Totem 01
Totem 01 is a vertical composition in stacked volumes by Studio Goons, which reads as an object or as a pedestal depending on where it is placed and what is placed on it.
It came out of a pile of wood on a workbench. We had cut a large number of angled legs for a commissioned couch and stacked them on a table while we waited to assemble. The alternating pattern made a zigzag, and we called it a totem, which is the architectural term for stacked tectonic elements. That was the whole design.
The accidental geometry of our own constructive process is a recurring source for us, and this is the most literal case of it in the collection. Nothing was added to turn the stack into an object except resolution. Totem 01 was our first move toward art podiums for the home. Our background includes a lot of exhibition work, where we designed displays for art and sculpture for major museums and galleries. We wanted a series that let people arrange their own rooms the same way, with a plinth that holds an object at the right height and does not compete with it. Whether it reads as sculpture or as support is decided by the owner, not by us. Left empty it is an object. Holding a ceramic it supports and elevates.
Totems are frequently bought in twos and threes. The repeated angles mean that grouping and stacking read as a single composition rather than as several objects in a room.
Studio Goons is a Paris-based collectible furniture and design atelier founded in 2020 by architect Paul Trussler and designer Mia Kim. Every work is made to order and hand-built by us, signed and numbered. See also the Entry Column.
- Material
- Scandinavian birch plywood
- Dimensions
- 30 × 30 × 56 cm
- Finish
- Black Satin, Matte Grey
- Lead Time
- 3 to 6 weeks
- Edition
- Signed, numbered
- Made in
- France
Standard finishes shown. Custom finishes and materials available on request.
Each work, made to measure. Dimensions, finishes, and materials are resolved in conversation with the studio.
