One definition of the future is “time regarded as still to come.” The future is always anticipatory, beckoning toward new materials and technologies. Futurism provides the perfect lens to discuss Paddy Pike Studio, specifically the polished steel doorways in the Arnardo Collection. Stand and behold the designer’s silver portal, which must certainly transport you to a design future.

Doorways move people from here to there in physical and aesthetic form. Essentially, doorways are about transformation. In the case of Arnardo’s interior architecture, his polished steel doorways beckon you toward the avant-garde: his doorways encapsulate imminence. When something familiar (door) becomes unfamiliar (futuristic art), it feels uncanny.

With the Arnardo Collection’s doorways, viewers see the section in the wall with a break to walk through and recognize it as a door. Most people have walked through enough passages to recognize the object as a doorway. However, Paddy Pike’s doorways are sculptural and great, silver and smooth, perfectly imperfect. They are not just a passageway; they become a thing of their own. Their mass make them a physical object that appears too great for the purpose of a doorway, emphasizing the moment of transition. Thus, this uncanny steel doorway turns movement (the act of going from here to there) into matter (a moment in and of itself).

Partly inspired by the forms of Ron Arad, Paddy Pike continues to play with form in his own time. “Ron Arad, a pioneer in the field of furniture design, used technology to create designs that would shock the industry with their complex forms. Paddy took a similar approach, but with the technology capabilities which are available today, including virtual reality and artificial intelligence,” explains Paddy Pike Studio.

Pike studied Mechanical Engineering at Edinburgh University. He is also passionate about science—”always looking out for new technologies that can help the design and production processes.” Everything he designs begins with pen and paper. Then he transforms his sketch using AI and VR technologies.

The polished steel doorways of the Arnardo Collection encapsulate Pike’s process of merging before and after (in time, in place, and in form). The great doorways look as if they’ve spontaneously substantiated from melted mercury—or another material we have yet to identify.