Artisan and furniture, product, and interior designer Rob Southcott is showcasing Community at IDS Prototype. A dresser made from “locally produced reclaimed lumber species assembled together in an abstract configuration,” Community embodies Southcott’s belief in diversity. Like a wooden mosaic, the furniture unites interesting and individually distinct pieces to make a statement about both harmony and humanity. Each Community highlights the whole – and the parts that make such a composition possible. Southcott’s contribution to this year’s IDS successfully evokes a “vision of multiculturalism.” The Community’s size (48″H x 60″W x 18″D) is large enough for the piece to command attention, yet small enough for it to remain versatile. It is also something of a dream for those of us who love compartments-a sort of contemporary Wooton Desk where we can hide any number of objects. That Community holds the miscellaneous and the motley further serves its design philosophy: every vibrant community should allow for difference.

Community. Designed by Rob Southcott.

Southcott calls what he does “sculptural-based design that blurs the line between art and design.” Last year, he presented United We Stand, intertwined chairs that ended in antler-esque flourishes. As We Cascade (2005) also deserves special mention; the birch veneer lamps cluster together in bunches, each shade shaped like the Sydney Opera House’s concrete shells. Hopefully, Community will garner sufficient attention to put Southcott to work producing the furniture piece in greater numbers. Its dissemination into society seems especially vital given Community’s underlying sentiment.