Serpentine – clean lines, expressive design
It began with an S-curve drawn in pencil and a gut feeling. That winding line eventually became a light, finely scaled easy chair, supported by slender steel legs, designed by Broberg & Ridderstråle. The design language may be simple, but the attention to detail is immense.
–The idea behind Serpentine was to create an easy chair that, in terms of expression, connects to Scandinavian design history while at the same time looking ahead and feeling contemporary, says Johan Ridderstråle.
He is seated in Broberg & Ridderstråle’s studio in Stockholm at a large glass table, where books, computers, and papers are arranged in neat stacks. Sunlight pours in through the storefront windows, illuminating a prototype easy chair in molded wood resting on a workbench.
– We wanted the curve to land and be supported in a refined way. The frame needed to be clearly articulated, yet still light and clever in how the chair is suspended, Johan explains, lifting the wooden shell from the frame to show the meeting of materials.
Serpentine’s design language feels self-evident, while the care devoted to detail is extensive. Steel tubes sweep seamlessly around the S-shaped shell before finally touching down in small stainless-steel feet that reflect the light.
– We’ve spent a lot of time working on details that should feel engaging, like how the armrest is made or the dimensions of the steel. Up by the armrest it’s quite slender, then it transitions into wider tubing to provide stability, which in itself becomes a beautiful detail.
The seat cushion can easily be unfastened, just like all components of the easy chair can be taken apart for renovation and maintenance. Serpentine is upholstered in sheepskin, fabric, or leather, and the armrests are available either in exposed wood or wrapped in leather, allowing for different expressions built on the same foundation.
– Different materials, upholsteries, and padding give Serpentine different lives depending on the environment and context, Johan says.
Johan and Mats have been a design duo ever since they both began studying at Konstfack in 2001. That much-talked-about gut feeling is something that has held them together for 25 years.
– Gut instinct is a key reason we’ve worked together for so long. It doesn’t always say the same thing, but it’s in sync, Johan says.
– I know immediately when I come up with an idea that Johan won’t like, says Mats Broberg.
– And that’s a very good thing. I feel the same way, and then you have to justify it to yourself. Is this something worth pushing through? Johan adds.
One thing they have also learned over the years is not to work too strategically. No matter how confident you are in an idea, it will never look exactly the same in the end.
– If there’s one thing we have, it’s an openness to letting things go where they want to go. When you look back at what we’ve done that we ourselves think is really good, the seed of that idea has never gone from A to Z.
– Sometimes you just have to jump into the process without thinking, ‘this has to become something.’ It has always had the potential to lead somewhere else, Johan says.
