Bram Vanderbeke’s Anthology Side Table/Stool Merges Architecture, Jewelry and Punk DIY Ethos
Belgian designer Bram Vanderbeke teams with jeweler Lore Van Keer to turn stacked‑ring geometry into a limited‑edition concrete‑and‑aluminum stool.
From Bricklaying Dreams to Sculptural Furniture
Bram Vanderbeke grew up wanting to be a bricklayer, a childhood ambition that led him to study woodwork and construction before turning to design at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent and graduating from Design Academy Eindhoven. Today he works as an artist and designer in his hometown, exploring how an object relates to its architectural setting and its user.
Collaboration with Lore Van Keer
Vanderbeke’s latest project is the LVK × BV Anthology Side Table/Stool, a limited‑edition piece created with Belgian jeweler Lore Van Keer. The collection includes a silver necklace and a sculptural stool, produced in runs of 20 and eight pieces respectively. The stool features alternating layers of cast concrete and aluminum, each hand‑crafted in Vanderbeke’s Belgian atelier using a new mold for every piece, making each item unique.
Design Inspiration: Stacked Geometry
Van Keer’s Anthology 10 ring, with its stacked geometric forms, sparked the idea for the furniture piece. “I liked the stacked shapes of the collection,” Vanderbeke said, noting that the jewelry’s circles and hexagons were translated into the stool’s three‑dimensional shape. The rhythm of the ring’s stacked forms became the guiding structure for the concrete‑and‑aluminum layers.
Architectural References
While developing the design, Vanderbeke consulted a monograph on Isamu Noguchi titled A Sculptor’s World. The book showcases Noguchi’s ceiling and waterfall installation for the lobby of 666 Fifth Avenue in New York, noted for its layered aluminum construction. Vanderbeke incorporated a similar layered approach into the Anthology piece.
Ancient Forms and Ruins
Vanderbeke also cites “excavations and ruins” as a continual source of inspiration, especially the rough, stacked shapes of Roman columns. These ancient forms inform the tactile, sculptural quality of his work, reinforcing the connection between past architecture and contemporary design.
Punk DIY Ethos
Beyond formal influences, Vanderbeke acknowledges the impact of his upbringing in the hardcore punk subculture, which he describes as built on DIY shows and a close‑knit community. The DIY motivation to “make things happen” aligns with his hands‑on approach to creating objects that sit at the intersection of art, design and architecture.
Recent Activities and Commissions
This fall Vanderbeke presented “Cavea,” a group exhibition organized by Brut Collective—the Belgian collectible design group he co‑founded in 2018—and DesignUnDisciplined, featuring over 70 works by more than 40 designers. His recent commissions include designs for the newly reopened museum shop at Design Museum Gent and collaborations with Bottega Veneta, Kelly Wearstler and Lore Van Keer.
Production Details
The Anthology Side Table/Stool is designed for indoor or outdoor use and is made to order. Each piece’s unique mold ensures that no two stools are exactly alike, emphasizing the handcrafted nature of the work.
Vanderbeke’s fusion of ancient architectural language, modern material layering and punk‑driven DIY spirit illustrates how contemporary designers can reinterpret historic forms for today’s tactile, cross‑disciplinary market.
