Pohihi

Entry Console for JOHI Furniture & Design

Modern warmth with woven accents. This piece is designed to feature a commonality of two cultures, Arab and Hawaiian, while leaving room to impart one's own style on a clean aesthetic. Constructed with a stained beech body, it hosts a set of four monkeypod faced drawers. Completed with solid beech, the drawers slide naturally on wooden tracks. Handwoven laced danish cord draw the eye from cabinet door to statement shelf. Secured with magnetic fittings, the cabinet door opens to a spacious interior with shelf.

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Pohihi by Raja Badr El Din

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Entry Console by Raja Badr El Din

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Raja Badr El Din Pohihi

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Raja Badr El Din Entry Console

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Raja Badr El Din Design Team Photo

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JOHI Furniture amp DesignBrand Logo

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Raja Badr-El-Din Interview

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Pohihi Entry Console Press Releases

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Pohihi Entry Console Media Articles

Ready-to-feature articles on Pohihi are available in these languages: Korean, Chinese (Mandarin), Hindi, Spanish, Italian, Indonesian, Dutch, English, Turkish, Arabic (Standard), German, French, Portuguese, Japanese and Russian, for your convenience.

Unique Properties

Monkeypod drawer fronts & handwoven laced danish cord stand out as highlights of this piece, framed with a stained beech body. The drawers are completed with solid beech, sliding naturally on wooden tracks. The danish cord cabinet door gives this piece a unique, clean, organic touch. Open the cabinet door to find a spacious interior with shelf. With an easy push the magnetic fittings will secure it closed. Mirroring the woven door, a low shelf allows a gorgeous touch, functional and decorative.

Tags

furniture, home, joinery, weaving, residential, interior, storage, modern, living

Production Technology

Materials-wise, we needed to design around Hawaii's fluctuating climate, throughout the year moving from from humid to dry, hot to cold. For this reason, we chose to make the frame in dimensionally stable hardwood plywood and use traditional wood joinery that accounts for wood movement. You'll find more about our approach to weaving and reason for weaving with laced danish cord in the Research section.

Design Challenge

One of the most challenging aspects of designing a piece with multicultural intent is leaving flexibility for future clients or customers to impart their own style and interpretation on it. There's also much more to share from a cultural and locale perspective than what is stereotypical. There is more to island style than white washing wood; more to Hawaiian design than kapa motifs. There is more to Arab art than calligraphy and geometric pattern. Our goal was to design a contemporary piece that represented a common ground of our cultures and felt true to ourselves.

Project Duration

Location: Haliimaile, Maui, Hawaii, USA Year: 2019

Operation Flow

The handwoven Danish cord of the cabinet door acts both as artistic visual interest and a type of handle, as no distinct handle is in the design. The drawer handles are similarly low profile to let the clean lines of the overall design shine.

Research

We challenged ourselves to design around commonalities in Arab and Hawaiian cultural practices. We looked to our personal experiences from youth to adulthood as well as cultural readings and contemporary practice in both areas. Rather than focusing on visual pattern, we were drawn to the process of weaving. In the Arab world, Sadu (السدو) is the tradition of geometric embroidery for furnishings, rugs and saddles. This practice is historically carried out by the women of Bedouin communities, and it offers a chance to gather and share news and stories. As the world changes, this tradition is being left behind and is now considered a UNESCO Cultural Heritage Tradition in need of safeguarding. The same may be said of needing to safeguard knowledge here in Hawai'i of making and using cordage. Within Polynesian voyaging, fishing, and land cultivation culture, there was always great need to create strong durable kaula (cord/rope) from available natural resources. The plants often used include olona, pulu niu (coconut husk fiber) & hau (sea hibiscus). After gathering and crafting certain sizes and lengths of cordage, it could be used for canoe lashings, carrying handles or net bags, slings, sandals, a sewing material, and more. In reviewing weaving materials, we settled on weaving with laced Danish cord, a paper base product that began gaining popularity for use in furniture after WWII. Most cords feature a 3-ply construction, where paper is twisted together to produce a very strong laced cord. While it can be a little tricky to work with at times, knotting up on itself and untwisting, the cord is a perfect material choice for stressed applications and longevity in furniture. Experimenting with different weaving styles, we ultimately found the design needed variation between a less complex weave and one with more density to create a stronger visual dynamic.

Inspiration

Designed to tuck away bits and bobs while jointly displaying household favorites. We strove to highlight weaving, as it is an important technique used in my family's cultures, Arab and Hawaiian. As modern homes tend to get cluttered quickly, it was important to create a clean aesthetic that could l provide ample storage. Together, the wood and laced danish cord are intended to bring a warm modern feel to the home.

Image Credits

Image #1 - #5: Photographer Raja Badr-El-Din, Pohihi Entry Console, 2019

Project Overview

Pohihi Entry Console has been a Iron winner in the Furniture Design award category in the year 2019 organized by the prestigious A' Design Award & Competition. The Iron A' Design Award is awarded to good designs that meet the rigorous professional and industrial standards set by the A' Design Awards. This recognition is reserved for works that demonstrate a solid understanding of design principles and show creativity within their execution. Recipients of the Iron A' Design Award are acknowledged for their practical innovations and contributions to their respective fields, providing solutions that improve quality of life and foster positive change. These designs are a testament to the skill and dedication of their creators, showcasing their ability to address real-world challenges through thoughtful design.

Iron Recognition

Raja Badr-El-Din was recognized with the coveted Iron A' Design Award in 2020, a testament to excellence of their work Pohihi Entry Console.

Raja Badr-El-Din Press Releases

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JOHI Furniture & Design Unveils Pohihi Entry Console

Introducing the Pohihi Entry Console by JOHI Furniture & Design, a Fusion of Arab and Hawaiian Cultures

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