Lucas de Ruiter


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ECCO x The North American Pavilion



On the occasion of The North American Pavilion, an exhibition at Frieze’s No. 9 Cork Street, sponsored by Danish footwear brand ECCO, we were commissioned to design custom seating for the gallery’s public spaces.

Mimicking the injection-moulded, fluid form of the recently-launched Cozmo Slide, we produced a collection of colourful furniture that playfully responds to, and facilitates, the choreography of guests at an art opening.


Working closely with curator Alex Tieghi-Walker, we wanted the brand interaction to serve the exhibition and the people experiencing it – without competing with the work on view. Based on in-depth research of how people move, mingle, look and lean in a gallery space, the stools, benches and interventions we designed play a functional, social role that invite visitors to dwell in the exhibition.
Outside the gallery, a bench of 6 modular pieces offers a range of different ways to sit and talk with other visitors. Inside, portable, lightweight gallery stools provide visitors the option of lingering in front of an artwork in comfort, inviting them to reposition and move the furniture between rooms.