Baird Architects Launches First Furniture Line, BA Objeto

Baird Architects has released its first furniture collection: a twelve-piece line called BA Objeto, made primarily in Lisbon, Portugal, where the studio has opened a new workshop to support production.

Founder Matthew Baird led the collection. He designed several pieces himself and commissioned the rest from studio employees and outside collaborators. The range covers seating, tables and shelving.

The offering includes:

• A solid walnut "surf" table by Matthew Baird
• A swooping aluminium coffee table by Ines Gulbenskian
• A dark brown cork bench by Gina Jiang
• A mirror by Portuguese designer Teresa Mascarenhas
• A plywood and leather chair by Katy Cheng

Each piece carries its designer's name, and those designers will receive a portion of the profits, according to Baird. That arrangement is unusual in an industry where individual designers routinely go uncredited and unpaid beyond a fee. Baird did not specify the size of the profit share, the collection's prices, or its sales channels — details that will determine whether the model is genuinely different or simply differently marketed.

"Furniture feels like a natural extension of our architectural practice because it allows us to explore our interests in materiality, form, and craftsmanship at a more intimate scale," Baird told Dezeen.

He added: "We also wanted to create something that celebrates the individual designers within our studio, giving them the freedom to develop pieces of their own while contributing to a collective endeavour."

Baird said "a considered approach to materiality, a crisp aesthetic, and a desire to push the boundaries of furniture design" ties the collection together.

What does this change for architecture studios?

The move signals an expansion of Baird Architects' work beyond one-off furniture made for private clients, and it points to a different business model for architecture practices: selling designed objects at scale rather than billing only for buildings and bespoke commissions.

Baird is not alone in testing new structures. From design fairs to heritage brands, designers and architects are attempting to restructure how the design world does business, largely to secure more profit and credit for their work. Dezeen recently interviewed the companies OMHU and Rarify about their business models and ambitions to change the industry.

Baird said BA Objeto extends furniture the studio has made for private clients over the years, and that his team is already "looking ahead" to a second collection. The promise of a follow-up is easy to make; whether the profit-sharing model survives contact with a second production cycle is the real test. The studio's built work includes a shingled holiday house in Maine, completed in 2018.