With its durable structure and diversifying characteristics, natural stone has been frequently encountered in outdoor furniture designs in recent years. In addition to its timelessness and sustainable features, it continues to add meanings to designs that other materials cannot offer, with its unique texture. Heatherwick Studio, Olivier Vadrot, Paolo Ulian, Moreno Ratti, Chiho Cheon, and Shinobu Koizumi, which we rank in our Showcase, give an identity to their furniture designs with natural stone. While Olivier Vadrot takes advantage of the timelessness and durability of natural stone in his design, Heatherwick Studio blends aesthetics and function. Moreno Ratti and Paolo Ulian reveal how marble turns into a functional generation with zero-waste. While Chiho Cheon depicts the border between artificial and natural with stone material, Shinobu Koizumi brings an interpretation of the passage of time through the stone. We have compiled outdoor furniture designs shaped with natural stone from bench to armchair, from chair to bench.
Spun
London-based architecture and design studio Heatherwick Studio combines aesthetics and function with its sculptural chair design named “Spun”, produced with granite material. The material choice for the latest version of the chairs, which were previously made of polished copper and steel, was in favor of granite due to its resistant nature to the tropical Singapore climate, which includes intense heat, monsoon rain, and strong winds. Designed to swivel for users to sit and chat comfortably, each round-shaped chair is cut from a single piece of rock, carefully selected for its color and grain combinations.
Mire
Designed by architect and designer Olivier Vadrot for a school campus, “Mire” is a collection of benches produced with volcanic stone due to the advantages of its durability. Reminiscent of the aesthetics of Le Corbusier’s Modulor with its geometry and color palette or a painting by Piet Mondrian, Mire drew its inspiration from a series of models similar to vision test optotypes characterized by Dutch ophthalmologist Herman Snellen. With these graphic features, the design has become an easily visible and inviting furniture for the users. Long benches made of volcanic stone are placed at different points on the campus where the view is important.
Boundary
“Boundary” is a bench designed to be used outdoors in a garden setting by Korean designer Chiho Cheon. Aiming to be a border between artificial and natural objects, it uses large natural stones to symbolize nature and to relate to the rough ground in the area, while stainless steel is used to represent the man-made artificial elements. Cheon expresses a boundary where artificial materials and natural objects collide with each other by crafting natural objects, creating both a work of art and a countertop.
Eternal
“Eternal” by Japanese designer Shinobu Koizumi, is an outdoor furniture with 16 embedded clocks on it and shaped with natural stone. Questioning the concept of consistency in a world that is in a state of constant change and deterioration, the organically formed stone chair is designed as a metaphor for the earth. It is made of small granite pieces and detailed with 16 embedded clocks. Clocks are glow in the dark and emphasize that we can never escape the passage of time, rather than simply showing the time.
Onda
Designed by Italian designers Paolo Ulian and Moreno Ratt, “Onda” is an outdoor bench with a curved marble. Onda, where the designers prioritize sustainability, aims to minimize waste by producing profiles from a single piece of marble block in sequence. Measuring 1800 x 450 x 450 mm, the design offers a luxurious and timeless option for any outdoor use.
