Knowing that they needed to defeat Fritz Haller's stable and flexible USM Haller system in order to advance the Italians choose to stick with Antonio Citterio for this all or nothing encounter. Setting quickly to work Antonio Citterio rolled out a succession of office chairs; including the Oson CE, Axess and T-chair for Vitra. However regardless of what Antonio Citterio tried, Fritz Haller always found a combination to match and ultimately took a 1:0 lead with a beautifully finished Haller
read moreFollowing Verner Panton's red card against Fritz Haller, Denmark were forced into a change and so Arne Jacobsen lined-up against Maarten Van Severen. And although this was never going to be a high-tempo encounter the crowd in Johannesburg did become somewhat impatient at the incredibly slow pace of the competition. With both designers endlessly reworking and perfecting their pieces it was well into the second half before the first attack developed: a neat Ant Chair from Arne Jacobsen giving
read moreAlthough the majority of Ron Arad's work could squash most of Isamu Noguchi's, he played fair and held back from producing a Well-Tempered chair, preferring instead to work on variations in plastic. Despite some good Infinity Bottle Rack, Lovely Rita and Bookworm work for Kartell, Isamu Noguchi's constantly high standard Akari lamp variations held the Israeli at bay and the final 0:0 was a just result. The Group C table and all Group C results can be found
read moreFor Charles Rennie Mackintosh the 2010 (smow) designer furniture World Cup may have been over; but matches against England always have their own incentive. With Tom Dixon replacing Jasper Morrison, the English took an early lead with the Dixon Bronze Copper Shade and moved further ahead with a beautifully worked Off Cut stool. In the second half Charles Rennie Mackintosh narrowed the gap with his Hill House chair; however Tom Dixon responded with a quick Wingback Chair and Spin candelabra
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After the strenuous match against Alexander Girard, France decided to rest Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec for the match against Eero Saarinen. Their replacement, the enfant terrible of contemporary French design Philippe Starck however failed to match the old Finnish master; too often Philippe Starck strove forward with fairly predictable and poorly considered approaches. Eero Saarinen was able to make use of the gaps produced by Philippe Starck to good effect scoring with his Tulip Chair and a
read moreCharles Rennie Mackintosh was greatly influenced by Japanese design and this encounter against Isamu Noguchi quickly developed into a masterclass of subtle, self-confident, organic design. Charles Rennie Mackintosh took an instant lead with his complete interior ensemble for the Willow Tea Rooms. In particular the Willow Chair seemed to distract Noguchi through its familar, yet foreign narrative. Isamu Noguchi recovered however and drew level with his Freeform Sofa and Ottoman before moving
read moreDespite the rumours flying around ahead of this match, England stuck with Jasper Morrison rather than pitting Tom Dixon against Ron Arad. Whereas many would have relished the opportunity to have witnessed the two masters of "real" industrial design going head to head the Morrison/Arad encounter was every bit as entertaining. Unmoved by Ron Arad's Bookworm, Jasper Morrison concentrated on his chair work and took the lead with his Basel chair for Vitra; a simple move that produced the deserved
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The (smow)blog team outing to the cardboard furniture workshop was coupled with a visit to the current Vitra Design Museum Exhibition: The Essence of Things. Design and the Art of Reduction. We must admit to finding it more than a little ironic that an exhibition on "Design and the Art of Reduction" should be taking place in a building designed by Frank Gehry, especially when Tadao Ando's Conference Pavilion is only some 10m away. And after the long journey to Weil am Rhein this thought
read moreIf ever a designer furniture contest could be compared to a game of "rock-paper-scissors" then surely Hella Jongerius against Frank O. Gehry. The Mistress of Materials against the King of Solid Constructions. And so developed this match. Frank Gehry applied all his radical geometry to try to find a way through the Dutch defence; but found himself continually hindered by the fact that natural material forms are always more sustainable than artificially generated: Or put another way Hella
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You know how it is. You arrive early in the office..... Make a coffee..... Turn the computer on........ Check out the tabloid press websites..... And break gently into the day with stories as irrelevant and vacuous as they are compelling. It's just a comfortable and familiar way to start the day. This morning was different. The story had all the makings of normal tabloid nonsense: a pop star, a footballer's wife and a party guest list that you suspect had been thrown together by a tired and
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Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec are without doubt two of the brightest stars in the international designer furniture heaven. And two of the most omnipotent. Something which however may slowly change. Ronan Bouroullec in the VitaHaus, Weil am Rhein Following their initial breakthrough with Cuisine désintégrée ( Disintegrated kitchen ), an concept piece by Ronan Bouroullec that was taken on by Italian producer Capellini in 1998, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec went on to develop projects with companies
read moreThe careers of Konstantin Grcic and Patricia Urquiola could barely be more different; whereas Patricia Urquiola has steadily and confidently moved through the traditional Italian designer furniture producers, Konstantin Grcic has skipped from cult producer to cult producer with only the occasional diversion into the mainstream of European designer furniture producers. Opening with a Hut Ab for Nils Holger Moormann, Grcic then complimented this with an ES shelving system for Moormann before
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Both Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec as well as Alexander Girard had to wait a long time for their opening match in this years (smow) designer furniture world cup - but for the sell out crowd in Pretoria the wait was more than worth it. Although born in New York, Alexander Girard qualifies for Mexico on account of the Wooden Doll side of his family tree. Opening up with an impressive selection of traditional southern Portuguese patterns Girard was initially confused as the Bouroullec brothers
read moreFollowing his ankle injury Cesare "Joe" Colombo was replaced for this match by Antonio Citterio, one of the most experienced designers in the Italian squad. Opening with a quick Mobil for Kartell Antonio Citterio quickly reinforced this with a Follow Me for Vitra. Despite the intensity of the opening Citterio couldn't break Maarten Van Severn's legendary calm and the doyen of Belgian furniture design responded with an elegant LCP for Kartell and MVS Chaise for Vitra combination and so
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One of the high points of Verner Panton's career came in Switzerland when in Vitra he finally found a producer for his Panton Chair. Today however there was no room for sentiment and Panton came out fighting. Picking up where he left off against Joe Colombo Verner Panton attempted a quick plastic combination, his Barboy however going just wide. Fritz Haller remained as composed and sturdy as ever, the flexibility of his classic USM Haller system allowing him to respond to whatever move Verner
read moreThere is a very familiar flair to Group D and this opening encounter pitted three old friends against each other; Eero Saarinen and Charles and Ray Eames. The three have been close friends since the start of their careers and the common influences and experiences were clearly visible in many of their early approaches. The longer the contest ran however the more the differences appeared and the more each side could set their individual tone and make use if their individual strengths. For all
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It may not be the most universally recognised example of either Charles Eames' nor Eero Saarinen's canon however their 1940 "Conversation Chair" is without doubt one of the more important examples of 20th century furniture design. Designed for the New York Museum of Modern Art's "Organic Design in Home Furnishings" competition the Conversation Chair was a concept piece and Eames' and Saarinen's first attempt at moulding synthetics. At that time however the technology lagged somewhat behind
read moreAlthough stylistically worlds apart both Ron Arad and Charles Rennie Mackintosh are united by their individual and uncompromising style and approach to design. As expected it was Charles Rennie Mackintosh who made the stronger start, taking a 1:0 lead with his Argyle Chair - a brave break form contemporary convention and a deserved lead. Ron Arad's attempts at stemming Mackintosh's dominance largely lacked the required precision and all landed wide of their intended target. Late in the second
read moreFor 26 years James Irvine has been quietly and unassumingly influencing European industrial design. Immediately after graduating from the London Royal College of Art in 1984 James Irvine moved to Milan to take up a position with the Olivetti design studio. And has pretty much been in the north Italian metropolis ever since. In 1992 James Irvine left Olivetti and since then has worked with companies as varied as Artemide, B&B Italia, Whirlpool, Magis and WMF. Among his most public projects is
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With Royal Ascot in "full flight" and the All England Championships at Wimbledon beginning om Monday, the summer season is here and with it long evenings in the garden, on the terrace or on the balcony. Lovely. And so it was guaranteed no coincidence that we saw the wonderful Shadylace by Chris Kabel for Droog at DMY Berlin last week. For having reached a comfortable, and somewhat overweight, middle age we now feel justified in owning such a treasure. Not only does Shadylace stylishly
read moreThe first meeting between Jasper Morrison and Isamu Noguchi proved to be a truly one-sided affair; a result that although deserved, seemed unfair on the old master of Japanese design. Despite a few brave forays with his coffee table or rocking stools, Isamu Noguchi was unable to get away from his Akari Lamp stereotype. Jasper Morrison was more than able to profit from Noguchi's alleged monotypology and through some clever chair and crockery combinations was soon leading 4:0. Towards the end of
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Between 1965 and 1985 the Soviet Union launched some 57 satellites from their rocket launching base on Berlin's Alexander Platz; thus, making Berlin the single most important launch site in the Soviet block. Following the disintegration of first the Berlin Wall and subsequently the Warsaw Pact, satellite launches from Alexander Platz ceased and the area was converted to a nature park for tourists and those who prey on such. In 1995 Berlin City Council erected an exact replica of a satellite
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Although in the course of his career Verner Panton worked with numerous designer furniture producers, his name is undoubtedly most closely associated with Vitra. Not least because of his seminal Panton Chair. The exhibition "Panton by Vitra" at Wasserschloss Klaffenbach in Chemnitz offers visitors an insight into the life and work of one of the most important and influential post-war European designers. While still a student Verner Panton worked in Arne Jacobsen's Copenhagen office and
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Because our article on the new London bus has been delayed by a broken water main at Tooting Bec, we've decided instead to do an impression of a typical London bus user. "Typical, wait ages and then two come along at once! I blame Ken Livingstone!" Ahead of the opening of the Dieter Rams retrospective "Less and More: Das design ethos von Dieter Rams", yesterday saw the opening of a second exhibition dedicated to the life and work of a former Braun designer. The Werkbund Archive Berlin's
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