July 26, 2018

Sophie Dries and Concrete Cat Design Concrete Shift Knob for Garagisme

Sophie Dries teamed with Garagisme to design Monolith, a vehicle shift knob manufactured and finished by Concrete Cat. Photography by Gilles Uzan.

Today’s expertly designed automotive interiors seem far removed from the gravelly materiality of concrete. But that may soon change thanks to Paris-based architect Sophie Dries, who joined forces with Garagisme to create the first-ever concrete shift knob—and the automotive publication’s inaugural car performance part. Called Monolith, the knob channels essential shapes of Constantin Brâncusi sculptures and the industrial geometry of tetrapods, the massive concrete structures used on Japan’s coastal areas to weaken incoming waves. Dries and Garagisme enlisted Edmonton atelier Concrete Cat to manufacture and finish the knobs in three signature colorways: Natural, Oracle Black & White, and Oracle Blue & Yellow. The end result adds a warm mineral touch to car interiors with manual transmission.

Monolith can be installed in vehicles with manual transmission. Photography by Lenard Smith.
Monolith finished in Natural. Photography by Gilles Uzan.
Monolith finished in B&W Oracle Black & White. Photography by Gilles Uzan.
Monolith finished in Oracle Blue & Yellow. Photography by Gilles Uzan.
Photography by Gilles Uzan.
Photography by Gilles Uzan.

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