Both sculptural and elegant to the eye, but almost magically functional in its operation - that's how Kinzo's office furniture series Kinzo Air won multiple design awards. On occasion of the international office furniture fair Orgatec 2010, the Berlin-based architect and design team created a new highlight, presented and manufactured by bau+art: Air Cabin is a low sideboard filing cabinet with lots of cargo capacity and distinctive design details.
An abstract, monolithic silhouette, precisely mitred edges, an integrated handle cup on the top, smooth satin power-coated MDF surfaces: Air Cabin stands out by its edgy design, yet blends perfectly into the Kinzo Air furniture programme. Inside, Air Cabin boasts a spacious file storage system that swallows up to 90 files and anything that could clutter the concise and cool, clean-cut clarity of the Kinzo Air office. Flush-mounted sliding doors and a state-of-the-art lift and slide mechanism add to the monolithic look and thus conceal its functionality and intricate design details on the inside. The doors can be lifted to open to their "parking position", when closed, the cabinet looks like an abstract and massive, white block.
"Kinzo Air is an office furniture programme with a resolutely futuristic design approach," said Karim El-Ishmawi, Kinzo designer. "Every piece of furniture has a distinctive sculptural and architectural quality - functionality does not need to rhyme with blandness. Supersized cable ducts, steal skids instead of table legs and many other details make office work easier and more inspirational. Our filing cabinet is a logical addition to the programme. With its abstract and sleek design it can either be used as a multi-functional partition in every open-plan office, as an elegant cabinet for the executive's office or even as a high-class sideboard in modern living rooms."
Kinzo Air was launched in May 2008 by KINZO and Berlin-based manufacturer bau+art. Dynamic, tilted shapes resembling origami paper foldings and cantilevered elements gave inspiration to the name Kinzo Air. The double desk Air 202 - awarded the red dot design award and nominated for the Design Award of the Federal Republic of Germany - displays KINZO's signature style with its futuristic, sleek design and intelligent details. Kinzo even designed a bespoke outdoor-version of the office furniture programme Kinzo Air, whose sporty- dynamic shapes seems to contradict the concrete's heavyweight.