Top image: softwall + softblock, lit by LEDs

Chances are that you’ve come into contact with IROCO Design’s pieces. The company, which promotes original, European designs by making them available for rent or sale, has provided pieces for International Design Furniture Fair HK (IDFFHK), Art Basel Hong Kong 2015, parties Veuve Clicquot and Moët et Chandon, as well as weddings and other private events.

IROCO Design was founded by Alex Henrich and his wife, Sonia Jackson, who is the company’s CEO, when Henrich discovered he couldn’t find the selection of design pieces or brands he was used to in Europe. He also realised events were lacking, too: furniture was built for the occasion and trashed, or companies used replicas made in China. To combat this, Henrich and Jackson started offering everything from iconic pieces and mid-century classics to new creations, and they now count everyone from Louis Vuitton and The Peninsula Hotels to Goldman Sachs as clients.

Ahead of Hong Kong Indesign, Sonia Jackson takes us behind the scenes at IROCO Design.

Estilo sofas by Mismo at an event by IROCO Design

Who is IROCO Design?

At IROCO Design we make beautiful original design available, bringing you products and designers from around the globe. Whether for events, for your home, or for hospitality. Either for rent or for sale. If you’re renting and planning a corporate event, exhibition, trade show, wedding or private party, we can provide you with creative ideas, fabulous furniture and a flawless delivery service.

Or if you are an architect, interior designer, hotel or restaurant manager, IROCO Design also offers professionals a tailored sourcing service of designer furniture that includes its exclusive brands – Canadian brand MOLO Design, and Italian brands Slide and Pedrali.

With offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo, we are spearheading the introduction of new brands and designs throughout Asia.

You’re taking part in Hong Kong Indesign later this month. What do you have planned for your display at The Space?

At Hong Kong Indesign, IROCO Design will be showcasing one of its new and exclusive brands in Hong Kong – MOLO Design. Dedicated to an exploration of sensory experience in space making, combined with innovation in manufacturing, materials and structure, the MOLO studio explores the overlapping realms of art, architecture and design.

A bird’s eye view of MOLO’s benchwall

MOLO has created projects as diverse as a museum in Japan, a modular wall system and a tea set. MOLO’s products are inspired by studies in architecture and the idea that smaller, tactile objects have real potency in the physical experience of the built environment. Working back and forth between the intimate scale of furniture and small utilitarian objects, and the larger scale of buildings and landscapes heightens the sense of human scale and physical experience in architecture. It brings the perspective of thinking in a larger context into the creation a smaller object.

At Indesign, we will be launching the MOLO softwall + softblock, an innovative, modular flexible wall, with a freestanding partition that can be expanded, contracted and shaped to suit your requirements. This means that walls and blocks of various heights, colours and materials all connect to each other, simply and seamlessly, with concealed magnets. It is possible to create continuous lengths of wall, stretching as far as your imagination… or stack blocks vertically like stretchy Lego. The softwall is part of the MoMA permanent collection.

softwall + softblock in white. The product can be used in myriad ways to set the scene

Tell us more about softwall + softblock, and what visitors can expect from experiencing them in person.

Opening softwall + softblock is a playful, engaging experience, as the tactile honeycomb material expands to create a completely freestanding structure that is hundreds of times larger than its compressed form. The efficiency of the structure allows for an incredible economy of material. The flexibility of the structure is pragmatic for compact portability and reshaping environments for living and working. You can choose to open any softwall or softblock element to the maximum 4.5-metre length, or you can open it a shorter length to suit a particular occasion. For storage, every softwall + softblock compresses to less than 50mm in thickness, and there’s a stainless steel wall hook to hang the softwalls with. softwall + softblock modular system includes a variety of standard and custom heights up to 3 metres tall.

The accordion-like softwall

Why MOLO?

The workspace is in a continuous state of change, with more and more people needing a simple hot desk and modular spaces that can respond to their changing needs. MOLO products lend themselves very well to this new dynamic, as they are easily folded and easy to install. The softwalls are great at creating spaces instantly. MOLO’s modular seating is also great; it range from benches and poufs to tables and walls.

Cantilevered paper tables by MOLO Design

Aside from MOLO Design, which other brands will you be talking about at the event?

IROCO Design will also be presenting visitors to the event with Italian brands SLIDE – the leaders in illuminated furniture – and Pedrali, which is a must-have for the contract market. We can also address any designer furniture rental queries visitors may have.

IROCO Design will be showcasing some of its pieces at Hong Kong Indesign on 19 and 20 November. Visit The Space on Hollywood Road to explore their collections and those of the other brands on show. The Space, 210 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan.

IROCO Design
Irocodesign.com

The Space
Thespace.hk

Hong Kong Indesign
Hongkongindesign.com