4. The Industrial Designer: Christian Borger

In this episode of “On Lightness” I am having a conversation with architect and industrial designer Christian Borger (aka @see_borg). We are talking about what lightness means to him, how he stumbled into becoming a furniture designer and how ultimately working with his hands is his ideal state of being. I found this conversation deeply inspiring and felt like we found a lot of common ground on that sunny day in front of the Metropolitan Opera House in Manhattan.

This episode was moderated and produced by Leon Hidalgo.

The following article is meant as an informational extension of the podcast episode:

Christian enjoys creating and working with his hands, even when an idea is still in its early stages. In his first rented studio, limited finances restricted the range of tools and materials available to him—constraints that ultimately shaped and defined his design language.

Beginning at the scale of model making, he discovered a successful foundation in a three-dimensional grid structure with diagonal tensioning elements. This modular framework became the basis for a variety of furniture pieces.

A pivotal moment came with the creation of his second chair, aka The Breakthrough Chair. It was through this piece that he fully grasped the flexibility and multifunctionality of the grid-based system.

Lightness¹ the quality of having little weight

Recognizing that surfaces accounted for much of the weight in his furniture designs, he began experimenting with stretched fabrics, drawing inspiration from traditional Skin-on-Frame Canoes used in Canada.

However, these "skins" lacked the rigidity required for seating or table surfaces, and high-tech solutions like honeycomb aluminum or carbon fiber were not financially viable. This and his ethos of working with simple means led Christian to stick with more accessible materials like 6mm birch plywood or polycarbonate.

Combining these with the wood-lattice structure and the carbon fiber bracing has been the composition of many pieces of furniture like this table for six people weighing only 4 kg (8 pounds).

lightness² the state of being light in color or shade

On the other hand, both the skins and the polycarbonate work beautifully as modifiers of the light conditions, becoming a filter and projection surface for the skeletal character of his creations.

lightness³ being carefree or feeling without burden

As much as he likes finishing projects, his true passion lies in the process. Re-imagining objects, reflecting and documenting while intensely prototyping seems to be a state most natural to Christian. This was particularly true in his recent flatware products, which he noted was the first production he truly completed.

Attaching a price to something so personal carries a strange emotional weight because much of the value in his work comes from the passionate research and prototyping that precedes the final product. As he puts it, “The process is everything.”

In a world saturated with low-quality, mass-produced goods, Christian hopes his work inspires greater appreciation for craftsmanship. Should his side project ever evolve into a full-time profession, he’s committed to preserving the same level of intensity and respect for handmade work.