Giseok kim - Unit 1, AL, Wall Mounted Type, 2024

Year: 2024

Made in: Belgium 

Material: Aluminium Sheet, Bolts, Nuts

Dimentions: W875 x D290 x H290 mm

Giseok Kim (1990, KR) designed the Aluminium Shelf Series in 2021. The shelves were first produced in Seoul for Spatial Semiology (2019–2022), the spatial design studio Giseok founded to explore the potential of movable objects and symbols in an interior design context. In 2023, COUR became the first to produce the Aluminium Shelf series in Europe, introducing the modules to a wider audience via the COUR showroom and exhibition space in Antwerp.

The Aluminium Shelf Series is an aluminium-based modular shelving system built around three ‘raw’ compo- nents: each module consists of an aluminium U-profile whose parallel planes are joined with nuts and bolts.

The system is inspired by ‘skeleton architecture,’
the beauty of empty spaces and exposed materials. Assembled into units, it oscillates between sculpture
and container, emptiness and functionality, establishing
a relational presence through reflected light, negative space, and fluctuating mass. Its tripartite structure (nuts, bolts, and folded aluminum) expresses the formal logic of points, lines, and planes and emphasises the possibilities of infinite modular expansion.

Produced in small-scale industrial ensembles using readily available materials, the Aluminium Shelf Series offers a practical and versatile solution for storage and display in any type of space, whether stacked or mounted side by side, as stand-alone units, or in modular ensembles.

The aluminum shelf series is designed to maintain the natural, warm, and subtle glow and reflectivity of untreated aluminum by forgoing any post-processing.
For Giseok, it is important to embrace the material’s natural characteristics, including any stains or scratches, which will develop more character over time, similar to patina on a sculpture. Therefore, stains and scratches may easily occur during production, assembly, installation, and thereafter. We want to emphasize that these wear marks are not flaws in the work; rather, we believe they will reveal great beauty as time passes. If you choose to handle the object less, it can maintain its initial condition, depending on the care you provide.