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Tim Rundle
- INDUSTRIAL DESIGN •
hen designing I always sketch first,
then scale-model quickly with
paper or cardboard, and finally
model full-size in materials which
I can adjust easily,” says industrial designer
Tim Rundle. That’s evident from archival
drawings and paper templates pinned to his
studio’s walls and 3D scale models arrayed
on its shelves. Working with full-size 3D
models helps him anticipate any potential
production difficulties and modify aspects
of their design accordingly. As a tutor at
the Royal College of Art in London, Tim
observes that “students now feel safer in the
virtual world, and need encouragement to
get their hands dirty in the workshop.” He
also uses computers himself, of course, but
never in isolation from the material world.
His own studies at Victoria University in
Having established his own studio
in 2015, following stints at Tim Dixon
and Conran and Partners, UK-based
industrial designer Tim Rundle has
a growing global reputation.Words by Colin MartinWellington, New Zealand began with
architecture, but the buzz in the adjacent
design department convinced him to switch
courses. In 2008 he moved to London,
directing product design at Tom Dixon
and then Conran and Partners, before
establishing his own studio in 2015. Now
his global reputation is growing, following
design collaborations with manufacturers
including Menu, Resident and Space.
Tim designs “anything that has a
relationship to spaces that architects
create,” with experience spanning
furniture, lighting, kitchen products and
architectural hardware. In conversation,
his enthusiasm for relationships that
people form with spaces they inhabit, and
objects they use or believe beautiful (to
paraphrase William Morris), testifies to
his grounded approach to contemporary
design. Recognizing that many city dwellers
are peripatetic renters, his TR Bulb designed
for Menu enables stylish light fittings to
be moved easily between apartments. Its
spherical form can function as a table, wall
or pendant lamp, with the latter notably in
Tim’s four-bulb linear chandelier design.
His Bloom Pendant lamp for Resident has
a finely perforated, cylindrical metal coreencased within clear frosted or smoked
glass, providing diffused light laterally
and task lighting beneath.
Space recently released his SP
furniture designs, including the Caristo
low- and high-back armchairs (the latter
evoking a wingchair), Shu-Ying tub chair,
and Mohana table comprising a circular
corrugated glass tabletop overlapping a
rectangular marble tabletop. Wingchairs
and tub chairs are classical typologies, but
by removing mass from below and leaving
a graphic frame to describe their shape and
volume, Tim has redefined them for twenty-
first-century living. “I haven’t had a project
that I haven’t come up with a solution for,”
he says with relief. That eventuality seems
unlikely, given his thoughtful approach
to design.
Asked what his two “desert island”
design classics would be – one historic
and one contemporary – Tim nominated
his Leica M6 camera (1984) and Jasper
Morrison “stumpy” wine glasses (2008,
produced by Alessi). A bit cheeky to assume
that film processing and winemaking would
be available on the island, but he’d probably
overcome those challenges.
timrundle.net02 03 04 01 The Resident Bloom
Pendant lamp provides
diffused light laterally
and task lighting beneath.02 Industrial designer
Tim Rundle.03 The Shu-Ying Armchair,
released by SP01, features
a distinctive frame and
softly gathered upholstery.04 Designed for Menu, the
TR Bulb can function as
a table, wall or pendant
lamp, offering flexibility
to peripatetic renters.STUDIO