m a x / z
















Zhū Dōngzé (Max)


Furniture & Object Design

Max Zhu (b. 1998) is a designer based in London.
Graduated from Central Saint Martins with a degree in Architecture Design and is currently pursuing a Master's in Product Design at the Royal College of Art.

Max’s design philosophy is deeply rooted in his personal experiences across diverse cultural landscapes, from his hometown in northern China to cities across Europe. This journey exposed him to contrasts between traditional and modern, natural and industrial, which became a central theme in his work. By exploring the interplay of order and chaos, Max's designs aim to evoke emotional resonance and provide a sense of inner peace and belonging.

Through material experimentation and storytelling, Max seeks to uncover hidden beauty in the everyday, blending organic and mechanical elements to create poetic expressions of balance and harmony.


maxzhustudio@gmail.com   

@zdzmax












Billboard Series – Origin
London, 2025
Mild Steel,  Aluminium

Dimensions:
L35x W10 x H25 cm

Photographed by Max Zhu



This work marks the origin of the Billboard Series.

Constructed from perforated steel sheets and basic connectors, it reflects the earliest form of functional urban structures—billboards and construction fences in their initial state: lightweight, ventilated, and easily assembled. The blue spray paint, a remnant of standardized site protocols, implies an early attempt at urban order.

At this stage, the structure carries no information and shows no signs of weathering. It exists in a state where the visual system has yet to be activated.

As the prototype of the series, it preserves the foundational logic of edge-city architecture, providing both a physical and narrative point of departure for the gradual processes of erosion, decay, and silence that follow.





广告牌系列 – 起源
London, 2025
低碳钢、铝

Dimensions:
L120 x W5 x H180 cm

摄影 朱东泽



本作品为“广告牌系列”的起点。

采用穿孔钢板与基础连接件构建出一种原始的功能性结构,参考了广告牌与工地围挡在最初阶段的形式特征:轻质、通风、可快速组装。蓝色喷漆保留了施工阶段的标准化处理,隐含对城市秩序的初步设想。

此时结构尚未承载任何信息,也未被时间侵蚀,处于一种视觉系统尚未激活的状态。

作为系列的原型作品,它保留了城市边缘结构的起始逻辑,并为后续的剥落、腐蚀与沉默奠定了物理与叙事上的基础。














Billboard Series – Unspoken
London, 2025
Mild Steel, Construction concrete, Acrylic, Aluminium

Dimensions:
L35x W10 x H25 cm

Photographed by Max Zhu



This piece draws from the structural fragments of deteriorating billboards. The blue sprayed edge, once a framing device for real estate slogans, now lingers as a faint trace—partially erased, partially preserved.

A polished metal sheet is suspended within a clear acrylic shell, diffusing light in a way that mimics visual afterimages. At its base sits a fragment of real construction concrete, anchoring the lamp in material memory. The structure is held together with exposed wire, referencing makeshift repairs in urban contexts.

The form echoes roadside signage or elevated lighting, reduced to a minimal, suspended gesture. The work continues an investigation into the aesthetic of functional failure—transforming leftover urban surfaces into quiet instruments of light.





广告牌系列 – 失语
London, 2025
低碳钢、混凝土碎块、亚克力、铝

Dimensions:
L120 x W5 x H180 cm

摄影 朱东泽



该作品以城市中破旧广告牌的结构细节为灵感。蓝色的喷漆残留曾是宣传的边框,如今成为被时间擦除后的痕迹。透明亚克力包裹着喷漆与镜面质感的不锈钢片,在光线下呈现出模糊而反射的视觉效果,暗示广告牌在功能失效后的视觉残影。

底部嵌有一块真实的建筑混凝土碎片,作为灯体的稳定基础。结构由铁丝穿透固定,如同城市中随处可见的简易修补。整体形式参考了城市高架灯或指示牌的轮廓,被简化为一个轻盈但悬而未决的姿态。

这件作品延续对“失效之物”的关注,通过材料的控制与组合,将一种边缘化的视觉元素转化为具有静态叙事的光源。











Billboard Series - Fading Promises 
London, 2025
Mild Steel, Brass, Acrylic, Aluminium

Dimensions:
L35x W10 x H25 cm

Photographed by Max Zhu



This lighting series is inspired by billboards on the urban periphery.

Corroded metal surfaces form the central visual element, capturing the layered traces left by time and weather. The lamp body is constructed from a single sheet of metal or acrylic, shaped through laser cutting and heat bending. A transparent support structure allows the surface to appear suspended, emphasizing the texture of rust.

The light is subtle—somewhere between illumination and presence—evoking a forgotten, static state.

It is an observation and transformation of a “failed promise.”




广告牌系列 - 褪色愿景
London, 2025

低碳钢、黄铜、亚克力、铝

规格 :
L120 x W5 x H180 cm

摄影 朱东泽



该系列灯具受城市边缘广告牌启发。

设计以常见的锈蚀金属为核心元素,呈现一种时间与气候共同作用下的图层感。灯体采用一体式结构,由一块金属或亚克力板通过激光切割与热弯成型。透明支撑结构使灯面如同漂浮,凸显锈迹的肌理。

光线微弱,介于装饰与照明之间,呈现出一种被遗忘的、静止的状态。

这是一次关于“失效的希望”的观察与转化。














Souvenir
London, 2025
Cement,  Jesmonite, Clock mechanism, Concrete piece

Dimensions:
L25x W10 x H25 cm

Photographed by Max Zhu



The work begins with a piece of concrete salvaged from an urban demolition site, which forms the base of the clock face. Lightly polished, the surface retains its original cracks and coarse texture, used here as a register for time.

The piece is built through a dual casting process: the first layer uses concrete to create the textured face; the second layer is Jesmonite, forming a smooth white casing around the structure. A clock mechanism is embedded at the intersection, allowing time to move subtly between the junctions of two materials.

Continuing the artist’s exploration of peripheral urban landscapes and construction residue, the work transforms demolition material into a vessel for time. It reveals a quiet tension between exposure and concealment, architecture and incompletion.





纪念品
London, 2025
水泥,Jesmonite(环保复合材料),时钟机芯

规格:
L25x W10 x H25 cm

摄影 朱东泽



作品以一块在城市拆迁中拾得的混凝土碎片为起点,构成钟面的基础结构。混凝土表面经过轻微打磨,保留其原有的破裂边缘与粗砺纹理,作为时间刻度的基底使用。

整体采用两次浇筑工艺:第一层为水泥,形成钟面肌理;第二层为Jesmonite,构建出洁白、简洁的外壳。指针系统嵌入其间,使时间在两种材质的接缝与肌理之间缓慢流动。

作品延续了作者对城市边缘景观与建筑废弃物的关注,将拆迁材料转化为一个记录时间的载体。表面呈现出结构暴露与覆盖之间的张力,隐含着未完成建筑与时间感之间的关系。
















Souvenir II,  2025

Mild steel, Clock mechanism, 

Dimensions:
L30x W8 x H35 cm

Photographed by Max Zhu



Derived from Billboard Series – Unspoken

This piece is a continuation of my lamp Forgotten, extending my exploration into the reconstruction of decayed objects. Inspired by weathered construction site barricades, I use an old galvanized steel sheet as a canvas—transforming its faded surface into a consciously designed texture.

By sanding off the original paint and selectively reapplying spray paint, I simulate the visual effect of erosion over time. The patterns evoke traces left by sunlight, rain, and dust—once accidental, now controlled. This approach reflects my ongoing practice: extracting poetry from decay and giving forgotten materials a renewed voice.






纪念品 II,  2025

水泥,Jesmonite(环保复合材料),时钟机芯

规格:
L30x W8 x H35 cm

摄影 朱东泽



衍生自《广告牌系列 - 失语》

这件作品是我台灯《Unspoken》的延续,延续了我对“破败之物”进行再建构的探索。我将工地围栏的旧镀锌铁板为灵感,以风化褪色的表面,转化为一种有意为之的肌理表达。

通过打磨原有的喷涂涂层,并重新以喷漆覆盖特定区域,我模拟出一种“被时间侵蚀”的视觉效果。这些图案仿佛是阳光、雨水与风尘共同刻下的痕迹,而我试图让原本偶然的褪色变得可控,从而赋予材料新的语义。这是我一贯实践的一部分——从破败中提炼诗意,让被遗忘的材料重新发声。