Iron Furniture · 2022

Pebble Outdoor Sofa

by Mattice Boets

A' Design Award 2022 in Furniture
CLIENT: Mattice Boets
Estimated Number of Design Views: 14,113
Verification code CF21B73FF9 · Verify this award

Visit Site View at A' Design Award Press Release

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About Pebble Outdoor Sofa

Inspired by the tactility of pebbles, Pebble is an outdoor sofa made from white-grey cork. It consists of various pebble-like cushions that perfectly fit together. The design translates the tactility of pebbles, the urge to feel and touch, into a pebble-like composition that everyone can experience at any time of the year. The sofa can be left outdoors permanently and is resilient against natural weathering. The use of cork is a premier in outdoor furniture. It allows a new design language to emerge, is lightweight, and shows the potential of using cork beyond indoor use.

About the A' Design Award

Pebble Outdoor Sofa is an Iron A' Design Award winner, a prestigious recognition granted to good designs that meet the professional and industrial requirements expected from well-designed creations. Iron winners demonstrate great skill, high specialization, expert understanding, and creative capacity of their creators. Pebble Outdoor Sofa is expected to be a highly regarded, admired, and cherished creation that is practical and innovative. This Iron A' Design Award-winning design integrates industry best practices and has competent technical characteristics linked with know-how and talent. Pebble Outdoor Sofa is respected for its thoroughness and is designed to provide quality of life improvements that help make the world a better place.

Press Kit

Unique Properties: Pebble is an outdoor sofa made from white-grey cork. It consists of various pebble-like cushions that perfectly fit together. The sofa can be left outdoors permanently and is resilient against natural weathering. It can be enjoyed out in the sun during any time of the year. The design translates the tactility of pebbles, the urge to feel and touch, into a pebble-like composition that everyone can experience.
Dimensions & Packaging: The sofa is 220 cm x 68 cm x 77 cm. The seating area is reclined at 16 degrees with a total seating angle of 111 degrees. This provides a relaxed and slightly laid-back seating position. The positions of the cushions allow people to sit comfortably in various ways on the sofa. As seen from the top view, three people can sit on the sofa at the same time, each with their own little spot. The largest spot is in the middle, with the two smaller ones on each side of the sofa.
Tags: Pebble, sofa, outdoor, Mattice, Boets, design, outdoors, cork, white, stone
Production Technology: The sofa is made from white-grey cork that is CNC milled. A bio-coating is applied on top of the cork for additional durability against natural weathering. Each of the pieces is made individually and then assembled using wooden connections.
Design Challenge: Finding a suitable composition of several cushions was challenging. We had to make sure the sofa was structurally well-balanced, aesthetically pleasing, and manufacturable while making sure everything together formed a comfortable sofa.
Research: Inspired by the tactility of pebbles, this sofa attempts to translate these qualities into a piece of furniture. Up to this point, cork had only been used indoors for acoustics, insulation and sometimes even furniture. However, cork is not limited to indoor use only. It is perfectly capable of being used outdoors with a simple bio-coating. No matter what season it is, the bio-coating will provide the necessary protection for a durable design.
Inspiration: After many years, pebbles are formed by flowing through water and colliding with other rocks. Pebbles have this unexplainable urge to touch and feel them. While they look soft on the outside, they are rock-hard to the core. What if we could capture these tactile qualities of pebbles, the need to touch and feel them, and transform them into a piece of outdoor furniture?
Project Duration: The project was designed in November 2021 in Hasselt, Belgium, and was completed in February of 2022.
Operation Flow: It takes the idea of a pebble back to its roots; they were once formed by colliding with other rocks through the flow of water. Now, they form a static yet perfectly balanced composition. All cushions are slightly angled making any rainfall drop off its surface. The use of cork is a premier in outdoor furniture. It allows the complex organic design of Pebble to be made with ease, is lightweight allowing the sofa to be moved easily, and it shows the potential of using cork beyond just indoor use.
Patents: Copyrights belong to Mattice Boets, 2022.