CEIBA Collection Giona Bierens De Haan

Architects: Giona Bierens de Haan
Year: 2025
Photography: Dylan Perrenoud
Furniture Design: Giona Bierens de Haan
Furniture Realization: Atelier Bruno Longoni, Italy
Ceramic Pieces: Ángeles Rodríguez
Materials: Natural oak, green oak, black oak; black sandstone ceramics
Exhibition Venue: TOPIC, 30 Avenue Ernest-Pictet
Exhibition Dates: January 22–26, 2025
City: Geneva
Country: Switzerland

CEIBA Collection, designed by Giona Bierens de Haan, is a furniture series inspired by the distinctive morphology of Ceiba speciosa, a South American tree recognized for the large spikes covering its bark. The collection translates the tree’s unusual geometry into minimalist yet expressive furniture pieces, combining simple forms with bold, playful characteristics. Comprising two shelves, a table, and four chairs, the series can be arranged to resemble a cohesive, spiky bush, emphasizing the relationship between botanical inspiration and functional design. Realized by Atelier Bruno Longoni in Italy, the furniture is available upon request in three finishes: natural oak, green oak, and black oak. Presented at TOPIC in Geneva, Switzerland, in January 2025, the project also includes a collaboration with Swiss-Argentinian ceramist Ángeles Rodríguez. Invited to establish a dialogue between her ceramic work and one of the shelves, Rodríguez created SOMBRA, a collection of black sandstone pieces designed to complement the furniture. Together, the two collections bring furniture and ceramics into a shared exhibition, exploring the interaction between natural geometry, distinctive materials, and contemporary design.

Ceiba collection / giona bierens de haan

CEIBA Collection by Giona Bierens de Haan explores how the unconventional appearance of natural organisms can inform the design of everyday objects. Taking its name from Ceiba speciosa, a tree whose bark is covered with prominent spikes, the project draws on a botanical reference distinguished by its almost whimsical appearance. The resulting furniture interprets this characteristic through a combination of restrained geometry and exaggerated forms, introducing an element of cartoon-like expressivity into a minimalist design language.

The series includes two shelves, a table, and four chairs, conceived as individual objects that can also form a unified composition. When positioned together, their projecting forms create the impression of a spiky bush, reinforcing the connection between the furniture and its natural inspiration. This arrangement gives the collection a collective visual identity while allowing each piece to retain its practical function.

Produced by Atelier Bruno Longoni in Italy, the furniture is offered upon request in natural oak, green oak, and black oak. These three finishes provide variations in the appearance of the collection while retaining its defining geometric character.

The exhibition also brought together Bierens de Haan and Swiss-Argentinian ceramist Ángeles Rodríguez, who was invited to develop a dialogue between her work and one of the shelves. This collaboration resulted in SOMBRA, a series of black sandstone ceramic pieces that complement the furniture and introduce another material expression into the presentation.

The relationship between the ceramic objects and the wooden furniture extends the project’s exploration of form beyond a single design discipline. Through their shared presentation, CEIBA and SOMBRA establish a connection between furniture design and ceramics, with the distinctive geometry of the collection providing a common visual reference.