Former McLaren Automotive designers João Dias and Patrick Carton founded Ennua, applying supercar design principles to furniture. Their first creation, the Ennua Element 01, is a limited-edition (199 pieces) functional art piece, starting at $145,000.
It features a structural carbon fiber frame – not merely a veneer – with its form and engineering developed in tandem, mirroring their automotive past. Crafted with exacting tolerances, it incorporates Bridge of Weir leather, BioPRO foam, and precision-machined metals like titanium and gold. Each Element 01 is customizable and commissioned, being the initial offering in their „Element by Ennua“ series, with future pieces planned.
Before João Dias and Patrick Carton designed furniture, they were designing machines built to exceed 200 mph. The former McLaren Automotive designers worked on vehicles including the W1 hypercar and Speedtail, where proportion, aerodynamics, and engineering all contribute to a car’s emotional pull. With the Ennua Element 01, they’re applying that same thinking to something decidedly more stationary.
Photography courtesy of Ennua
The Element 01 is not, as you might suspect at first glance, a simple table or mere bench. Dias and Carton describe it as a work of functional art, with sweeping lines and a carbon fiber structure that reveal its automotive roots. Much like a supercar, its form isn’t simply expressive: Every line and material choice has a job to do.
“The most direct carryover is how we treat proportion,” the duo told Design Milk. “Every line has to justify itself; nothing is added for decoration alone.”
Photography courtesy of Ennua
At Element 01’s core is its carbon fiber frame, which serves as the primary structural element in much the same way a carbon fiber monocoque does in a supercar. Rather than designing the sculptural form first and engineering it afterward, Dias and Carton developed the two in tandem from the outset. The carbon fiber isn’t a veneer or shell around an underlying frame; it is the frame itself.
Photography courtesy of Ennua
Made entirely in the United Kingdom, the piece layers Bridge of Weir leather over BioPRO, a protein-based foam developed from collagen recovered during the company’s leather-making process. Precision-machined metals range from titanium and aluminum to brass and gold, all integrated with the exacting tolerances Dias and Carton carried over from automotive design.
Photography courtesy of Ennua
Launched in mid-June, Element 01 is limited to just 199 individually numbered pieces, starting at approximately $145,000. Each work is commissioned specifically for its buyer, giving them the chance to work with Dias and Carton on specifying materials, finishes, and colors that best suit the collective vision. Carbon fiber can be left with a natural visible weave, tinted, or fully painted, while leather and metal finishes can likewise be customized.
Photography courtesy of Ennua
According to the founders, Element 01 is the first in a series called “Element by Ennua,” with future pieces taking different forms, sizes, and functions while maintaining the same aesthetic and attention to detail.
“Each new Element has to earn its place,” the founders explain. “If we can’t make a genuine case for why it needs to exist, we won’t build it.”
Photography courtesy of Ennua
Learn more about Element by Ennua at ennua.com.
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