Daniel Couttolenc: The sacred geometry
PRODUCTION: Ademán
product photography:
Daniel Couttolenc
text: Sofia Arredondo
Daniel Couttolenc’s work unfolds in the liminal space between design as a material discipline and spirituality as a force that seeks the intangible. More than a designer in the conventional sense, Couttolenc is an explorer of the hidden structures that sustain the world: a cartographer of proportions, vibrations, and symbols that arise from nature and, once translated into form, become vehicles of experience.
Beyond aesthetic ambition, his practice stems from a radical inquiry: a questioning of origins, of the invisible laws that govern life. This exploration led him to sacred geometry, an ancestral field where mathematics turns mystical and where the golden ratio—present in the growth of plants, in the human face, in the spirals of galaxies—reveals a shared grammar between microcosm and macrocosm. Couttolenc understands that by embedding these patterns into his pieces, he does more than create beautiful objects: he creates forms that resonate on a deeper, almost subconscious level with those who encounter them.
Trained in industrial designer at the IBERO and later specializing in automotive design in Detroit, Couttolenc mastered the rigor of industrial scale and the precision of technical craft. Based in Puebla, where he lives and maintains his studio, his creative path soon diverged toward another horizon—one where numbers and matter open onto the mystery of the invisible. His tables, sculptures, and interiors cannot be read merely as exercises in design. Works such as Aster—a hexagram embodying the union of opposites: material and spiritual, celestial and terrestrial—stand as symbolic portals, thresholds between dimensions.
Couttolenc’s intention is unmistakable: for each piece to be more than a functional object. Each chair, bench, or space he conceives carries a vibratory pulse, an echo of the hidden harmony by which nature organizes itself. In this sense, his work speaks with the cadence of music: just as a melody can move without words, his designs aim to affect the viewer beyond discourse, awakening a bodily memory of beauty, a tacit recognition of harmony.
He speaks in the language of materials as much as in the language of symbols. Wood, marble, and bronze become malleable bodies that, beyond their weight or texture, bear meaning. It is no coincidence that his manual processes unfold with a near-ritual respect, as if every cut and every joint were a way of restoring the bond between human gesture and the forces coursing through matter.
At the heart of his practice lies the desire to weave worlds together: the artisanal with the industrial, the functional with the sculptural, the visible with the invisible. This tension is not meant to resolve, but to persist as fertile ground for exploration. For this reason, his work resists strict classification, shifting between furniture and installation, interior architecture and sculpture, while always opening the possibility of a different, more conscious way of inhabiting.
INTERVIEWER
Which of the four elements (earth, water, fire, air) do you feel most connected to, and why?
Daniel Couttolenc
I feel connected to the Air element as a Gemini (Air sign) because it represents ideas, creativity, and endless possibilities. Like the wind, it gives me a sense of lightness and freedom, allowing me to explore new perspectives and keep my mind open to change and discovery.
INTERVIEWER
What kind of sound or tone feels the most harmonious or soothing to you?
Daniel Couttolenc
I find the sound of water harmonious and soothing because it feels effortless and natural—whether from rain, a waterfall, or the sea. Its gentle rhythm brings balance, clears my mind, and fills me with calm.
INTERVIEWER
Which sacred geometry symbol resonates with you the most, and what does it represent for you?
Daniel Couttolenc
The six-pointed star (hexagram) resonates with me because it represents the harmony of opposites. I associate it with balance, equilibrium, and the interconnectedness of all things.
Which of the four elements (earth, water, fire, air) do you feel most connected to, and why?
Daniel Couttolenc
I feel connected to the Air element as a Gemini (Air sign) because it represents ideas, creativity, and endless possibilities. Like the wind, it gives me a sense of lightness and freedom, allowing me to explore new perspectives and keep my mind open to change and discovery.
INTERVIEWER
What kind of sound or tone feels the most harmonious or soothing to you?
Daniel Couttolenc
I find the sound of water harmonious and soothing because it feels effortless and natural—whether from rain, a waterfall, or the sea. Its gentle rhythm brings balance, clears my mind, and fills me with calm.
INTERVIEWER
Which sacred geometry symbol resonates with you the most, and what does it represent for you?
Daniel Couttolenc
The six-pointed star (hexagram) resonates with me because it represents the harmony of opposites. I associate it with balance, equilibrium, and the interconnectedness of all things.
Daniel Couttolenc designs not only for the eye, but for an integral, almost meditative experience in which the viewer-user recognizes themselves as part of a larger order. His pieces invite contemplation, but also invite us to perceive in the everyday—a table, a chair, a space—the vibration of a cosmos structured in patterns repeating into infinity. In this gesture, design becomes philosophy and matter becomes metaphor, reminding us that to inhabit the world is, at once, an aesthetic and a spiritual act.
It is within this curatorial spirit that Casa AnKan introduces About Me, a series in which each collectible is given a voice, unveiling its name, origin, and symbolic resonance. The series begins with Couttolenc’s Elements Collection: four sculptural stools embodying Agua, Tierra, Fuego, and Aire. More than functional seats, they are embodiments of elemental archetypes, each one a fragment of the cosmos distilled into form. Together, they extend his pursuit of balance between the material and the spiritual, inviting us to inhabit not only the object, but the forces of nature that pulse through it.
It is within this curatorial spirit that Casa AnKan introduces About Me, a series in which each collectible is given a voice, unveiling its name, origin, and symbolic resonance. The series begins with Couttolenc’s Elements Collection: four sculptural stools embodying Agua, Tierra, Fuego, and Aire. More than functional seats, they are embodiments of elemental archetypes, each one a fragment of the cosmos distilled into form. Together, they extend his pursuit of balance between the material and the spiritual, inviting us to inhabit not only the object, but the forces of nature that pulse through it.