FLYING HIGH

Step Inside Design, Mar/Apr 2008 by Taute, Michelle

Dario Antonioni considers himself an artist first and a designer second. Perhaps that's why the founder of design lab Orange22 always carves out time for self-initiated projects. His latest experiments resulted in the sleek, limited-edition furniture line Carbon22. The new pieces take carbon fiber-a material more readily associated with the aircraft industry-and apply it to stools, tables, desks and task chairs. Besides lending the line a bold look, Antonioni's material of choice provides strength without heft. "The Carbon22 desk measures 3 by 7 feet, but it doesn't weigh more than 5 pounds," Antonioni says. "You can pick it up by hand, but it's incredibly strong." The line's $20,ooo-$120,ooo price tags may limit the buyer pool, but the effort has already turned heads at Sony-the electronics giant has tapped Orange22 for a project inspired by the Carbon22 line. * www.orange22.com

MICHELLE TAUTE, a former editor at I.D., has written for HOW, Metropolis, ArchitecturalRecord and others. She's the author of Design Matters: Brochures 01 from Rockport. www.michelletaute.com