Sam Chermayeff, Beasts

Sam Chermayeff: Beasts presents the latest furniture collection by the Berlin- based architect and designer, following his previous project-turned-book, Creatures (Apartamento Publishing, 2020). These ‘beasts’ actively merge typologies: a chair becomes the base of an umbrella; a closet becomes a place to sit, apply make-up or smoke a cigarette. Chermayeff’s objects are not just tools, they are a mise-en-scène for everyday life, staging our interactions through the pieces themselves and the space created in- between.The series, built primarily from galvanised steel and mirrored surfaces, is printed on glossy paper, with metallic stamping throughout the design index, a separate booklet inserted within the PVC dust jacket. Architect and editor Jack Self provides an introduction to the book as he dissects his own love for these objects, while the curator Alexandra Cunningham Cameron provides an extended interview with Chermayeff on the ideas behind Beasts and the philosophy of his wider design and architecture practice. Photos were shot by Jeroen Verrecht both on the streets of Barcelona and as an installation at Side Gallery.