The Diapositive range by the Bouroullec brothers for Glas Italia, takes its name from a term for photographic slide film, which produces ‘positive’ images that can be viewed and projected immediately after development, as opposed to negative film, which needs to be printed in order for the picture to be seen properly.

Perhaps the name makes reference to the colours in the range; the pieces are made up of orange, pink, clear and two shades of grey glass.

Yet it’s also a great title for see-through furniture that plays with pigment and light, cutting the room up without obscuring it

Glass furniture is not as difficult to make today as when the Japanese designer Shiro Kuramata first produced his Glass Chair, back in the 1970s.

Then, Kuramata couldn’t be sure that his early prototypes, which were glued together, wouldn’t collapse while the sitter was still seated on them.

Today, Glas Italia, a firm that still produces some of Kuramata’s earliest designs, has found new ways to join glass panes together.

Diapositive, uses thermo welding to form the pieces, which the designers say “consists of an assembly system of simple glass panels in which the edges are protected with pieces of wood, which distract from the impression of fragility.”

There’s also a simple felt lining to cushion the seats, and a wooden desktop on one piece too.

While the Bouroullecs aren’t faced with the same technical challenges as Kuramata, they are trying to solve dilemmas.

As they explained “with the disappearance of filing cabinets and office drawers, our work places are no longer as easily divided, and furniture designers need to find new ways to carve up the work space.”

Glass panels sit at right angles to each other to form two desks, two benches and shelf in this range

The collection includes desks in two sizes , benches and a shelf in different colors specially made ​​just for Slides : dark grey , light grey, pink , orange, transparent solutions in monochrome and color combinations

One of the desks also includes an ash counter for writing, while the tops and legs are edged in the same wood.

The glass bench features a thin layer of dark coloured felt that forms a cushion on top of the seat

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