for form Edition #5.

Budde’s design approach is characterized by a unique perspective on everyday objects and their functionality, through which he creates connections between familiar elements and new solutions. For form Edition #5, he explored the mechanics and balance of a common mobile and questioned the usual focus on vertically suspended elements. Almost mathematically constructed, the emphasis is now on the horizontal elements of the kinetic object. To maintain their balance, the upper element is given more material weight by an additional arc. Complemented by the lower, shorter element, this creates a horizontally balanced kinetic sculpture. The object was made using the fast-growing, patented rattan material karuun®, which is bent into shape using hot steaming. The green-dyed capillaries create a graphic surface and, at the ends milled as fillets, particularly well illustrate the material's composition.

After studying at FH Potsdam and graduating from Design Academy Eindhoven in 2004, Uli Budde worked for various studios, including Jongeriuslab. He co-founded the design studio Officeoriginair and opened Uli Budde Design Office in 2009, which realizes furniture and lighting projects for international manufacturers. Budde also works as a visiting professor for industrial design, most recently at Burg Giebichenstein Kunsthochschule Halle and from October 2017 at Bauhaus University in Weimar.

The object measures 48.5 and 16 cm in length and 1.9 cm in diameter, is made of karuun® rattan material, and comes with a suspension. The edition, limited to 25 pieces, is embossed and available for 79 Euros including VAT and plus shipping.

Since 2013, the publisher form has been releasing editions by renowned designers. The editions are limited-edition objects in the fields of graphic design, photography, and product design, and are sold through the form shop as well as presented at international design events and trade fairs.

Edited by Barbara Glasner.

Photo credit: Studio Likeness