inox stainless steel, polished,
FIDU technique - Freie Innendruck Umformung
proprietary technology for shaping steel with compressed air
50 cm x 35 cm, weight 3.5 kg
Gift of the Artist.
PLOPP stool (Polish folk object pumped with air) is a global design icon. Intriguing, economical in form, beautiful in its unique deformations, playful and witty. It is a manifesto of FiDU technology, or internal pressure forming of steel. It opens a collection of extraordinary FiDU objects: seats, hangers, table structures, artistic and sculptural objects.
The PLOPP stool is Zieta Studio's flagship object. It is a symbol of Oskar Zięta's research into the properties and potential of metal. PLOPP, or "Polish People's Object Pumped with Air," proves how the artistic aspects of design can be summarized in highly advanced technological solutions. Winner of the Red Dot Design Award 2008, the German Design Council Award 2008 and the Forum AID Award 2009, PLOPP is a manifesto of FiDU technology and the "controlled loss of control" process. Two ultra-thin steel sheets are welded together around the edges and inflated under high pressure, deforming a 2.5D flat form into a 3D object.
The stool was created by combining two thin sheet membranes, which took on an unusual shape through internal pressure molding. No two objects are identical, as 20% is free metal deformation. PLOPP stools are extremely durable and strong. Despite their small size, they can hold up to two tons of weight.
PLOPP is Zięta's most frequently exhibited and awarded project. He was the first Polish object to receive the RED DOT (Oscar of design) award in 2008. It is present in many museums and is the most awarded Polish design example.
Zieta Studio is a place of artistic experimental production. Here mono-material, ultralight technological manifests are created from metal. Here engineering is intertwined with art. Here we constantly move from the virtual world to the real world. Here radical, unique and ecological objects are created from "inflated" metal. Zieta Studio, founded by Oskar Zieta, began its activities at the turn of 2007 and 2008, after developing the innovative FiDU technology. The breakthrough moment was the debut of the PLOPP stool at SaloneSatelite in Milan in 2007. The studio evolved from research on steel stabilization conducted at ETH Zurich.
