Pie Chart – A license to be creative

The Pie Chart system has all the design credentials you would expect from the award-winning design studio Hierve and with its modularity and functionality it makes a desirable collection of furniture products for home or office.

All the pieces of the Pie Chart system come together to form a whole or can be used individually: side tables that have the option to be flush against a sofa or any surface; hidden container storage, low table or coffee table, the uses are endless. As with all of the HAYCHE collections it has quality at its core, craftsmanship plays a huge role in their manufacturing process.

The end results are always perfectly balanced and finely tuned. The Pie Chart system has a timeless charm that is so appealing and here we have a little insight into how it all came together in a recent interview with Alejandro Villarreal, who is both Hierve’s and HAYCHE founder as well as Creative Director for HAYCHE.

Sketch by Hierve

IP: The Pie Chart system of tables and storage is an ingenious piece of design. How did you approach the concept? What came first – wanting to design clever modular storage or creating a visually expressive piece of furniture ?

AV: Originally I was thinking on developing a systemic, versatile and multi-functional coffee table. At the same time, my approach to design always aims at finding a balance between functionality and creative expressiveness. 

IP: Did you have a customer in mind when you designed The Pie Chart system?

AV: Not really, although I was considering myself and my family as potential users of the system.

IP: The Pie Chart system is perfect geometry, with curves, angles and straight lines – it looks like an enormously challenging design to create, is the process as complicated as it looks?

AV: Not necessarily. We need to consider that geometry in itself is an exquisite and powerful tool. By using it with a simple logic, incredibly, an unexpected outcome emerges during the design process. 

IP: How much does your practice as an multi-disciplinary design studio impact on individual designs? How does architecture and visual art integrate into your furniture design?

AV: It has been a while since we have worked on an architectural or visual arts project. In reality these different disciplines provide me with platforms to investigate and develop creative ideas and insights. It is also true that creativity informs creativity and that having an open and curious mind stimulates ideas.

 

 IP: You have created a very sophisticated palette of colours for the Pie Chart system, what is the process you go through to arrive at the final colour scheme?

AV: I started with natural wood, then added the basic neutral colours (black, white and grey), then added a few smooth colourful tones and ended up by adding just one vibrant colour (yellow). Having said that – The Pie Chart system was created for H Furniture as part of their collection and based on their principle of bespoke concepts. The colour combinations are endless, and we let the customer play around with choosing their own palette.

IP: Materials are so important, you work a lot with solid wood, and The Pie Chart system is primarily a wood structure. What is the best thing about about natural materials? How important are the use of different materials/type of wood in the production of your furniture designs?

AV: Materials are fundamental, they are very much at the core of my design process. Solid wood is my favourite material as it is warm, noble and gives most of us a profound (almost unconscious) connection back with nature. By contrasting solid wood with other colours and materials, the qualities of both are enhanced and emphasised. 

IP: When you designed the Pie Chart system where did you see it’s application, with its multiple modules it offers many configurations,  would you say this is predominantly for contract use?

AV: From the very beginning, the application aimed mainly as a coffee table system, but because of its modularity and flexibility, its range can go from a single side table in a home to a meters long coffee table used in a hotel, office environment or transportation hub. 

IP: You have said this is a playful object, does that reflect the way Hierve like to work – adding flashes of colour or surprise into such rigorous design principles?

AV: I believe that rigour and order should exist, in order for play to be able to emerge. If you look at the way most children play, there is always structure, guidelines and limits. 

IP: There is a fantastic quote on your website “Perfection is found within imperfection”  is this a catalyst for your studio designs?

AV: As I have a perfectionist thrive, this quote serves me as a good reminder that in reality things are already perfect as they are, that perfection is an illusion and that our aim should be more towards excellence. 

Words and interview by Industry Publicity

View the Pie Range