'People will need more connection to the spaces they're in and the objects they touch' | JINHANFAIR DiscoverNEW

2026.07.22

For London-based design and research studio Wedge, furniture is more than a finished product; it is a vehicle for exploring how people, technology and materials will shape the future of living. Its latest project, the bespoke Altum collection for Hotel Alpin in the Swiss mountain village of Saas-Fee, reflects that philosophy by combining computational design, additive manufacturing and material innovation to create furniture rooted in its environment.

The Altum Collection designed for Hotel Alpin.

During an interview with InteriorDaily, Wedge co-founders Ray Zhang and Peiyan Zou explained that the studio's ambitions extend far beyond furniture, with every project serving as an opportunity to investigate new ways of designing for people and place. Wedge was founded by Andy Zhang, Peiyan Zou and Ray Zhang in London, 2024.

▶ A research-led approach to design

Although Ray leads research and development while Peiyan oversees the creative direction, both describe Wedge as a collaborative practice driven by curiosity and experimentation. 'We're a really small team at the moment, so it's not like we have someone doing a specific thing,' Ray said. Rather than viewing itself as a conventional furniture manufacturer, Wedge positions itself as a research-led studio exploring the relationship between humans, machines and materials. 'We don't really treat 3D printing as our final stop or our main work,' Peiyan explained. 'It's a tool that helps us to do design.'

Exterior of Hotel Alpin, the landscape from which the new collection was inspired.

▶  Inspired by the alpine landscape

That philosophy shaped the development of Altum, which was commissioned following Hotel Alpin's refurbishment. Inspired by the surrounding alpine landscape, the collection combines 3D-printed quartz silica sand with hardwood and glass to create sculptural furniture that reflects the geology and atmosphere of Saas-Fee.

'We wanted to replicate the relationship between the mountain and its context,' Peiyan said. 'We wanted to build something like snow and wood, but scaled down into interior objects.' Rather than imitating nature directly, Wedge studied geological processes such as erosion, layering and the behaviour of snow before translating those principles into computational design.

'Snow mountain is a juxtaposition of snow, stone and earth,' Ray explained. 'Erosion informs the way those three elements interact.' The same thinking influenced both the appearance and structural performance of the furniture. 'Erosion was both an aesthetic choice and a structural choice,' Ray continued. 'We kept optimising the designs to achieve forms that were both beautiful and structurally strong.'

▶  The value of additive manufacturing

The use of additive manufacturing was equally intentional. Rather than treating 3D printing as a way to mass-produce furniture, the founders see it as a means of creating highly bespoke pieces that respond to their surroundings. 'The customisation demands will keep growing in the future,' Peiyan said. '3D printing fits that logic because it allows us to design specifically for a context.' For Hotel Alpin, that meant creating furniture that could not have been achieved through conventional manufacturing. 'The reason the hotel came to us was because they knew we could produce unique and bespoke designs rather than just mass-produced furniture,' Ray said.

Binder Jetting Machine.

▶  Circularity built into the process

Sustainability also forms a key part of Wedge's approach, although the founders are keen to stress that it is embedded within the design process rather than treated as a separate objective. Using a binder jetting process with quartz silica sand, components can potentially be crushed back into powder and reprinted at the end of their lifecycle. 'How do we design responsibly not just for the moment, but for 10 years, 50 years or 100 years?' Ray asked.

Convincing Hotel Alpin to embrace an unfamiliar material proved one of the project's biggest challenges, but physical samples ultimately helped build confidence. 'We showed them different finishes. They could feel it themselves,' Ray said, while Peiyan described that moment simply as 'the changing moment'.

Furniture sample, buried in sand.

▶  Looking beyond furniture

Looking ahead, both founders believe technology will continue to transform the way people interact with interiors, but they argue that emotional connection will become even more valuable in an increasingly digital world. 'People will need more connection to the spaces they're in and the objects they touch,' Ray said. 'The scarcity lies within the human relationship and the connection with the story of objects.' He added that Wedge's work is driven by narrative rather than technology alone. 'We don't treat 3D printing as a mass-producing efficiency tool. We use it to express the personality, the narrative and the embedded stories and ethos of our clients, of the site and of the brief.'

While furniture remains the studio's current focus, Ray and Peiyan revealed that Wedge is expanding its research into digital interfaces, responsive environments and future living technologies through ongoing collaborations with academic and research institutions.

'We don't want to be limited to furniture or material research,' Peiyan said. 'We are exploring the future through the combination of technology and design.' For Ray, that future is ultimately centred on people. 'Whatever we do, whether it's an object, a chair, an interface or even an app, we're interested in how people inhabit space,' he said. 'Furniture is just where that's currently taking shape.'