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Under The Same Roof continued:

The *Here and There *series of folding seats by Hiroko Shiratori adds hinges to wooden panels to create functional origami. An interesting exploration in collapsibility, these seats have a raw, angular aesthetic, with the more archetypical chair form achieving the most success. Behind these seats leans *Alone, *a simple collapsible coat rack for the solitary traveller.

Across from Shiratori's work, Van Ast shifts his attention from designing things which clamp onto tables to the creation of clamp-on legs that create the table itself. In a similar variation on his previous work, his screw-on jar lid designs have expanded into a broader exploration into the possibilities offered by threaded wooden dowels and a series of furniture made from threaded pipe fittings.

In the back corner, Marigold's area in the exhibition is dominated by the shape-shifting *Ellipse Table*, whose concertina mechanism allows its wooden surface to morph from a small, perfectly round table into a massive 3 meter long one with a jagged edge . Offcut pieces from the manufacture of the round tabletop are provided to fill in the spaces created by this expansion, with their curved ends creating interesting gaps in the surface while
ensuring the table's functionality.

As visitors move around the back of the exhibit, the playfully quirky personality of Hahn's *Odd Cabinets* invite passers by to try and peek inside as their colourful doors do not entirely hide the blonde wooden cabinets' contents. A tall version with two doors in varying shades of green perches on a sawhorse-like base while a low version sports a single red door. In the corner, his *Lantern *lights, adjustable by sliding a clamp along a loop of cord dangling from the ceiling, hang like some kind of strange scientific equipment.

Finally, next to Hahn's space, Narud's *Bish Bosh* furniture uses corner plates to connect wooden elements into structurally-sound, if crude, functional items. Sitting against the wall, almost unnoticed behind these items, are his *Slap Dash* tables, the gaps in their slatted surfaces remaining relatively constant despite the variation in the shape of each piece of wood used to create the top.

In addition to the finished pieces, *Under the Same Roof *also endeavours to present a degree of insight into the studio culture created as a result of the group's shared workspace. Above the finished pieces, picture frames hanging face-down from the ceiling display concept drawings, sketch models, and other developmental items. Unfortunately, despite this attempt the show does not offer quite as much insight into OKAYstudio's actual working environment and collaborative process as the exhibit aspires to present.

Certainly, the collection of pieces presented at ARAM suggests that some conscious or unconscious cross-pollination of ideas has occurred among these extremely talented designers. For instance, there seems to be a strong dialogue between the fault-lines found on the surface of Narud's *Slap Dash *tables and both the large central chasm of Marigold's *End Table *and the striations of the *Ellipse Table *when in its extended position. However, the exhibit neither explicitly draws out such connections nor offers explanations; as a result, it still leaves visitors wondering about the relationship between each individual designer and the collective. Still, *Under the Same Roof* offers some interesting glimpses into each individual designer's process and the overall uniqueness and high quality of work presented by the exhibit is excellent and certainly worth a visit.

www.okaystudio.org
www.thearamgallery.org

Clamp-a-leg II by Jorre van Ast

Expandable Ellipse Table by Peter Marigold

Bish Bosh by Oscar Narud