But while Gridlock feels industrial – in its straightforward, platonic forms and the repetitive efficiency of the grid – it is in fact assembled entirely by hand. Malouin’s tribute to the industry-inspired, labour-saving dreams of modernism is paid for in toil. This paradox appeals to the designer – he likes things that are handmade that don’t look handmade, such as geometric Yachiyo rug in chainmail. Malouin’s practice is based on experimentation – he doesn’t use a material that he hasn’t got to grips with directly and played with, or tested to destruction, to explore its properties. His projects emerge from these explorations. They have a thoroughness and care built into them at the lowest level, while still expressing the automated, machined dreams of the modernist flowering.
Will Wiles is deputy editor of Icon magazine. Care of Wooden Floors, his novel about a man driven insane by minimalist interior decoration, will e published by HarperPress in February 2012.
