As with contemporary football the story of contemporary architecture and design begins on the British Isles; and as with football it didn't take long before the British nations were replaced at the forefront of the art(s) by their European neighbours. In both cases Germany and France moving with notable speed, diligence and grace past the UK. Inspired by this coming summer's EURO 2016 European Football Championships in France, the Bröhan Museum Berlin are celebrating the creative rivalry which
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There are few more unpleasant emotions than the one deep in your stomach when you realise your bicycle has been stolen. An unpleasantness caused less by the financial and time investments involved in organising a replacement, than on account of the bond that exists between you and your (ex-)bicycle. A sense of why and how such an emotional bond comes to be formed with an otherwise unemotional object, can currently be found in the exhibition Self-Propelled. Or how the bicycle moves us, at the
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Whereas April showers tend to make you wet, grumpy and late, May showers are much more agreeable - or more precisely, the Eta Aquarids meteor showers are much more agreeable: a celestial showcase which reach their peak in early May and which, and in a wonderful example of the democracy of nature, are visible from anywhere on the planet. For all who prefer to do their star gazing in the comfort of a museum or gallery, and without having to scan the evening sky for Aquarius, here our
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As we believe is now traditional at this time of year..... ..... every year at Milan Design Week the Belgian Design authorities proclaim that Belgium is Design. And every year we respond, that it isn't. But is a country with an awful lot of very talented designers......... The "Belgium is Design" claim is however the principle reason we decided to investigate contemporary Belgian creativity in a little more detail, to investigate as it were how much truth stood behind it, and to be able to
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Every time we are in Milan, be it for the Design Week or simply to enjoy the city without the inconvenience of the Design Week, we invariably find ourselves strolling past the Rossignoli bicycle shop on the Corso Garibaldi. An emporium with a history stretching back to 1900, and which positively oozes such, the Rossignoli store has long fascinated us, long fired our imaginations, and yet remains an address we have somehow never managed to enter: this year the perfect excuse was delivered by
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From May 4th and until May 8th 2016 Berlin will host the inaugural edition of the festival State of Design. Initiated by the Belgian design critic, author and curator Max Borka and the German Communications Designer Alexandra Klatt, State of Design promises a series of exhibitions, events and discussions which, in the words of the organisers, will "question the tyranny of what is all too often still proclaimed to be good design: slick, glamorous, luxurious, good looking and highly seductive, or
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It's been a good long while since we last posted about the Hochschule für Gestaltung Karlsruhe's kkaarrlls collection, and thus ambling down Milan's Via Palermo towards the kkaarrlls 2016 Edition showcase we inevitably found ourselves querying why that should be....... Not least because ever since we stumbled by chance across the first kkaarrlls showcase at Milan 2009 it has been a project we have liked, enjoyed and followed. If latterly only from afar. Given how much we admire kkaarrlls, we
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Established in 2002 Danish label HAY have quickly risen to become an important player in the European furniture and home accessories market, and in many ways have also served as the archetype for the innumerable new labels that have sprung up across the continent in the last five to six years. Yet to judge by the scale, breadth and obvious cost of their presentation at Milan 2016 HAY are clearly not planning resting on their laurels any time soon: here is brand, we were informed, moving up a
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To the casual observer selecting five outstanding products from the Milan Furniture Fair is a neigh on impossible task, so great is the number of potential candidates. "How", asks our casual observer, "are you going to select just five?!?!" For the seasoned attendee selecting five outstanding products from the Milan Furniture Fair is a neigh on impossible task, because the vast majority of articles on show are anything but outstanding. And those which are are invariably older, established
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The Faculty of Applied Arts Schneeberg is by no stretch of the imagination Germany's largest design school; however, that in context of design education size is less important than how creativity is nurtured, supported and encouraged can currently be explored in the exhibition "Offspring – Graduates of Schneeberg present furniture and product design" at the GALERIE Rüdiger SchaackAngewandte Kunst Schneeberg in Schloss Lichtenwalde. Presenting works by eleven graduates from Schneeberg's Wood
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Born in Leverkusen Glen Oliver Löw initially studied Industrial Design at the University of Wuppertal before moving to Milan in 1986 where he completed a Masters degree at the Domus Academy. Following his graduation from the Domus Academy Glen Oliver Löw remained in Milan where he took up a position with Antonio Citterio, becoming a partner in the practice in 1990, and developing a wide range of projects for companies as varied as, amongst others, Vitra, Kartell and Flos. In 2000 Glen Oliver
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The question as to what "home" means has never been an easy one to answer, and in our global age of networked, anonymous, communities, our age of refugees and migrant workers, our age of abstract "Homeland Security" agencies, the question has in many ways become even more complicated. The Lamp Heimat (Homeland) by Berlin based designers Birgit Severin and Guillaume Neu-Rinaudo is an attempt to approach an answer. Birgit Severin and Guillaume Neu-Rinaudo met while studying at Design Academy
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Amongst the objects Jasper Morrison selected from the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich’s archive for the "MyCollection" section of his Thingness retrospective is/was a prototype for a wooden rocking chair by the Swiss designer and architect Jacob Müller. A wooden rocking chair from the 1920s. Which belongs in the 2020s. In the exhibition notes Jasper Morrison states that “the addition of the rocking function is also part of its appeal” Part? In as far as 95% can be considered a “part”, then
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The Swiss architect Fritz Haller famously developed a space colony as a means to allow him to explore his ideas of architecture in an extreme environment, and thus help him to better understand the possibilities of terrestrial architecture. To explore Fritz Haller's USM furniture system in an extreme environment, and thus better understand the wider possibilities, you need go little further than your local airport. Established in 2011 USM Airportsystems develop, as the name implies, tailored
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Henry van de Velde not only helped define Art Nouveau, he was also party to Art Nouveau's christening; even if the immediate reception didn't bode all too well for the fledgling movements longevity..................... Henry van de Velde meets Henry van de Velde, here as seen at the exhibition Henry van de Velde. Leidenschaft, Funktion und Schönheit, Klassik Stiftung Weimar, 2013 Born in Antwerp on April 3rd 1863 Henricus Clementinus van de Velde1 initially trained as a painter, studying
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If the etymologists are to be believed "April" has its origins in the Latin verb "aperire". To uncover, to open. Our ancient forefathers and mothers were unquestionably referring to nature's habit of "opening" at this time of year; our thoughts however turn more to the derivation "aperol", and that most pleasing of summertime refreshments, and one who's season opens in Milan every April. It is thus no surprise that our five new design exhibition aperitis for April 2016 take us to Milan ..... in
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As more loyal readers will be aware, we are firmly of the opinion that increasing digital technology must be employed, autocratically if necessary, to reduce our daily need for and on paper; there are so many examples of unnecessary paper use, of situations where digital technology provides or could provide a more than suitable alternative. Those same readers will also be aware that we are extremely uneasy about any developments which extend society's dependency on smartphones and tablets, for
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Until August 28th the Breton capital Rennes is paying tribute to arguably the region's most famous sons since Lancelot: Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec. Born in Quimper on the extreme south west of the peninsula in 1971 (Ronan) and 1976 (Erwan) respectively, the brothers Bouroullec found their way to design via slightly abstract routes; however, having arrived swiftly set about creating not only their own design identity but changing many established conventions about what furniture and furnishings
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Since 1994 the so-called Bielefeld Conspiracy has contended that the German city of Bielefeld doesn’t exist. A central component of the theory is formed by three questions: Have you ever been to Bielefeld? Do you know anyone who has ever been to Bielefeld? Do you know anyone from Bielefeld? If you respond, as you invariably will, with a straight “No” to all three questions…. how do you know for certain Bielefeld exists? To the three standard questions, one could also add “Do you know anyone
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Mild-mannered and polite as we are, we still occasionally find ourselves causing offence, arousing feelings of mild outrage and generally causing people to turn against us; invariably, when we contend, as we regularly do, that fashion isn't design. Which of course it isn't. "This winter we'll be wearing stripes" is obviously as vacuous as it is untrue. Fashion isn't design. It's styling. And there's nothing wrong with that. Just don't call it design Textile design is design, because
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The term "post-war architecture" is for many a term of insult, an insinuation that something is of lesser value. Or just plain bad. And yes there was an awful lot of truly appalling architecture in the 1950s and 1960s. And in the 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1970s 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s. And will continue, ad nauseam, ad infinitum, as sure as night follows day. That the immediate post-war decades were also a period of invention, reinvention, experimentation and revival in global
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If the Light + Building trade fair in Frankfurt is home to exhibitors the majority of us have never heard of, Passenger Terminal Expo as Europe's leading trade fair for airport infrastructure is home to exhibitors you never knew you were aware of: the developers of airport signage systems, for example, or manufacturers of airport security gates, baggage carousels, airline ticketing systems or self-check in terminals, and of course that sweet female voice who informs you that your gate has
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As the name implies the Light + Building Trade Fair in Frankfurt is largely about architectural lighting rather than domestic lighting or office lighting; were it largely about the later it would be called "Light + Living" or "Light + Working" It's called Light + Building. And as such the biggest stands belong to company's you will never have never heard of unless you spend your days planning the construction of hotels, hospitals, shopping centres et al and searching for appropriate
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Clearly vexed by a critical review in Architectural Forum of his friend Alexander Girard's Santa Fe house, Charles Eames wrote a short letter on December 26th 1956 to the magazine's editor Walter McQuade: "Alexander Girard is interested in the quality of everything and does not hesitate to act on this interest, personally and immediately. Such action could not possibly result in a cliche; and not being cliche demands an explanation. The answer perhaps is in Girard's total involvement in
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