“The pleasure of being surprised by the material and coincidence” – this programmatic quotation is placed before a brief text by Shizuka Saito about her work. It refers to her method of working as a designer, which is primarily characterised by experimental access, in which the unplannable and unforeseeable chance finds play a major role. She explains her great interest in materials and the potential hidden inside them together with design details with her Japanese roots and the influence of the philosophy of Wabi-Sabi. Ethical and ecological considerations also come into the equation of her design practice. These topics are reflected in her projects, whose width ranges from more small-scale items, via scenography to interior design work. The Mauler table, which was designed as an individual piece, is an example of her material research. The voluminous table top, which is composed of a large number of square tiles, gives a heavy, stone-like impression and is inspired by marble. However, the tiles are actually made of papier mâché.

Comments of the nominators:
Shizuka Saito’s material experiments sometimes lead to surprising, visually appealing results. She creates objects from even the most ordinary starting materials, like papier mâché, and gives them a certain added value.