CLEO | JULIAN RIBLER | BA 2018

Julian Ribler is closely considering the constant relationship happening and developing between ourselves and the physical objects we encounter everyday. With a focus on the strong impact these interactions have upon us, his designs both incorporate conceptual reasoning and look to provide opportunity for sensorial experiences which deepen our understanding and enhance our relationship to the environment around us.

With his latest work Cléo, Julian Ribler applies this approach to an education scenario, challenging the traditional typology of school furniture with an imaginative and playful alternative. Cléo introduces a less prescriptive and more dynamic form, opposing the conventional where children are expected to sit straight and still in a fixed position, with the freedom to adjust the composition of  both furniture and setting, supporting the notion of flexibility and adaptation within learning.

Using elegant metal structures to support curved and undulating plywood surfaces gives a sense of light, graceful movement to the form of Cléo, thus contrasting to the typical table and chair format. Incorporation of handles allows for personal mobility and adds character to Cléo.

Overall Julian Ribler is suggesting how form and materiality in an educational setting should progress to enrich the advancement of children in a supportive way, strengthening the sensorial understanding a child experiences within the physicality of space. The furniture itself having an important role as part of education.