Stelios’ previous role at renowned architecture practice, Foster + Partners, as a Modelmaker is detectable in his atypical designs. From ‘Carpet Sofas’ to rocket-inspired tables, many of Stelios’ designs benefit from 3D printing technology, making his designs stand out from the crowd.
One of Stelios’ latest designs, the Holding On table, is an outstanding example of how the use of 3D printing can add that extra innovative feature to a design.
Talking of his Holding On design, Stelios comments: “The inspiration behind the Holding On table comes from a passage written by a dear friend and Writer, Charis Toulouras. ‘People made of gold, extraordinary people thus few, are destined to carry the world forward with all its burdens and darkness’.”
Looking back to the initial design stage, Stelios reflects: “I have always been fond of low-poly 3D designs and wanted to create something with that concept in mind.
“I designed the Holding On table with a minimalist approach on the passage written by Charis Toulouras. Since the earth’s darkness is represented as a giant dark rectangle piece, I wanted to remove the organic human shape completely from the design in order to match the strict aesthetic of the block.”
Stelios selected gold for the 3D figurines that can be seen supporting the weight of the table. “I included this due to the citation mentioned in Charis Toulouras’ passage – with reference to ‘extraordinary people who carry everyday burdens’. Often we use gold as an adjective to describe a special and valuable person.
The black colour of the block represents the burdens and darkness of each individual that is carried until the end of time. Also, when it comes to interior configurations, this is a common colour combination and can be placed easily in a contemporary space.”
When questioned about his design process, Stelios commented: “Fortunately, we did not come across any design obstacles and the idea was easily materialised. The block has been made as a hollow, monolithic piece to eliminate the possibility of the 3D-printed figurines not being able to hold the weight at hand.
“The material used to create the dark block is 9mm-thick plywood which is spray-painted with a black semi-gloss paint. The figurines are 3D-printed using polylactic acid plastic (PLA) – a biodegradable and bioactive thermoplastic aliphatic polyester derived from renewable resources.
The figurines are hand-sanded during manufacturing to remove any unwanted material and then spray-painted with gold colouring.”
When asked what interior setting he envisions his Holding On piece inhabiting, Stelios enlightened: “I never design something having a client or target audience in mind. My work ethic is to create ideas that come naturally to me through various sources of inspiration, either being nature or a certain emotion. The main goal is to produce unique pieces with good aesthetics.”