Keiji Takeuchi
Keiji Takeuchi
Download hi-res images (.zip 168 MB)Profil, named after the Norwegian word for “profile,” pays tribute to the aluminum frame at the heart of Japanese designer Keiji Takeuchi’s outdoor seating collection. At Profil’s core lies a meticulous interplay of structure and subtlety—each extruded piece snapping into place with near-imperceptible precision, measured down to 0.1 millimeters. While initially envisioned as a single-profile system, safety and structural needs led to a modular approach in which some parts share profiles and all parts adapt in scale. This versatility gives rise to an expanding landscape of benches and stackable chairs—lounge or high-back, with or without armrests. Balancing precision with engagement was essential to Takeuchi’s approach. As a result, Profil steers away from the “sterility of an over-engineered metal sculpture,” extending instead an open invitation to interact with its refined, yet familiar form.
Keiji Takeuchi is a Japanese furniture and industrial designer with a truly global outlook. His work transcends any culture or language, characterised by its purity, materiality and the absence of superfluous elements. Receiving his education in product design in Auckland, New Zealand, Takeuchi set up his own studio in 2015 and has since collaborated with renowned design brands such as Boffi,Alessi, De Padova, Living Divani, Geiger / Hermanmiller, Ligne Roset, Karimoku and Fredericia. Takeuchi was recently awarded the Monocle Design Award 2024 for his dining chair design Villetta for De Padova. During the Milan Design Week 2024, he orchestrated the ‘Walking Sticks & canes’ exhibition at Triennale Milano, which was the first curation show both conceived and staged by Takeuchi. A global success, the show has toured Karimoku Commons Tokyo, Emeco House, Venice, California and resulted in the book ‘Walking Sticks‘ from Lars Müller Publishers with Marco Sammicheli.
Profil, named after the Norwegian word for “profile,” pays tribute to the aluminum frame at the heart of Japanese designer Keiji Takeuchi’s outdoor seating collection. At Profil’s core lies a meticulous interplay of structure and subtlety—each extruded piece snapping into place with near-imperceptible precision, measured down to 0.1 millimeters. While initially envisioned as a single-profile system, safety and structural needs led to a modular approach in which some parts share profiles and all parts adapt in scale. This versatility gives rise to an expanding landscape of benches and stackable chairs—lounge or high-back, with or without armrests. Balancing precision with engagement was essential to Takeuchi’s approach. As a result, Profil steers away from the “sterility of an over-engineered metal sculpture,” extending instead an open invitation to interact with its refined, yet familiar form.
Keiji Takeuchi is a Japanese furniture and industrial designer with a truly global outlook. His work transcends any culture or language, characterised by its purity, materiality and the absence of superfluous elements. Receiving his education in product design in Auckland, New Zealand, Takeuchi set up his own studio in 2015 and has since collaborated with renowned design brands such as Boffi,Alessi, De Padova, Living Divani, Geiger / Hermanmiller, Ligne Roset, Karimoku and Fredericia. Takeuchi was recently awarded the Monocle Design Award 2024 for his dining chair design Villetta for De Padova. During the Milan Design Week 2024, he orchestrated the ‘Walking Sticks & canes’ exhibition at Triennale Milano, which was the first curation show both conceived and staged by Takeuchi. A global success, the show has toured Karimoku Commons Tokyo, Emeco House, Venice, California and resulted in the book ‘Walking Sticks‘ from Lars Müller Publishers with Marco Sammicheli.
