Student Honor Dalrymple has completed a beautiful oak desk that, with its clean lines and design simplicity, owes much to the Bauhaus and Shaker styles.
It’s also a desk that reflects her background as a trained civil engineer and her previous career as a structural engineer.
Honor, who is from East Lothian, is much influenced by the simplicity and honesty of the Bauhaus and Shaker styles, with their accent on both functionality and lack of ornamentation, and the basic design for her desk was already in her mind before she started the course.
Her previous training has given her the experience and skill to visualise in 3D, understand structure, and the strength and limitations of materials – all of which is evident in her confident design of what’s she’s named Desk One.
The Bauhaus style, which flourished in early 20th century Germany, but became known as the international style, was marked by an absence of ornamentation and by harmony between an object’s form and function.
Shaker furniture, from the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, reflects more religious principles of simplicity, utility and honesty.
Both styles, however, celebrate minimalist design with functional form and proportion – clearly evident in Honor’s well-executed desk.
Despite the desk’s design and construction being a labour of love, Honor hopes to sell it at one of the graduation exhibitions.