Australians interested in the latest in design innovation were inspired by the furniture concepts of award-winning New Zealand designer David Trubridge, on display at the House of the Future exhibition which opened on Saturday 19 February at the Sydney Olympic Park.
Trubridge’s Pacific Ocean-inspired wood furniture follows the same ideology as the reasons behind the futuristic home exhibition – to explore new frontiers in design using traditional materials in an environmentally sustainable and innovative way.
According to Trubridge, one of the most noticeable things about the latest international designs in furniture is the lack of natural products used.
“There seems to be fewer people taking advantage of sustainable natural resources, so instead of following the trend of using plastic materials, we have the opportunity to stand out with our wooden designs."
Trubridge’s furniture is on display in the Timber House at the exhibition. Shaped like a piece of landscape, the Timber House is one of six futuristic homes made from clay, concrete, timber, steel, cardboard and glass.
The environment is also a strong feature of Trubridge’s designs with the New Zealand-based designer taking inspiration from places where the elements meet – land and sea, land and air.
“My work is always based on natural materials and processes – forms of elemental simplicity,” said Trubridge. “My ideas come from the wild places of New Zealand, where seas break on beaches and headlands and where land and air meet on mountain ridges.”
Timber House designer Stephanie Smith said, “The conceptual nature of David’s work was pivotal in our decision to use the piece in the Timber House of the Future.
“References to free flowing forms, malleability of the material and a slight ambiguity of how the furniture can be used all reflect the ideas we are trying to portray in the house”.
With thirty years of experience, David Trubridge is one of New Zealand's best-known designers of contemporary furniture. He is also an architectural designer specialising in masonry homes.
A recent visit to Antarctica as an Antarctic Arts Fellow has inspired Trubridge to work on a new range of designs with a strong environmental influence.
Trubridge’s furniture was recently selected by world leading design museum, Vitra Design in Berlin to feature his Body Raft design for their iconic 20th century chair collection.
Trubridge has also entered into contracts with trendsetting Italian manufacturing companies Cappellini, Boffi and Emmemobili for his distinctive furniture.