stew design
Architects and brothers Jon and Kevin Racek head Stew Design Workshop. With a strong foundation in technology, Stew seeks to infuse its work with creativity, economy and wit. Past projects include: an architectural installation in an abandoned staircase, a DIY homeless shelter made with a shopping cart, a design for a medical clinic made from a recycled oil tanker, as well as their line of sculptural plywood furniture. Stew’s work straddles the line between craft and mass-production. While they embrace the benefits of standardization for reasons of economy and efficiency, they seek to create pieces that are unique and individual. The strata chair was inspired by the geological beauty of Southern Utah. The area's erosion-created landscape is echoed in the chair's smooth exterior and rough interior. Made entirely of 48 laminated rings of plywood, the chair uses the most banal of materials in a new way. The different layers of wood within each piece of plywood create the unique range of color apparent in each chair.