Minotti Daiki teak outdoor armchair

Japanese joinery in teak

Daiki grew out of Marcio Kogan's passion for Japanese culture, and it treats the terrace as another room of the house. The family includes deep armchairs with or without arms, a small dining armchair and a footstool. The shell carries the design: two curved pieces of solid teak meet at a 45 degree angle, and the back slopes so the seat invites a long, relaxed stay.

Solid teak is dense and naturally oily, so it stands up to rain and sun better than most woods. Left unoiled it weathers to silver gray, and with regular care it keeps its warm brown. In the outdoor version the shell is shaped to hold the stitched cushions snugly. The frame underneath is stainless steel, which resists rust, and the legs are polished and varnished in a bronze color.

A pair of Daiki armchairs with a footstool makes a reading corner on a covered porch. The chair suits a dining table, and because it shares the teak shell with the armchairs, a lounge area and a dining area can read as one set. Within Minotti outdoor furniture, Daiki is one of the pieces where the carpentry itself is on show.

Alongside Japan, Studio MK27 also looked at American mid-century furniture, with its clean, strong lines and balanced proportions. The teak joinery is where both references meet. For an architect, Daiki fits wherever wood is already part of the setting, next to decking, timber screens or a pergola, and it brings that same material close to the body.