Neri&Hu is an inter-disciplinary award-winning architectural design practice based in Shanghai, China, with an additional office in London. With their product line, ‘neri&hu’, they seek alternatives to the normative, questioning the potential in “Chinese design”. neri&hu is the reinterpretation of the beauty in the raw material, changing perceptions through what is revealed, examining history and its path, or capturing an ordinary scene in a snapshot. Luxury modern woodworker, De La Espada partners with neri&hu. The design studio has complete creative control, while De La Espada crafts each product to the highest standard at their own production facility in Northern Portugal.
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MOODBOARD
Shanghai lane houses, with their scenes of daily life, their shadows, textures, and sense of voyeurism, are a source of inspiration for Neri&Hu. The designers examine history and culture through raw materials, common behaviours and ancient typologies.
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766MBL/766MCL FRAME SOFA 759L TRUNK TALL CABINET
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764MM SHAKER DINING TABLE 763 SHAKER DINING CHAIR
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766 FRAME SOFA 754SB TRIO SIDE TABLE WITH BRASS TOP 754MM TRIO ROUND COFFEE TABLE WITH MARBLE TOP 11
756 TRAY DESK 761T LIANOU STOOL 759L TRUNK TALL CABINET 12
764MM SHAKER DINING TABLE 763 SHAKER DINING CHAIR 760 LATTICE 13
Shaker Series is based on the simple, honest and utilitarian approach of the Shaker movement from the mid-19th century. The products transport the spirit of the movement to the modern world, and reinterpret it in new materials and forms.
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764MM SHAKER DINING TABLE 763 SHAKER DINING CHAIR 760 LATTICE 16
Tray Desk is a versatile desk/vanity table using the analogy of trays on trestles as a point of departure. It is a modern take on historical multi-functional Chinese tables, complete with a characteristic hidden compartment.
756 TRAY DESK 761T LIANOU STOOL 761M ZHUZI TABLE 18
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765 FRAME BED 754SP TRIO SIDE TABLE WITH COPPER TOP 756 TRAY DESK 761T LIANOU STOOL 20
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Neri&Hu enjoy exploration, and do not exclusively work with Chinese typologies. They have always had enormous respect for Charles and Ray Eames and their approach to multidisciplinary design. The Solo Series is an homage to Eames, and an interpretation of what they might have designed 50 years later.
750 SOLO DINING CHAIR 762 STRUCTURE TABLE
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752 SOLO DINING TABLE 750 SOLO DINING CHAIR
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The Extend Mirrors are an abstraction of the common bamboo ladders used as household objects inside and outside country homes in China. These mundane ladders functioned as an ever-ready stand for hanging a wide variety of things from tools and clothes to dried food. A Chinese ladder is a reflection of it’s owner, revealing information about them based on how they choose to use it. As a tribute to this utilitarian household symbol, Neri&Hu used three different ladder proportions to make a set of solid hardwood frames for floor standing mirrors - literal reflections of the user.
757 EXTEND MIRRORS
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Carrying an imprint of heritage with a modern reinterpretation, Zhuzi Table and Lianou Stool are abstractions of two auspicious symbols commonly found in Chinese domestic spaces - the bamboo and the lotus.
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TIMBER Neri&Hu products are available in a choice of American Black Walnut, American White Oak, or European Ash. The timber we use is from sustainable farms. The trees on the farms are pruned regularly to allow for consistent grain patterns and fewer knots, ensuring exceptionally strong planks of the highest quality. Our oil finishes embrace the inherent colour and grain variations in the timber, whilst providing a renewable surface for enduring beauty. Stains are sealed with a clear matte lacquer to maintain the colour whilst preserving the tactility of the surface. Our painted timber is wire brushed before the application of the paint to create a textured surface.
“The rawness of material is something we like to explore. De La Espada really understand wood and the way they work with wood it really feels like wood.” - Neri&Hu
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DANISH OILED AMERICAN BLACK WALNUT
BROWN STAINED EUROPEAN ASH
DANISH OILED AMERICAN WHITE OAK
BLACK STAINED EUROPEAN ASH
WHITE OILED AMERICAN WHITE OAK
BROWN PAINTED RAL 8019 EUROPEAN ASH - BRUSHED
DANISH OILED EUROPEAN ASH
BLACK PAINTED RAL 8022 EUROPEAN ASH - BRUSHED
WHITE OILED EUROPEAN ASH
WHITE PAINTED RAL 9010 EUROPEAN ASH - BRUSHED 31
INSPIRING BOOKS Neri&Hu have a deep appreciation for the work of Charles and Ray Eames and their boundless exploration into numerous aspects of design and art. They value architects including Peter Zumthor, Richard Neutra, and Carlo Scarpa who design with sensitivity to the context and history of each project, creating memorable experiences and spaces. The artists and writers who interest Neri&Hu capture something honest about human existence, revealing the hidden or secretive, with narratives that are poignantly autobiographical.
Alberto Giacometti: A Biography of His Work
Hiroshi Sugimoro: Dioramas
Neutra, Complete Works
First Love and Other Novellas by Samuel Beckett
“We’re designing it in China and having it made in Portugal. Why? Because it’s really just the best craft we’ve seen so far. What we’re saying is that China needs to step out there and show the world that we can also design and create.” - Neri&Hu
Richard Serra: Torqued Spirals, Toruses and Spheres
Eduardo Chillida: Writings
Louise Bourgeois
Alberto Giacometti: Drawings and Watercolours
Persistence of Vision: Shanghai Architects in Dialogue
Carlo Scarpa: Architecture and Design
Eames
Peter Zumthor
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PRODUCTS
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750 SOLO DINING CHAIR
753 DUET CHAIR
763 SHAKER DINING CHAIR
754C TRIO CONSOLE TABLE
754O TRIO OVAL COFFEE TABLE
761M ZHUZI TABLE
751 SOLO LOUNGE CHAIR
751O SOLO OTTOMAN
750P/T SOLO BAR STOOL
752 SOLO DINING TABLE
752R SOLO ROUND TABLE
762 STRUCTURE TABLE
750B SOLO BENCH
771 COMMUNE BENCH
770 COMMUNE STOOL
764 SHAKER DINING TABLE
756 TRAY DESK
759L TRUNK TALL CABINET
761T LIANOU STOOL
750L SOLO SOFA
755 PLATFORM SOFA
759S TRUNK LOW CABINET
758 PLATFORM BED
765 FRAME BED
766 FRAME SOFA
754S TRIO SIDE TABLE
754M TRIO ROUND COFFEE TABLE
768 FRAME BED WITH ARMS
760 LATTICE
757 EXTEND MIRRORS
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photography credits P. 3 by Andrew Rowat P. 23,26,29 by Derryck Menere