In another collaboration, Tajimi Custom Tiles partnered with South Korean designer Kwangho Lee. As with their work with Max Lamb, Tajimi sought out Lee to demonstrate the huge versatility and potential of Tajimi tiles. These two collaborations were curated in order to launch the company, whilst also acting as a hub of inspiration for architects and designers in the global sphere. Due to be presented at Milan Design Week in April of last year, the exhibition was postponed and instead was held in Tokyo from the 31st of October until the 3rd of November 2020.

For both designers the brief was to create experimental objects that make use of local tile materials and production methods, both of which Tajimi pride themselves in celebrating. Lee’s main source of inspiration was clay extrusion, one of Tajimi’s classic production methods.

With his ‘Tide’ creations, Kwangho Lee developed a sequence of looped tile modules which can be extruded to varying lengths to serve a range of functions. To demonstrate this, Lee designed a few furniture items as well as a cobogo style wall feature. The individual modules can be used as a whole, or stacked to create something entirely different.

The repeated bends and loops serve visually as a curious, unidentifiable piece of architecture, whilst the combination of clay and empty space walks the line between fragility and stability. Working alongside much of Lee’s other work, reference to ‘knitting’ becomes clear, with repetition, curves, and the illusion of knots.

Kwangho Lee
Tajimi Custom Tiles

A new post by Hanna Simpson, Diary of a Tile Addict, March 2021.