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Konus Design
Furniture Designer
Raphael Pangilinan is a furniture and lighting designer with an extensive background in architecture, interior finishing, and construction. His craftsmanship skills and artistic mindset help him create unique, eye-catching pieces that enliven the home.
New York, New York
Get to know Konus Design
You started doing design and construction at a young age. What are your first memories?
It's always been my passion. When I was six or seven years old, I started sneaking onto construction sites near my house. I would just pick up a hammer and start building! I would use their saw, or their welding rods. One time, I burned myself with a welding rod, because it had just been used. Or I would step on a nail. Sometimes the workers would get mad at me, but I kept doing it, because I really wanted to build stuff.
And you were designing furniture by the time you were in high school?
Yes, and I made everything by hand. I improvised with the materials, because I didn’t have a lot of money. I would just pick up driftwood or pieces of metal. I made lamps by hand with bamboo. That's why the light I made on Gantri is personally special to me — it’s actually based on the very first light I ever designed when I was 16 or 17 years old.
So this light is 20 years in development?
Yes. At first, I made it with bamboo. Eventually, I started using hand-woven abacá fiber, which is from a plant in the Philippines. Women in the mountains weave it in their house and sell it by the meter. But even then, the light took a long time to make because I had to make every fold by hand. I never manufactured it on a large scale because it would have taken forever. I’ve always wanted to have this made on a large scale, and 3D printing lets me do that. Gantri came at the perfect time.
Tell us about your background in architecture.
I have a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the Philippines. But the professors there were too “by the book” for me. For example, they asked us to design a universalist church. I created dome church. It was sunken, and the altar was under an open skylight. I thought it was so beautiful, but the professor failed me because it wasn’t the “normal” thing to do — you can’t create something weird and unique that stands out. So I went to France, where I had a very talented boss who encouraged me to develop my unique skills.
What projects are you working on right now?
I’m working on a huge sculpture for Jersey City Hall. It’s based on my Distorted series, which has large geometric wooden shapes with lights inside. My wife told me I have to make the sculpture big, so it’s going to be 9 feet tall by 12 feet wide. It won’t fit in my basement studio, so I’m making it in our backyard garden. We have a small pathway from the garden to the street, and I’m borrowing a big truck from the city. So hopefully moving it won’t be a problem!