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Floater designed by Pauline Deltour

Sofa and stool privatise the workspace

Discover its possibilities: This is how Pauline Deltour would like her sofa design Floater, for which she combines a base (substructure) with an outer shell, various upholstered inlays and inserted boxes, to be understood from the word go. None of this is concealed, with all formal elements and their specific functions being made visible. In keeping with the intended effect as a "teaser" in the room, contrasting colours and materials, woods and fabrics are used. The vibrantly designed overall concept signals a variety of functions such as sitting, communicating, working and storing. "As a variably configurable work lounge with a fresh look and feel, Floater invites comfortable use," says Pauline Deltour. Its clear design language stands for modernity, while the carefully handcrafted materials convey homeliness and intimacy. "Basically, I 'translate' typical attributes of COR into a new furniture concept for temporary sitting."

Floater can be used to create individual easy chairs and two- or three-seater sofas with two different back heights. The lightly upholstered outer shell is fitted with more ample seat, side and rear upholstery on the inside. Then the boxes, small worktops and drawers come into play to accommodate various utensils as well as cables and power connections. The modularly configurable furniture body rests on a sturdy frame with sprung wooden slats. "Up to and including the screens – sensual materials, including natural wood, lend the workspace a private character," the designer emphasizes.

With Drop you can even build towers

As a useful tool, the stackable stool is a practical helper, but it often tends to remain on the sidelines. However, when it is designed by Pauline Deltour, it appears surprisingly charming and becomes a showpiece. Drop, for which bent steel tube radii serve as a frame, is fitted with an upholstered core. The little all-rounder is available at a height of 47 cm, performs a variety of functions as required and can be combined with many models in the COR collection. It is made mobile by glides or rollers and a relatively low overall weight. Smaller models with a diameter of 36 cm are designed as solo seats. Their larger "siblings", poufs with a diameter of 79 cm, can be occupied by several persons, and also serve as a low table. Uwe Fischer, who gained the Frenchwoman as a cooperation partner for the COR Lab: "A modern, elegant design language and the signature of a designer are simply good for the often sober working world."

The stool demonstrates its charming character in any configuration, as a single unit, a small ensemble or grouped around a pouf in the centre. When its stacking function is used, small towers with up to six elements can be built, similar to a column or sculpture. (Such structures usually tend to look like rather makeshift solutions which are preferably banished into the corner and then hopefully remain standing). The design of the Drop elements, however, is as aesthetic as it is functional, because the dimensions of the steel tube frames precisely accommodate each additive element, also when building a tower. Hard and soft components, steel and upholstery, monochrome or colourful: Everything combines to produce kaleidoscope-like pictures. Any individual design is allowed as long as it is not reminiscent of a typical office. As a tool for the workspace, a stool should no longer be a static object, says Deltour: "As stools represent smaller volumes, used punctually, you can play with colours and graphical or unusual materials." Interior designers and architects are sure to gain great creative pleasure from it.

The French designer Pauline Deltour (34) has had her studio in Paris since 2010, having founded it a year earlier in Munich. The industrial designer currently works for international clients and designs furniture, jewellery, fashion and high-quality accessories. She also develops concepts, objects and installations for exhibition projects or public spaces, e.g. for Kunst am Bau (Munich). Pauline Deltour studied Applied Art and Design at the École nationale supérieure des arts appliqués et des métiers d'arts (Paris) and gained her bachelor's degree in industrial design at the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs in 2006. In the following three years she worked as an industrial designer and project manager at Konstantin Grcic Industrial Design, Munich. Clients/projects (selection): Alessi, Arita, COR, Kvadrat, Lexon, Maison Trudon, MUJI, Puiforcat, Sogo&Seibu

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