Interview mit Carlos Tíscar, Designer von TOOL

Kreative Prozesse und Produktentwicklung sind komplexe Herausforderungen. In diesem Interview wenden wir uns an Carlos Tíscar, den Designer der FAST und TOOL Tische, um zu erfahren, wie es ihm gelungen ist, Form und Funktion in Einklang zu bringen und das Wesen dieser Reise durch Kreativität und Design einzufangen.

Wir lassen das Interview in seiner Originalsprache (Englisch), damit bei der Übersetzung nicht die Nuancen verloren gehen, die den Worten letztlich ihren Charakter verleihen.

• What motivated you to create TOOL?

A few years ago I designed the FAST Table for Sellex and, since then, I had always thought that there could be a new chapter in the typology of adaptable tables. When Sellex asked me to design a program of folding and stacking tables, I knew it was time to write that new chapter.

• How was the creative process? What was the source of inspiration?

The definition of the assignment was very clear and precise and that made it much easier to start the project. In addition, I already had a lot of information about this type of table. What I didn't know was what could be added to this typology, something that would justify the project so that the TOOL was not just another table. Finally, I remembered something I had read at the time, about how horizontal surfaces corresponded to individual work and that on vertical surfaces this work was shared with the work group. I thought that the geometry of folding tables has, by itself, both types of surfaces and that the function of a whiteboard was something important. I also sensed that the table could have more uses than the usual ones. As an anecdote, I will say that I sketched the entire program, including its construction details, three meters from the sea, on a quiet beach, in August of last year.

• What was the main challenge that had to be overcome?

One of the aspects that I wanted to achieve was for the table to be as discreet as possible from a formal point of view, but without giving up a defined and original personality. This allows the table to be placed in very different environments, either as a single table or in compositions of many tables. An example of its personality is the design of the base of the table, with a shape that allows saving lateral space when stacking and at the same time making a single die mould; a piece that is used on both sides of the table and that dialogues with the chassis in a natural way.
The challenge came when it came to building the prototypes and testing the technical viability of the new ideas. Ideas that no manufacturer has previously proposed, by the way. In the Sellex technical office I had the best allies and together we were able to come up with good solutions.

• TOOL is a very versatile table, how did you manage to balance the different functions (table, lectern, whiteboard, meeting table) without compromising aesthetics?

Yes, it is a cocktail of functions that was not easy to harmonize, hahaha... anyway, the different functions are complementary and related, for example, the mechanism for the lectern function - a function that I always thought was logical in a table that already has a rotating top - is a necessary step to keep the top vertical in the whiteboard option. Also, the idea of the extendable table, which is centuries old, applied to a community table, was applicable both horizontally and vertically, obtaining in both cases double the available space, either for drawing or for incorporating more people to the meeting around the table.

• In what spaces do you think it can display its full potential? Where does it fit best?

I see that it can be placed either in a student's room, for example, with the high table and the lectern function, where you can rest your laptop to use it more comfortably or to be able to draw or write by hand, or in a cultural centre where seminars or work groups are held, with many tables that can be used in different ways. Precisely because of its discreet shape and its great adaptability, the TOOL is a very versatile table. Likewise, depending on its size and finish, it can be a very basic table or a representation table.

• What does TOOL have that other tables don't? What is its greatest contribution?

Well, several things; from a very simple option, its lectern function, which is very good for presentations of exhibits or projects, to the extendable table option, a function that is a first for this type of table, which allows you to go from a table for two people to one for six or eight, and also its large whiteboard, which is twice as large as the conventional ones for this type of table.

• As a designer, what role does sustainability play in your creative decisions, and how is it present in the design of TOOL?

Sustainability is very important to all people who design, and of course to me as well. For many years I have tried to make my designs follow this criterion. For example, in the TOOL Table, as I have mentioned, the base pieces are obtained from a single matrix, and that already saves energy and emissions in itself. In this table there are no amalgamated materials and that means that at the end of its useful life it can be recycled much more easily. The construction is simple and robust and, due to its aesthetics, I think it will not go out of fashion easily, so it is presumed that its useful life will be extended. There is nothing more sustainable than an object that stands the test of time.

• What is it like working with Sellex? What did you like most about this collaboration?

I have had a very good relationship with Sellex for many years, since I was a young designer (laughs). I had the pleasure of working with their former partners Andrés and Bernabé, with whom I learned many commercial and technical tricks. Later, in the new stage, the relationship has remained just as cordial and productive, because we share the same vision regarding the design and quality of the products. In this latest project, although there have been some difficult moments and also a lot of demands on my part due to the technical complexity of the product, we have worked very well together and overcome most of the difficulties.