Hay: The Cornet Bar Stool By Jonas Trampedach

Designed by Jonas Trampdach, the Cornet Bar Stool by Hay offers a new take on a classic archetype. Borrowing an innovative steel-tube technique often used for bicycle racks, the fluid construction of the stool’s frame is both aesthetically minimal and extremely strong.

Available in a range of heights, with a choice of wood finishes for the seat and various colours for the steel base, Cornet is well suited for both public and private settings, where it is the perfect partner for bars, kitchen islands, or even office desks.

We hear from the designer about his design process, where he finds inspiration, and what he finds compelling about working with metal.

How were you introduced to the steel-tube technique you used for the Stool?

Jonas Trampedach: “I first noticed the steel-tube technique on bicycle racks and parking lots around Copenhagen, and suddenly I started seeing it used in many applications: hand tools, household plumbing, large factory air-ventilation systems and so on.

In the beginning it was the visual quality of the tube deformation I was drawn to, only later to realize that there were some clever construction advantages hidden here.”

What was your inspiration for the stool, in terms of its aesthetic and material construction?

J.T: “The starting point of the design was really the technique itself. It is not an unusual way of working for me: finding a specific detail or technique and focusing on that to begin with, and then letting the rest of the object design itself, based on the directions that follow naturally from the logic of the starting point.

Hopefully I have achieved a stool that is part elegant, part graphically strong, part minimal and part classic.”

What do you think distinguishes this stool from other stools? What makes it stand apart?

J.T: “In many ways it’s a very classic barstool, with a solid wooden seat on a welded-steel frame. But thanks to the technique used, there is something almost liquid about the transition of the steel tubes, something which usually only is achieved with cast objects. Especially with the chrome version of the stool, this is very articulated.”

What was the design process like while working in collaboration with HAY?

J.T: “Rolf one day asked me if we should do a project in steel, and quickly we agreed on exploring this specific steel-tube technique. We began with a blank piece of paper, sketching and discussing the possibilities: dimensions and strength, aesthetics and functionality. Many different typologies where considered before the stool was finally decided.”

How does the Cornet stool fit in with the rest of your design work?

J.T: “I think there is a very clear connection between this project and some of my other projects. It involves an investigation of a metal, steel or aluminium, and what can be achieved when exploiting the plasticity of the material and deforming it in certain ways.”