Seasons by Nao Tamura

Designer Nao Tamura, has won the I SaloneSatellite Award, with a serving container made in silica sand, called Seasons. It is being shown during the Salone Internazionale del Mobile 2010

Seasons is an interpretation of functional kitchen and serving ware, inspired by nature and technology, through the cultural lens of Japan.

Like a real leaf, each serving dish is flexible and multi-purpose. It rolls up for storage using the benefits of silicone to insure its use in an oven or microware, able to withstand repeated dishwasher cleaning.

Each leaf enjoys its own shape, stackable in its open state, and in multiples, creating a sculptural display of serving artware.

Made from silica sand, silicone is the raw ingredient that ceramic and glass are made from. Compared to glass, very little energy is needed to cretae and process silicone. The ability to process it with low-cost equipment creates an opportunity for localized production. Long-lasting, unbreakeble and chip-resistant, lightweight and flexible, it can be compressed for very economical shipping.