HELLA, YES
Architectural Digest US|October 2024
Thirty years into her career, Dutch design star Hella Jongerius proves the best ideas-and objects are those that grow and transform along with us
HANNAH MARTIN
HELLA, YES

Knotty macramé-like nets and large ceramic beads cover the worktable at Hella Jongerius's bustling Berlin studio. The eye-catching, unusual material is an evolution of the curtain she hung in the United Nations Delegates Lounge in 2013its beads were made by Royal Tichelaar, the oldest ceramic company in the Netherlands; the knots, a reference to Dutch maritime history. Now she's using similar stuff to dress a series of wood tables and benches that will debut in her November show at Manhattan's Salon 94 gallery.

"The future of good, socially responsible design lies in an evolution of content," reflects the Dutch talent, whose practice has a distinctly circular quality, ideas and materials constantly recycled and reinvented. "I'm always trying to create an object that is not finished. Something that leaves options open for the user to interpret."

This isn't what we've come to expect from industrial designers, those experts we ask to consider function, precision, fabrication and, perhaps above all else, a finished productover abstract objectives like feeling or possibility. But this is what has set Jongerius's work apart from her peers over the decades. Whether she's collaborating with a gallery or with IKEA, she infuses craft and its implicit imperfection into her pieces to "give the object oxygen."

This story is from the October 2024 edition of Architectural Digest US.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the October 2024 edition of Architectural Digest US.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST USView All
Top of the Heap
Architectural Digest US

Top of the Heap

Putting stone scraps to fresh use, Studio Raw Material mines the rich traditions of India’s western plains

time-read
2 mins  |
December 2024
Raising the Bar
Architectural Digest US

Raising the Bar

With Italian homages and glamour galore, The Manner ushers in a new era of high-end hospitality

time-read
1 min  |
December 2024
Green Acres
Architectural Digest US

Green Acres

At Longwood Gardens, a bold update unearths wisdom old and new

time-read
1 min  |
December 2024
Ahead of the Curves
Architectural Digest US

Ahead of the Curves

A sinuous house by Snøhetta and Nicole Hollis dares to be different

time-read
3 mins  |
December 2024
Starting From Scratch
Architectural Digest US

Starting From Scratch

At the Manhattan home of designer Shawn Henderson, a blank slate gives way to a masterful mix of marvels, textures, and moods

time-read
2 mins  |
December 2024
ICONS ONLY
Architectural Digest US

ICONS ONLY

In Bridgehampton, artist Daniel Arsham finds his groove within a rectilinear home designed by Jack Ceglic

time-read
4 mins  |
December 2024
gaining
Architectural Digest US

gaining

To update an underutilized landscape at Dia Beacon, Sara Zewde is digging into history, championing resiliency, and leaning into beauty

time-read
3 mins  |
December 2024
STYLE SUMMIT
Architectural Digest US

STYLE SUMMIT

Lauren Santo Domingo enlists Andre Mellone to help fashion a sophisticated ski retreat that defies tired decorative tropes

time-read
4 mins  |
December 2024
LIVING THE DREAM
Architectural Digest US

LIVING THE DREAM

In a historic London house, a stylish couple turn to Veere Grenney to help bring their vision to life

time-read
4 mins  |
December 2024
LABOR OF LOVE
Architectural Digest US

LABOR OF LOVE

With heroic help from around the world and an army of outstanding artisans, engineers, and architects, Notre-Dame de Paris prepares to reopen its doors TEXT

time-read
3 mins  |
December 2024