Postcards featuring ancient Iranian architecture informed this collection of pleated, concrete tableware by Italian designer Gian Paolo Venier.
Taking its name from the Farsi word for concrete, the Siman collection was born from an image on a postcard of the 12th-century Toghrul tower, situated near Tehran, Iran.

With this architectural style in mind, Venier focused the collection on the idea of "building up a functional landscape," designing the series to collectively look like ancient ruins or an archaeological site.
"The seven pieces carry a strong architectural character and act as little structures populating interior landscapes, with a highly graphic and timeless personality," said the designer.

Venier often combines his background in architecture with his keen interests in history and travel as starting points for his work. This initial reference, be it a piece of architecture, design, or a material texture, is then "hacked" and "diverted" in order to develop a new narrative, he told Dezeen.

Made up of a cake stand, candle-holders, dishes and a vase, the main feature of each item in the Siman collection is its pleated surface, which, according to the studio, creates an "ever-changing game of shadows and depths."
In addition to each piece being made from concrete, Venier tried to emulate the poor preservation of the Toghrul tower by leaving each object without any surface finishing or polishing.

First, Venie...