Interview with | OS Δ OOS

During NYCxDESIGN Dutch design duo OS Δ OOS is in New York to present their latest work at the Collective Design Fair and the ICFF. In an interview with Dutch Culture USA OS Δ OOS talked about their work, ambitions and upcoming projects.

Mono-light at Collective Design Fair

A couple of years back Oskar Peet and Sophie Mensen met during their time at the Design Academy Eindhoven. After helping each other with their graduation projects, they both felt working together would be a great next step. Not long after graduating the Design Academy Oskar en Sophie were both invited to do a project for the ‘Objects Presents’ collective. They decided to work together for this project and they created their ‘Syzygy’ lamps. This collaboration worked out so well, that not long after OS Δ OOS was born.

The Syzygy lamps soon turned out to be a great success and the project received a lot of (media) attention. The blog SightUnseen was one of the first to ‘discover’ this design team and they featured Oskar and Sophie’s Syzygy lamps on their website. De designs by OS Δ OOS were picked up by international galleries such as Philips de Pury in New York and Galerie Gosserez in Paris. In fact, it took Oskar and Sophie longer to build up a reputation in the Netherlands than in places like Milan or New York.

“Syzygy Lamps”

Amongst others the reason they wouldn’t describe their work as typical Dutch Design. OS Δ OOS describe their way of working as graphic and minimalistic. They are flexible in their way of thinking and they work from multiple ideas and diverse material at the same time: a hands-on mentality. In their eyes these are some features of a new generation of Dutch designers.

The concept behind the design is one of the most important factors in designing new products. For OS Δ OOS the concept, the story behind the object, needs to provide a solid reason for designing new products. One of their latest projects is the Keystone chair, upholstered in textiles from Raf Simons and produced by Danish firm Please Wait to be Seated. The chair was designed as a more practical version of its concrete and ceramic predecessor, and is built around a wooden frame. The Keystone chair features three distinct elements that are “abstracted and reassembled” interpretations of three key elements found in Roman bridges. Just like Roman bridges, the weight of the structure keeps the elements together in which the ‘keystone’ plays a crucial part. The Keystone chair is momentarily in production and will soon be available at Matter in New York.

The Keystone chair with Raf Simons textiles.

The original, concrete and ceramic, Keystone chair

Another recent project by OS Δ OOS is their ‘Sediment Tableware’, designed for Umbra Shift which is to be seen at this year’s ICFF. The ceramic set consists of hand-made speckled stoneware; bowls, plates and cups. The set is made in a way so that all pieces can fit in each other or can be stacked upon one another.

Furthermore, OS Δ OOS have been asked by Wallpaper* Magazine to take part in the Wallpaper* Handmade exhibition for the Salone del Mobile in Milan. There they will present ‘Arc’; a bench and stools which they designed in a collaboration with HIMACS and Bone Solid.

Lastly OS Δ OOS have been working on new tables titled ‘Bipolar’; “Through a play of the vertical and horizontal lines, glass sheets work to seemingly suspend free forms within an imaginary cube. In combination with the transparency of glass, light too becomes a material through the use of filters. By observing the table from different angles, the surfaces changes with every step, ranging from the darkest of darks to transparent, combinations of planes can create constantly morphing imagery to be observed”.

The transparent shifting surfaces are deliberately cut by hand to accentuate the contrast between the geometric squares and rectangles of the glass and the free forms of the shapes within.

As for the future, OS Δ OOS would love to work with the big names of the design industry. At the same time they would like to keep on working with galleries to let their creativity run free. And who knows, in a few years there might even be an OS Δ OOS store!

In the mean time, keep up to date with all OS Δ OOS news on their website.