Design arithmetic is very simple: June + Berlin = DMY And since Wednesday evening DMY Berlin 2013 is in full swing. In addition to the Central Exhibition at Tempelhof Airport and the numerous satellite events scattered throughout the city this year's programme also features a series of events dedicated to 3D printing. Something we fear certain sections of the media will grasp onto as being evidence of a "t****", oblivious to the fact that it is a subject that has been feature of DMY Berlin
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We first came across the work of Polish born, Swiss based designer Oskar Zieta at DMY Berlin 2009. And in 2010 wrote in the context of DMY's Swiss country focus: One of the biggest Swiss stands was that from ETH Zurich with their FIDU technology. Which was displayed at DMY 2009. We like it, find it a fascinating process, like the furniture that they produce and last year had an interesting and long conversation with Oskar Zieta about the process and its development. For us there is no doubt
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Despite a very personal, and very, very, old, aversion to all things Chemnitz - a situation we really should start getting over - the Chemnitz based Marianne Brandt Contest is without question one of our favourite international design competitions. We know of no other design competition that could crown an origami hummingbird with a paperclip beak as winner. And we know of no new product concept of late that has so instantly excited and won as over quite as Mechthild did. Or indeed
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The first object to attract our attention on Atelier Bonk's stand in the Ventura At Work exhibition in Milan was the candle stick holder. That is until it was pointed out to us that it is actually a potato masher. It's a very simple mistake to make. Especially if you're as daft as us. Bruges based Atelier Bonk is the result of a co-operation between designer Tim "Interror.be" Baute and graphic artist Stefaan de Croock, a.k.a. Strook. The name of the atelier may cause uncontrolled
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With DMY Berlin standing in front of the door like some excited child waiting to be taken to its chums birthday party, all eyes are slowly turning to to the German capital. The first Berlin design events are already running and until June 9th the gallery "Haus am Waldsee" is presenting the exhibition "Home of the Future" by and featuring Werner Aisslinger. We already posted a few photos in a (smow) facebook gallery. Delightful as the exhibition unquestionably is, for us one of the more
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We quote: "It’s probably fair to say the biggest surprise at Salone Satellite 2012 was seeing Rui Alves aka My Own Super Studio. Because we thought 2011 had been the last year he was allowed to exhibit." Fast forward 12 months later. And guess what the the biggest surprise at Salone Satellite 2013 was.... ? He has however promised us that this is his final, final, final year at Salone Satellite. A thought which to be honest doesn't disappoint or otherwise upset us because 2013 was also the
read moreAs older readers will know a large proportion of the menial labour at (smow) is carried out by a team of highly qualified Vitra Eames Elephants. In the past we've praised them, for example, for their help moving USM Haller units around our warehouse. (smow) recently moved into a new base in the Leipzig Baumwollspinnerei complex, a former yarn works largely inhabited by artists, sculptors and their ilk. Being naturally curious beasts our elephants didn't take long to start exploring the
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In the context of another project we are currently researching various aspects of Egon Eiermann's architectural output. And have discovered the most wonderful contradictory positions as regards dealing with his legacy. Contradictory positions which pose the more general question as to how one should approach modernist architectural legacies. Should all works be saved? Are all buildings really worth saving? Are there alternatives? Stadthaus Krefeld by Egon Eiermann (Photo Source: Wikimedia
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On Tuesday April 30th 2013 Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands steps down as head as the House of Orange. And Posterous closes down. One going voluntarily to ensure an smooth transition of power. The other being closed by its new owners as part of a brutal and unjust conflict for supremacy in the social media market. We discovered Posterous in 2010 by pure change, were instantly hooked by the effortless simplicity with which one could post and so Posterous became our platform of choice for all
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More intuitive readers will have enjoyed our post on the exhibition "Objects for Neighbours" from IMM Cologne 2013 and for all our interview with the participants. To be fair you'd have to very intuitive as it hasn't been published. Yet. We are however working on it. You can therefore imagine our absolute horror on bumping into two of the participants at Salone Satellite during Milan Design Week. There being little worse than admitting that you still haven't finished something.
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In December 2012 Vitrashop, the shop fitting arm of the Vitra Group, and of course the original rock on which the Vitra seed germinated and grew, took formal occupation of their new distribution centre. Conceived by Tokyo based architects Kazuyo Sejima & Ryue Nishizawa aka SANAA, the imaginatively titled "SANAA Factory Building" is the latest addition to the Vitra Campus and was officially presented to the public on April 19th 2013. Vitra CEO Rolf Fehlbaum first approached Kazuyo Sejima &
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A few weeks ago in our post on the opening of the Droog Lab exhibition The New Original in Guangzhou, China we noted, "....knowing Droog we’re fairly certain that “The New Original” will be presented in Europe before too long. " Droog didn't disappoint and the objects were displayed in Milan as part of the show "Droog 20+, Up to a beautiful future", 20 years of Droog celebrated by looking forwards rather than the more conventional backwards. The background idea to The New Original is
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It is indicative of the image of designer furniture in contemporary society that media outlets across Europe have picked up on the fact that in connection with the recently published "Wealth Decelerations" by the French Cabinet, Industry Renewal Minister Arnaud Montebourg has revealed he owns an Eames Lounge Chair. Indeed the online platform from German magazine Der Spiegel illustrated the publication of the Declarations with an image of an Eames Lounge Chair in one its first reports! While
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During Milan Design Week 2013 Knoll formally launched the "Tools for Life" collection from Dutch architecture practice OMA, a collection overseen by OMA co-founder Rem Koolhaas. The collection had previously been previewed as part of the stage decoration for the Prada Fall Men's show in January, and was formally unveiled in the same location.... the Prada Milan HQ A location that theoretically the likes of us should never be allowed to enter. But Design Week is Design Week. The first thing
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Back in October at Orgatec 2012 Vitra unveiled Workbay, the new concept from Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec. The latest stage in the brother's career-long "room within a room" research Workbay is a flexible system based around fleece walls and aluminium supports that resembles a cross between the Alcove Sofa and the Bouroullec's Communal Cells from Orgatec 2010. When we saw Workbay in Cologne we thought, nice idea, nice extension of the Bouroullec programme... and went back to concentrating on
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The above is all the paper we brought back from Milan Design Week 2013. Three visiting cards. An Interni programme. A ten journey carnet. A couple of receipts. A page ripped out from our in-flight magazine. We are so proud of ourselves. Normally we return from Milan with enough paper to create a lifesize papier maché copy of Rodin's The Thinker. This year we were determined not to. And had one large motivation and one important theoretical guide to help us. The motivation was the two
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Ahead of Milan Design Week we received an email from a Belgian designer of our acquaintance letting us know where we could view their work. The email ended with a euphoric "This is finally Belgium's year!" A thought that really appealed to us, because as we wrote last year Belgium has the potential to be every bit as successful as Holland. And indeed should be. And so with an optimistic heart we set off to the Triennale di Milano to view the exhibition "Belgium is Design" And experienced our
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The concept of the so-called "Vertical Garden" or "Living Wall" is reasonably well established in architecture. In principle it involves cladding an exterior wall with plants in an integrated, self-sufficient system that requires little or no maintenance or external input. The theory is that the plants provide an efficient layer of insulation that keeps the temperature ambient in summer and reduces heating costs in winter. In addition such constructions reduce the impact of a building on
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Many of you will remember the exhibition "Great Taste for Waste" that was staged at Dutch Design Week 2011 AGF Class 3 Bowls by Renee Boute would have been a wonderful addition. AGF is an abbreviation of "Aardappelen, groenten en fruit" -"Potatoes, vegetable and fruit" - and Class 3 refers to quality Class 3, so damaged examples that can no longer be introduced into the food chain. Or at least not into the "individual" food chain. Utrecht School of the Arts' graduate Renée Boute took these
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Probably on account of all the wood, upcycling and back-to-basics on show at Milan Design Week 2013, Granoff Sofa by Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) alumna Scot Bailey, Taylor McKenzie-Veal, Ian Stell and Yumi Yoshida stood out like a burger bar in Rovaniemi on Christmas Eve. An unexpected, inignorable and ultimately very welcome delight. And that despite, or better put because, we completely misunderstood what was on display. Created for the Granoff Center for the Creative Arts at
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As we believe we've said before it is always especially pleasing when a designer you first got to know as an unkempt, idealist student, finally signs their first serious contract with a major manufacturer and so sets of a, hopefully, long and successful career. Similarly it is always very pleasing to watch a newly established business grow and develop; especially when it's one established with the goal of advancing contemporary design and the designer's lot rather than simply generating a fab
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Although as a general rule we don't want to think about Vienna Design Week during Milan Design Week - as it means thinking beyond the summer, and that before we've really felt the warmth of the sun on our milk white skin - the touring exhibition Werkstadt Vienna showing at Ventura Lambrate is a delightful exception. Because it brought back so many memories and ultimately reminded us just why we put ourselves through this. Curated by Sophie Lovell and featuring an exhibition design by Studio
read moreBack at Saloni Milano 2010 Ronan Bouroullec told us about his feeling that the internet and new technology could, perhaps even should, eventually, replace the resources and time invested - and ultimately wasted - every year in an event such as Milan Furniture Fair. In 2013 everyone's favourite German conceptual contemporary furniture manufacturer Moormann, have made the start. And in doing so proved that even from the pastoral calm of Aschau im Chiemgau, one can still be part of the Milan
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For us one of the highlights of Saloni Milano 2013 was/is Italian manufacturer Mattiazzi. And not just because they have managed to eke a chair out of Jasper Morrison that, in our opinion, is one of his better, and certainly more interesting, of recent years. Established in 1978 Mattiazzi is, if we correctly understand, essentially a network of woodworking facilities in Udine. For three decades the company served as a supplier of wooden parts for other furniture manufacturers before
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