Italian design brand Arper are introducing Kiik, a new modular collection created for spaces between entry and departure, waiting and doing. Designed by Tokyo-based Iwasaki Design Studio, Kiik comprises seating, tables, ottomans, and consoles that take advantage of virtual reality (VR).
To celebrate the launch of Kiik, Arper has presented IN SITU, a series of four virtual environments – Flow, Cupula, Frame, and Tower – each featuring a unique architectural vision and iteration of the collection. Designed by Barcelona-based MAIO studio in collaboration with Jeannette Altherr of Lievore Altherr, and digitized by American artist and designer Tom Hancocks, the environments explore the possibilities of a virtual architecture and its ability to convey emotional qualities, while offering four different and unique ways to experience the Kiik collection.
“We wanted to explore the possibilities of a clearly virtual architecture, in terms of being abstract and non-styled,” says Maria Charneco, co-founder, MAIO. In that sense, the project aims to emphasize emotional and spatial qualities over construction and site-specific considerations, with the additional challenge that this should not only work with the realistic Arper furniture, but highlight it.”
The four different virtual worlds are different in configurations and design, showing the modular system that the new collection has to offer. Flow features a series of interconnected rooms, Cupula is a fluid, domed space, Frame showcases a dramatic space that stresses the relationship between interior and exterior design, and Tower which is an exploration of verticality.
Thanks to the immersive power of VR each of these four environments can be explored at the viewers on pace and allow them to become closer to the product then ever before. The creative output brings a breath of fresh air to the traditionally conservative and slow-to-evolve furniture design industry.
“By observing spaces where people come and go – parks, museum, airports, and the like – I began to think not about shape, but the ways of gathering,” says Ichiro Iwasaki, founder, Iwasaki Design Studio. “As a result, Kiik was designed to be in harmony with a variety of spaces, an idea illustrated beautifully as well as practically through VR.”
To view the experiences for yourself, scan one of the QR codes above and for more on Arper in the future, keep reading VRFocus.
via Mint VR