Designer Story
Lyndon’s design team recognised that the market was ready for a new generation of banquette seating, extending the lineage from the popular Bank range into an enhanced cohort of seating solutions. Ethan Lee, Production Engineer at Lyndon, led the project which began with inviting Boss Design’s Design Director Mark Barrell and Creative Director Ceri Lovett to join forces for the ideation phase from which the final brief was formed. Ethan picks up the story…
“This was my first opportunity to lead a project from concept to delivery, translating a design brief into a three-dimensional advancement for the product range. Following the ideation phase with Mark and Ceri, we followed up with a great deal of research to ensure that our market knowledge was robust and reliable. We formed a New Product Development group from colleagues across Boss Design and Lyndon, with individuals selected for their expertise and experience within the hospitality sector and firsthand knowledge of what clients want from banquette seating.
We recognised that banquette designs were outdated; Enso was much needed to reenergise that category. Our approach was decisively less angular, less linear, more rounded, more curvaceous and softer than Bank. Enso is playful in shape, lending itself to a wide range of environments. We also looked at the established rules around banquette, and the purposes/needs that banquette seating addresses – dining, working, meeting and so on. Considerations, such as the criteria necessary to meet F&B standards – easy to clean, spillage and stain concerns as well as wear and tear and damage etc – also played into the overall design.
When we felt that Enso met these benchmarks, the 3D modelling and rendering could begin. This phase is crucial as getting the proportions right can make or break a new product. For example, we decreased the height of the seat back by 50mm and it improved the look and feel entirely. Attention to detail is a key and consistent pillar of our design approach, as is the direction of building from the inside outwards. The two different layers of Orbis foam create a level of comfort not previously met through banquette and ensures that the sit is as inviting as it looks; crafted comfort. Steve Ranson, our Master Upholsterer, who has been at Lyndon for over 40 years. Such is his wealth of experience, Steve can visualise how a fabric will morph around foam, will shape and drape, and perform in any given guise. Working with him was a blessing, and we collaborated closely on elements such as where seams will be best placed, to agree an optimal degree of sinkage and so on.
Sustainability drives our decision making. We sourced the plywood internal from a trusted FSC accredited supplier and addressed production efficiency to make the process as lean as possible for assembly and manufacture. The traditional craftsmanship is tangible – from the wood to the fabric, the team at Lyndon have had hands on every component of Enso. I’m so proud that Enso upholds the traditional artisanal style of workmanship for which Lyndon is known whilst also pioneering the next generation of product design.”
Phil Bennett, Ethan’s colleague in Lyndon’s design team, also commented: “Lyndon has banquette design and manufacture in its DNA. Traditionally banquette seating was formal, functional and firm – Enso is an evolution of that output. It is softer, more lounge-like, with precise, compact dimensions engineered to take up less footprint in an interior. The scope of configuration options is a huge advantage, designed to meet the needs of a multitude of spaces and functions – the Swiss Army knife of banquette seating”.
When asked, Ethan has this to say about the joys and the challenges the project presented: “The biggest test was the modularity and connectivity, how we could ensure that the modules joined together symbiotically, seamlessly, fluidly. Equally, the upholstery was less than straightforward because complexity increases with the tailoring for organic forms – stitching is functional as well as aesthetic. Form meets function and everything has its purpose.
But my abiding sense of achievement is leading a project that brought Enso from an idea to a three-dimensional new product that has more than made its mark on the industry landscape.
The crowning glory for me though was finding a name that all parties agreed was perfect for the end product. It’s such a personal stamp and one I’ll forever regard as a career highlight.”
“Zen circles, ensō, are symbols of teaching, reality, enlightenment, and a myriad of things in between. Seemingly perfect in their continuity, balance, and sense of completeness, and yet often irregular in execution, ensō are at once the most fundamentally simple and the most complex shape. They seem to leave little room for variation, and yet in the hands of Zen masters, the varieties of personal expression are endless. Ensō evoke power, dynamism, charm, humour, drama, and stillness.”
Audrey Yoshiko Seo, author of Ensō: Zen Circles of Enlightenment:
