Chest of drawers Gio
The chest of drawers Gio is a complex, accent piece that sets the tone for the entire interior. The external image is inspired by the spirit of the late mid-century. The item is available in two variants: for six or eight spacious drawers. High-quality cognac-colored tempered glass works as a console shelf. The supports are made of ash tree. Stabilizers, fittings of the console shelf and supports are made of brass. The facades are made of American walnut. The veneered body elements use a combination of materials: MDF with walnut lining around the perimeter, covered with a double layer of veneer. This technology ensures the stability of the glossy coating and the resistance of the object to significant changes in humidity and temperature inside the room. Drawers with a fabric bottom slide out almost silently, which keeps the silence and calm atmosphere in the house.
The name is an homage to the contribution of Gio Ponti from the lead designer of Unika Sergey Gravchikov. Gio is called the father of Italian design: he created many iconic pieces for the interior and wrote more than 600 works on design and architecture.
The spacious chest of drawers Gio is all about attention to details and complex design moves: the play of shapes with light, reflection and color. Connections of radii with flat areas highlight the volumes. Due to the angle, the front part is directed towards the viewer’s eye to create visual contact between the object and the person.
The chest of drawers looks very light thanks to its thin but strong brass supports and grotesque handles and soft rounded elements covered with gloss coating make it friendly, welcoming and slightly childish. This reflexively evokes an association with a lollipop.
The initial idea for creating the chest of drawers Gio was to continue the collection of the same name, which already included a desk. However, as at Gio Ponti, the evolution of his ideas can be traced throughout the entire period of his work, so the visual image of the chest of drawers changed significantly already at the sketch stage. That’s how the items from this collection took on a separate life of their own.
One of the key tasks that we set ourselves in the development of this chest of drawers was visual compactness:
in order not to look heavy with its spaciousness, thanks to the soft volumes, it is externally perceived as smaller than it actually is. It was also important for us to recreate the reddish-red tint typical of mid-century items.
Taking as a base an American walnut and testing different impregnations on it, we experimentally searched for the desired shade, the desired effect and sensations. As a result of mixing cabernet shades and natural teak, the desired colour was achieved.
Intentionally large handles appeared later. “In the first sketches, each drawer had its own handle-button. This visually overloaded the facades. Then I changed my mind and made them very large and divided them in half. This technique became the final chord in the composition. It also allowed to make the chest of drawers glossy. After all, those places that a person will touch are hidden behind the handles and thus do not leave fingerprints on the surface,” says Sergey Gravchikov, head of the R’n’D department at Unika.
The glossy finishing added extra volume due to the reflection of elements.