Based in Mexico City, Emiliano Godoy has studied in New York and Denmark and lectured at a variety of conferences around the world, including Chicago, Antwerp, Colombia and the UK. Director of Godoylab and design director for Pirwi, Godoy is a firm believer in sustainable strategies for manufacturing. One of his most recent designs is the Camouflage Chair that highlights its humble materials instead of hiding them.

Camouflage Chair


Why choose camouflage as a theme for this chair?

It's always been very disappointing to me when I turn upside down or disassemble an expensive piece of furniture and see the lengths to which manufacturers go to hide the materials they're using. When exposed, however, this fact tells a lot about the intentions and nature of the manufacturer. I wanted to use OSB, which I love, and use a camouflage texture to talk about the deceptive nature of this concealment. I also wanted to draw an analogy between the layers in the graphic, which is visible through the shadows generated by the different machining depths, and the opposed meanings of the outer veneer and the structural OSB.



Camouflage Chair


The black veneer embellishes the OSB (oriented strand board) quite elegantly. Do you foresee a greater acceptance of leaving materials such as OSB, particleboard and plywood visible?

Absolutely. There is a wide and untapped potential in using these and other materials in a more honest way. Their expressive quality is tremendous, and it makes a lot of sense to use them because they are great in environmental terms: most are made from fast growing conifers and use a larger proportion of the tree than working with solid wood. It's important to check which glue is used, and demand that it comes from sustainably managed forests, though. The problem is that if manufacturers keep hiding them and reinforcing the idea that these are ugly or low quality materials, people will have a hard time accepting them. For years I've been leaving exposed edges when I work with plywood, OSB and other board materials, and I feel like the public is more open to it lately.



Flex Bench


Your design experience has taken you all around the globe. How would you describe contemporary Mexican design in relation to what is going on elsewhere?

I'm not really sure. There's a lot of experimentation going on, and a lot of different styles present, including some that look quite familiar to what's going on abroad. However, I think the most interesting work comes from designers working with local manufacturers and resources, which without trying to be Mexican they necessarily look different from mainstream European or American design, because they come from a different context. I'm talking about people like Héctor Galván, Carla Fernández, Cecilia León de la Barra and the Lara brothers. I guess we'll be able to define more clearly what's happening in a few years, but I am very happy to be based in Mexico City right now: it's an amazing and inspiring place.



Pond


What are some of the concerns shared by Mexican designers today?

I guess the general feeling is that we have to work decidedly and fast in planning for the very different country we'll have in a few years. By 2020 Mexico will run out of oil, which currently supports almost half of the country's economy, and we already have a very big issue with drug cartels and insecurity in some states. If you add a world financial crisis, an economy tightly tied to the US and other long-term issues such as global warming and resource depletion, the situation is very discouraging. In this context my impression is that designers and architects are increasingly aware of their capacity to envision desirable future scenarios, and that now is the time to start generating alternative development routes. We'll see in a few years what comes out of this.



Flex Coffee Table


What designs are you currently working on?

I'm installing a few custom pieces for the new Spanish Cultural Center in Mexico City, a building designed by Javier Sánchez and Jose Castillo. Also working on two new tabletop designs for glass manufacturer Nouvel Studio, a new chair for Pirwi, and working on a piece inspired by early bent-wood Thonet for a show in March at Cuchifritos in NYC. I am also working with a group of designers in proposing a national policy of design to the Mexican government. I'm in charge of the relationship between design and environmental impact, and defining what the government can do to support designers in getting the appropriate information and regulations, and manufacturers in implementing DfE strategies into their business models. It's a long shot, but I really hope this finds its way to an actual law or national policy in the short term.

+ godoylab.com