"What was the best moment of your life?" ask Cologne based Pell Architekten in the introduction to their contribution to smow Cologne's forthcoming exhibition Waidblicke, "Has it been or is it still to come? OK, but along the way there's been good moments. Where were they?" Where indeed.... Since October 2013 smow Cologne have been resident in the city's Waidmarkt - The Woad Market - a location that can trace its history back to the Roman occupation of the modern Colonia and which achieved a
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Everyone knows Finnish architect and designer Alvar Aalto. Everyone knows his flowing, free-formed buildings and his moulded plywood furniture. What is there new to learn? What is the point in another Alvar Aalto exhibition. What indeed................................ Born in Kuortane Finland on February 3rd 1898 Alvar Aalto began studying architecture at the Helsinki University of Technology in 1916, graduating in 1921 and established his own architectural practice in Jyväskyla in 1923. In
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For a man who is universally lauded as one of the most important Danish designers of the 20th century, there is an inexplicable scarcity of reliable, independent information on Poul Henningsen. At least in languages other than Danish. Even the British Library in London, the self proclaimed keeper of the "world's knowledge", can only offer a couple of non-Danish language texts. Library shelves around the globe however buckle under the weight of Danish language works by and about Poul
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1989. A year of social, culture and political upheaval whose effects are still being felt today. The Berlin Wall falls. George Bush is sworn in as 41st President of the United States of America. Nirvana release their debut album Bleach. The Poll Tax is introduced in Scotland. The first episode of The Simpsons airs. And while not wanting to over dramatise the situation, yet clearly and deliberately doing just that in the interests of an introduction, 1989 also saw the opening of the Vitra Design
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The inescapable chill in the morning air and the deep-seated boredom in the eyes of school aged children can only mean that summer is, ever so slowly, coming to an end. And just as spring beckons life to return in the natural world, so to does autumn herald a revival of activity in the unnatural world of museums and galleries. Consequently, whereas in August we only managed to find three architecture and design exhibitions to recommend, for September we have seven! A Magnificent Seven who
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In the past we have, admittedly, been "somewhat" harsh on Chemnitz. Unfairly so considered some. Many. "C'mon! Chemnitz isn't all that bad!!!!" being the general response. And so we decide to investigate a little more closely, to peer behind our prejudices and explore contemporary creativity in Chemnitz. Beginning with snowboard manufacturer silbærg. Initiated in the context of a research project at the Chemnitz Technical University silbærg snowboards make use of so-called Anisotropic Layer
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In our post from the excellent exhibition Croatian Holiday at Vienna Design Week 2012 we questioned the curators assertion that through incorporating contemporary designers into a nation's tourist industry one could help that nation promote a contemporary national identity abroad. Our scepticism wasn't levied at the employment of designers in, for example, creating furniture for hotels, the interior design of tourist attractions or promotional material, but much more about employing designers
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As previously noted in these pages the (hi)story of modernism is largely one of successful male/female partnerships, the most famous questionably being Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich or Le Corbusier and Charlotte Perriand in the main period of inter-war European modernism and Charles and Ray Eames in context of the post-war American adaptation. Yet it is also a (hi)story with only very few identifiable female leads. From the examples above Lilly Reich, Charlotte Perriand and Ray
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"Plastic was equivalent with America for us. Only Bakelite came from Europe. Right? But after the war, everything plastic came to Italy from the States. Purely commercial stuff, but every year a new material came on the market", recalled Italian architect and designer Anna Castelli Ferrieri in a 1997 interview, "We wanted to try out what all can be made with these new materials"1 And try she did. With an élan that resulted in an enviable portfolio of products that have not only become
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Back in the day all ten projects nominated for the DMY Award were presented in a post-festival exhibition in the Bauhaus Archiv Berlin. An exhibition that for us always made perfect sense, mixing as it did experimental, conceptual works by contemporary designers with the conceptual, experimental spirit of Bauhaus. That however was then. And the cooperation sadly ended a couple of years ago. If we're honest we find it a real shame that that is no longer the case, not least for the designers.
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Since June 14th 2014 the Basel metropolitan region has been one contemporary design institution richer: the Pulpo Galerie in Lörrach. Run by the contemporary lighting and accessory manufacturer Pulpo in the Pulpo HQ, the Pulpo Galerie is part Pulpo Galerie, part Pulpo showroom, part Pulpo office, part Pulpo newsagent, part informal Pulpo Café. But principally Pulpo Galerie. The inaugural exhibition, Space, presents recent works by painter Daniel Richter, sculptor Tobias Rehberger and the
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Back in 2011 we took umbrage at the fence surrounding the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein and so, taking up Ronald Regan's mantle, issued a challenge to Vitra's Chairman Emeritus Rolf Fehlbaum "Mr Fehlbaum! Tear down this wall" we demanded, "Or at least move it a little. Please" And Rolf Fehlbaum listened. And has indeed moved it a little. Thank you!1 However, being a much more enlightened man than us, Rolf Fehlbaum thought further and not only took the opportunity thus created to invite
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One doesn't have to understand why designers or design institutions do the things they do. You don't always have to be able to follow the logic. Sometimes all you need to do is sit back and enjoy the ride. Such an occasion, at least for us, is the project Lost & Found by Vitra from the Bratislava based design platform Flowers for Slovakia. Essentially the project asked 15 young Slovakian designers to combine forlorn items of traditional Slovakian folk furniture with elements from the Vitra
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Since the late 1950s Bavarian porcelain manufacturer Rosenthal has cooperated with an impressive roster of international designers to create new objects and product families, notable cooperations including those with Raymond Loewy, Walter Gropius, Wilhelm Wagenfeld, Jasper Morrison or Patricia Urquiola. One of the firms most recent collaborations is and was with Offenbach am Main based Sebastian Herkner. A graduate of the Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach am Main, Sebastian Herkner
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Established in 1751 by Wilhelm Caspar Wegely and taken under royal control by Prussia's King Frederick II in 1763, the Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Berlin - the Berlin Royal Porcelain Factory - is not only Berlin's oldest handwork business but an undeniable symbol of Prussian pride and the unrestrained luxury of the fabled "white gold" And as such not the sort of place one would expect to find an old agitator such as the Italian designer, designer theorist and general design disdainer Enzo
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"The purpose of an object is of secondary importance" claimed the German designer and artist Wilhelm Wagenfeld, "the use however is more relevant, explains the multi-faceted relationship of individuals to those objects which surround them. With use develops culture, the overcoming of a perceived raison d'etre"1 To celebrate their 20th anniversary the Bremen based Wilhelm Wagenfeld Foundation are currently hosting "Die Form ist nur Teil des Ganzen" - "The Form is Only a Part of the Composition"
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"The design is not the result of any especially deep consideration, but much more of random form finding through sketching."1 So remembers German architect and designer Sergius Ruegenberg the creation of the so-called Barcelona Chair; a chair that made its formal début with the opening of the Barcelona International Exposition on May 19th 1929. Barcelona Chair? Sergius Ruegenberg? Yes. Barcelona Chair. Sergius Ruegenberg. Born in St. Petersburg in 1903 Sergius Ruegenberg trained as a
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Until August 24th the Swiss Architecture Museum, SAM, in Basel is staging "Fritz Haller. Architect and Researcher", an exhibition devoted to one of the most important architects and architectural theorists of the 20th century, albeit one who is all too often overlooked and misunderstood. Or simply known for his USM modular storage system. Born in Solothurn, Switzerland in 1924 Fritz Haller trained as an architectural draughtsman before undertaking a series of jobs in architecture firms
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As previously noted the Werkbund Berlin Galerie is currently hosting an exhibition devoted to the ess.tee.tisch t-6500 from Swiss manufacturer Horgenglarus. Originally designed in 1951 by Jürg Bally the ess.tee.tisch is a height adjustable table operated by an ingeniously simple mechanism and a product that was awarded a Gute Form Award by the Swiss Werkbund in 1955 for its combination of practicality, functionality and aesthetic charm. The exhibition in Berlin presents an updated version of
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For many, the darkest, furthest removed edge of the (smow) universe is (smow) Chemnitz. (smow) however reaches further. Much further. To Manly, New South Wales, to be precise and (smow) Australia. More of a cousin than a member of the immediate (smow) family, (smow) Australia offer products by leading European manufacturers including Nils Holger Moormann, Richard Lampert, LoCa, Jonas & Jonas and Kabré-Leipzig to the good people of Sydney and, through their online shop, beyond. And now have
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"When", we asked in context of the Grassi Leipzig exhibition Sitting – Lying – Swinging. Furniture from Thonet, "does an exhibition about Thonet chairs become a sales promotion for Thonet chairs?" In the case of the Grassi exhibition, we concluded, it doesn't. When however does a blog post about a Thonet exhibition becomes an advertisement for Thonet chairs. Round about now. For by way of celebrating the Sitting – Lying – Swinging, an exhibition on "home turf" as it were, (smow) have teamed
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"It helps you save a considerable amount space, then it is a dinning table and a tea table in one. With a single hand movement you can set its height as you choose; and that without needing to first clear the table" So introduced Swiss furniture manufacturer Horgenglarus the so called Bally-Verstelltisch, or S.T. Tisch, on its launch in 1954. Designed by the Swiss architect Jürg Bally the S.T. Tisch is one of those products that without question would have found its way into our Lost
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We round up our Milan 2014 coverage with a company we admire, but about whom we find it all but impossible to write. Because their products and their collection so rarely change. Ever since commencing with the commercial production of the modular USM Haller furniture system in 1969 USM have done little else. Save the introduction of the USM KITOS system in 1989. But that's it. That's all they do. Which is also one of the principle reasons we admire them. They do what they do, do it well
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By way of a 1st of May, International Workers' Day, special...... in Milan Ronan Bouroullec told us that the brother's new chair Uncino for Italian produce Mattiazzi was inspired by and loosely based on the very first wooden office chairs. An excellent example of what he meant can currently be enjoyed at the exhibition Sitting – Lying – Swinging. Furniture from Thonet at the Grassi Museum for Applied Arts, Leipzig. A comparison: Uncino by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec for Mattiazzi vs. an 1875
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