By harnessing the power of AI generative design, Duffy London has created a striking new furniture collection called SINGULARITY, comprised of contrasting elements in dazzling dark and light finishes.

The SINGULARITY Collection is made up of four distinct designs (Dining Table, Dining Chair, Coffee Table & Sculpture – with further pieces to follow) of limited-edition art furniture and is a first for the London-based studio, bypassing the traditional, linear design route and fusing the results of AI generative design with a human element, and brought together in contrasts of artificial and human, dark and light.

“We are taking logical, geometric forms based on mathematical principles and then combining them with the organic efficiency of AI to develop the pieces you see within the SINGULARITY collection. It’s an inspiring partnership, with infinite possibilities and outcomes, but very much one in which we are firmly in control” – Chris Duffy.

The dramatic, decorative aesthetic is in part due to an AI-based tool that is revolutionising design with its capabilities for creating complex, organic parts that have until now been impossible to design.

Disrupting the traditional design process
For centuries, the design process has followed a linear path – always designing towards an end goal. Generative design ‘thinks’ differently; rather than designing the object, we design the parameters for the object to exist within.

The AI program creates countless iterations that meet these conditions, removing material that is not needed until it reaches an optimal design. Generative design is the initiator for each piece in the SINGULARITY Collection before refining each form by hand in the Duffy London studio using CAD and 3-D printing.

The output forms are functional, but the aesthetic nature is purely the result of the AI’s efficiency in producing a design with minimal materials.

Chris says, “It’s not as straightforward as using AI generative programs to actually design the pieces. We use the programs as an initial form exploration tool at the very beginning of the process – inputting specific parameters that must be met and then unleashing them.

This provides us with an output, a basis to work from, and ultimately, an aesthetic direction for us to refine and then design into the final finished pieces.

The free-flowing, organic forms that you see are essentially a by-product of the programs fulfilling the problems as efficiently as possible, creating an aesthetic which we have pushed forwards and developed further.”

Design Inspiration
The studio took inspiration from the aerospace industry and the complexity of AI generative designed components by seeking to harness the ‘tool’ of AI and its potential to produce forms that could be adapted into a series of new art furniture pieces.

“By designing the outer form first and strategically placing ‘connection points’, we were able to create parameters to generate a multitude of complex outcomes.

We then 3D printed our preferred iterations using SLA printing technology to aid in visualising the form. Each of the four designs was then processed digitally to completion.” – Joe Wonham.

The collection
SINGULARITY is a harmonious blend of opposing elements that showcases the balance between human creativity and AI technology. Precision-cut steel panels contain intricate, organic forms, contrasting design and manufacturing processes.

The collection celebrates the beauty in generative design, not only in the final, finished piece – which is one of the infinite outcomes – but also in the very process itself.

Each piece within the collection has two unique finishes: Dark and Light. The dark finish is a combination of matte and gloss black, subtle but dominating. The light finish combines brilliant white, brushed stainless steel and mirror-polished gold, dazzling and pure. In each iteration, two opposing forces symbolise the elements that informed the design.

Every piece in the limited-edition collection is designed and manufactured in the Duffy London studios in East London and is available to order now. You can find information on the new collection and the company at duffylondon.com.

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