Joris Laarman

Designer Joris Laarman was born in the countryside of Borculo, the Netherlands, in 1979. He studied at Design Academy Eindhoven, graduating cum laude in 2003. He first earned notable attention with his graduation project, Heatwave, a functional radiator featuring concrete rococo curlicues. It was quickly picked up by Droog and is now also produced by Jaga. Other major projects include the 2006 Bone Chair (and its complementary furniture collection), molded from marble and porcelain mixed with resin, and composed using an algorithm that replicates the functionality and complexity of the human bone.

He established Joris Laarman Studio in Amsterdam in 2003. In 2004, Wallpaper Magazine named Laarman “Young Designer of the Year.” That same year, he launched the Joris Laarman Lab, also in Amsterdam, with filmmaker Anita Star. Together, Laarman and Star focus on the design—and sometimes manufacturing—of experimental architectural interventions, products, film, and workshops. The Lab collaborates with scientists, craftspeople, and engineers on designs that embrace both cutting-edge technologies and tradition, and, at the same time, evoke emotional responses from users. The overall aesthetic is futuristic and elegant.

In 2011, The Wall Street Journal called Laarman “Design Innovator of the Year.”