Go to main content

Quiet design

Simon Pengelly - Pengelly Design Ltd, United Kingdom

Design created
to be timeless

SIMON PENGELLY - DESIGNER | Simon seeks solutions with timeless forms that can fit into very different environments. He has used 'quiet design' as a description of what is often the goal. His material knowledge began early. As a child in Henley-on-Thames, he was given early assignments to help his father build well-crafted furniture, and to this day he wants to bring out the soul and craftsmanship that was typical of Simon early on. After studying at Rycotewood College and Kingston Polytechnic, he has had many collaborations across Europe and a long list of awards. The company he runs is called Simon Pengelly Design Ltd.

I believe quiet design has an easier time interacting with other furniture and styles and with many different types of interior elements. It therefore has a longer lifespan as it is designed to be timeless.

Simon on plastic materials

The discussion about traditional plastic materials is significant in most countries where Simon has his collaborations.

We always try to use the best material for the job, if it happens to be a traditional plastic and no other biological material is usable, either due to cost or practical reasons, then we must pragmatically use traditional plastic. But if we see alternatives with more environmentally friendly materials that can replace traditional plastics, we obviously support the development and would like to try the new materials.

Simon about Ackurat

Ackurat regularly visits Simon's partners around Europe and sometimes we also visit Simon at his office in London. However, he is a person who is often on the move.

At Ackurat, we usually find exactly what we're looking for. When we don't, they are immediately ready to, when possible, adapt a standard detail or produce a completely unique one... in a special colour, for example.

Sometimes we find standard details that, if they had a slightly different shape from the start, would require fewer adaptations for different projects. I see this as a development opportunity for Ackurat. Perhaps working even closer with furniture designers when developing standard products.