Concrete Stools by J. Byron-H. All photographs by Samuel McGuire, courtesy of byron-h.com

What do you get if you cross brutalism with skateboards?

LA architect and designer J. Byron-H's new line of stools draw on concrete buildings and skateboard decks

A little over forty years ago, the drained, concrete swimming pools of drought-stricken, southern California gave skateboarders such as Stacy Peralta the ideal environment to develop the modern skate techniques that now define the pastime.

 

Concrete Stools by J. Byron-H.
Concrete Stools by J. Byron-H.

This summer, the LA designer and architect J. Byron-H  is repaying that debt to the hard stuff, with a series of brutalist stools that combine concrete with a rounded form remarkably similar to the modern skateboard deck. 

His Concrete Stools are fashioned from glass-fibre reinforced concrete, are inspired by brutalism and skate culture, but come in a remarkably summery selection of pastel shades.

 

J. Byron-H creating his Concrete Stools
J. Byron-H creating his Concrete Stools

“The combination of a raw, permanent material with a lightweight colourful treatment and an anthropomorphic scalloped form re-inserts a sense of playfulness and control into a material often associated with weight, ruins or architectural brutalism,” says the designer (somewhat studiously, might we say). Anyway, one things for sure: you don’t want to try a rail grind with one of these.  

Atlas of Brutalist Architecture
Atlas of Brutalist Architecture

For more on imaginative seating, get Chair, for more on brutalism order Atlas of Brutalist Architecture.