Nuage Cabinet C H A R LO T T E P E R R I AND
Design Classics DAVID MEAGHER
The shelving, above and left, comes in different heights and colours and can be configured in various combinations
he French designer Charlotte Perriand was so in awe of Swiss architect Le Corbusier that in 1927, aged 24, she showed up at his studio asking for a job. He is reported to have said “We don’t embroider cushions here.” Later that year, Perriand was praised by critics for her rooftop bar at the Salon d’Automne, built entirely in nickel-plated copper and anodised aluminium. Le Corbusier was so impressed that he got in contact with her and began what would become a decade-long collaboration. Perriand then went to live in Vietnam and Japan, which is where she came up with the design for one of her most iconic pieces: the Nuage shelving unit. She wrote in 1940 about the shelves she saw at the Katsura Imperial Villa in Kyoto: “[They were] arranged on the walls, in the form of a cloud. A free form that gives rhythm to space and enhances the objects it supports.” Today there are various models in different heights and colours. They can be arranged in various configurations, thanks to the coloured sliding panels, trays and shelves, and the modular system can be joined with other units in myriad combinations. The first versions were made from wood due to war time rationing but by 1956 they appeared in aluminium. Original versions sell in the six figures at auction, and today they are produced in aluminium with timber panels exclusively by Cassina and are available in Australia from Space Furniture. spacefurniture.com.au 58
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THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN
| MARCH 14-15, 2020
