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RODERICK VOS' DESIGN PHILOSOPHY

Good design can—like art—question apparent truths. Good designs confronts with ingrained mindsets and offers ways to look at the world ‘differently’. Why is a table always round, rectangular or square? Why do we accept that it is impossible to arrange a bouquet of flowers in most vases? Why is a bookcase almost always a variation on ‘shelves along a wall’? Roderick Vos is a designer who keeps asking ‘why?’ And this leads to extraordinary, innovative designs, which make you think ‘yes, indeed, why not?’ At the same time, Roderick never loses sight of functionality. No ‘l’art pour l’art’ for him, no unusual shapes merely to be seen as ‘different’. Because, at the end of the day, you need to be able to eat from a table, to clean a vase, and to find the book you are looking for.

A striking example of Roderick’s design philosophy is his new ‘Broadway’ sofa, the transition from the front to the sides is not square or rounded, but chamfered at a 45 degree angle. So simple and also so brilliant that it makes you wonder ‘why did nobody else think of this?’ The unique silhouette this gives the ‘Broadway’, is underlined by a thick ‘cord’—covered in the same material as the sofa—, which traces the outline of each element. The silhouette also derives its strength from the fact that each element has been reduced to its essence: a seat and a back, without loose cushions interrupting its visual calm.

The ‘Broadway’ is a modular sofa, allowing each user to compose their own living environment. Because Roderick values the ‘be your own designer’ principle. And whichever composition you choose for your ‘Broadway’, the resulting look is both organic and cubist. An apparent contradiction, which Roderick has achieved through the combination of the aforementioned pure silhouette with a generous filling creating luscious ‘round’ shapes—as well as extremely comfortable seating! Because, as Roderick says, ‘what’s the use of a good-looking sofa if it is not great to sit on?’ Roderick is not a fan of the sometimes cynical postmodernism and prefers to pay heed to Plato, who saw the good, true and beautiful as coming from the same source: so what is beautiful, is also good and true. ‘I want to make people happy with beautiful things they can use. Objects that offer aesthetic pleasure. Strong shapes, which you sense are ‘beautiful’, ‘good’ and ‘true’.’ And this is where ‘Broadway’ succeeds.

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Portrait of designer Roderick Vos and his partner Claire Vos

Studio Roderick Vos

Studio Roderick Vos is a Netherlands-based design studio led by Roderick Vos and Claire Vos. Working across lighting, textiles, accessories and furniture, the studio is known for its rigorous research and hands-on approach to technology, material and colour—always anchored in craft.

Roderick Vos (Groningen, 1965), a graduate of the Design Academy Eindhoven, shaped his design language through an early formative period in Japan, developing a lasting affinity with Asian culture and making. His philosophy centres on humility and emotion: clear, simple forms with presence—objects that don’t need explanation, but speak through use.

Claire Vos (Tegelen, 1965) brings a deeply rooted textile sensibility, reinterpreting traditional techniques, colourings and forms into contemporary, almost graphical compositions. With a background shaped by Italy, Switzerland and Indonesia, her work bridges artisanal knowledge and modern production. In projects such as Liquid Layers for Moooi, she explores new digital approaches to pattern design and material expression.

Founded in 1999 and based in Nijmegen, the studio’s work is held in collections including the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and the Museum of Arts & Design New York

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