Backrests appeared to be a major feature of those new products Konstantin Grcic presented at Milan Furniture Fair 2017. Or perhaps better put, from those new product we saw by Konstantin Grcic, we interpreted the backrest as being central components. But it wasn't all about backrests, a few thoughts on new products for Magis, Plank, Flos and Mattiazzi. Noctambule by Konstantin Grcic for Flos, as seen at Milan Furniture Fair 2017 Monza Bistro Chair for Plank Although an addition to the Monza
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Much as we moan, moan, and moan about Milan Furniture Fair, it is a rare opportunity to get a snapshot of where individual designers are currently at: differing products for differing manufacturers being displayed in relatively proximity allowing for a nice overview. A few considerations on the latest projects by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec for Vitra, Magis, Flos and Mattiazzi. Verticale by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec for Flos, as seen at Milan Furniture Fair 2017 Softshell Side Chair for Vitra
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Being principally an office furniture fair NeoCon doesn't really attract "fringe events" the way home furnishing focussed trade fairs do; office furniture, allegedly, lacking much of the flair, emotion and excitement of its domestic relatives. In the past however the so-called Guerrilla Truck Show did attempt to provide an alternative, more independent, take on design, than the sanitised corporate vision presented at NeoCon. Staged during NeoCon week in Chicago's Fulton Market district the
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In our recent conversation with Birgit Severin and Guillaume Neu-Rinaudo about their Heimat Lamp project they told us that the lamp was not only their first joint project but in many ways a test joint project to see how well they cooperated. Or perhaps better put, if they could cooperate. And was a test which they obviously both passed, for at Salone Satellite 2016 in Milan Birgit and Guillaume presented new, joint, projects, and a new, joint, venture, the design studio "Proof of Guilt" For us
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As we noted in a previous post, spending long periods sitting can result in shorter telomeres and thus a greater susceptibility to health problems such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. A new study by researchers at the Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Public Health would appear to indicate that in addition to health benefits, regularly standing while working in an office environment can also increase productivity. Based on data collected over a period of six months from
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Unbelievably, Eindhoven based design studio Daphna Laurens have never, ever, participated at Salone Satellite, that section of the Milan furniture fair devoted to young design talents. Unbelievably because they are unquestionably talented, and are equally unquestionably young. Even if the works displayed in Milan suggested a maturity beyond their years. Studio Daphna Laurens present Prototipi @ Salone Satellite Milan 2016 Presented under the title Prototipi Daphna Isaacs and Laurens
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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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"This is a job of work whose goal is precision, delicacy, amiability and attentiveness: being attentive to people, uses, buildings, trees, asphalt or grass surfaces, to what already exists. It's a matter of causing the least inconvenience or no inconvenience at all. It's a matter of being generous, giving more, facilitating usage and simplifying life"1 These words stand not only in the centre of the exhibition "Studio Plus. Druot, Lacaton & Vassal: Transformation as an architectural manifesto"
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Since 2014 the Room + Style "lifestyle" fair in Dresden has been extended, if not enhanced, through the presentation of the Staged Design Award exhibition. Organised by the Dresden based creative agency Paulsberg, Staged is open to young designers from Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic and seeks to not only reward outstanding creativity but also explain contemporary design and creativity to a wider public and thus attempt to increase an understanding and acceptance of what contemporary
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Horribly denigrating as the term "Swedish Grace" unquestionably sounds, it is a well meant phrase coined to refer to the classicist art and design movement that developed in Sweden in the 1920s and 30s: a movement which served as a bridge between the Art Nouveau-esque national romanticism of the early 20th century and the approaching functionalism, and which thus in many respects paved the way for the Scandinavian interpretation of international modernism as so magnificently presented at the
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In our 5 New Design Exhibitions for October 2015 post we recommended, amongst other exhibitions, the Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec showcase 17 Screens at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, noting, "There is something very agreeable about the way Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec pop up in the most unexpected places with the most unexpected projects. Not least because, and as a general rule, the more unexpected the location and the more unexpected the project the greater the chance of experiencing something that
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By way of an addendum to our 5 New Design Exhibitions for November 2015 post, the Kaiserslautern University of Technology's Architecture Gallery are hosting "Jean Prouvé - vom System zum Haus" - "Jean Prouvé - from system to house" - in which the results of a semester project exploring the construction systems of Jean Prouvé are being presented. Although arguably best known for his furniture designs, a large part of Jean Prouvé's career and energy was spent developing, and indeed
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On Thursday October 29th the winners of the Kölner DESIGN Preis 2015 were announced in a ceremony at the Museum für Angewandte Kunst Köln, MAKK. Open to students from Cologne's seven creative colleges and their international partner institutions the 8th edition of Germany's highest endowed prize for student diploma projects carried a total prize money of €15,000 and saw 29 projects nominated, projects ranging from products, to concepts and onto more fundamental research. For us the use of
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"I want to make the most simple furniture possible", so described Jean Angelats a.k.a Ateliers J&J his intentions in our recent interview. Intentions he more than underscores with the new objects in Ateliers J&J's 01 Evolution & 02 collections. Now we know there are cynics out there who will be of the opinion that given the acres of column space we've given Ateliers J&J of late it was always certain that we would like the new collection regardless of what it contained. OK. We understand
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In our post from the exhibition Art Nouveau. The Great Utopian Vision at the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg we stated, with a certain degree of authority, that "No one likes a hippy" The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis obviously do and are celebrating that fact with the exhibition Hippie Modernism: The Struggle for Utopia. Subtitled "An Examination of the Radical Art, Architecture, and Design of 1960s & 1970s Counterculture" the Walker Art Center's exhibition promises to explore
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These past few months we have made no effort to disguise the fact that one of our favourite discoveries of 2015 has been Brussels based Ateliers J&J. Ever since we saw the studio's work as part of the exhibition MAD ABOUT LIVING – 24 Designers from Brussels during Cologne Design Week we've been obsessing about the tubular steel and solid wood objects which formed their inaugural collection. And now Ateliers J&J are ready to launch their second collection: their challenging second album, as
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On days when his sketches didn't meet with his own, self-critical, approval, the Swiss architect and urban planner Le Corbusier is reported to have laid down his pencil and quietly reflected, "c'est difficile, l'architecture" 1 Equally difficile is describing and explaining the multifarious talents and passions of Le Corbusier. One option, arguably the best option, is to focus on just one aspect of Le Corbusier's oeuvre and to use this concentrated analysis as a conduit through which to
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Space is, as any Trekkie will tell you, the final frontier. For designers and architects it is certainly a very challenging frontier. Not only do the normal physical laws not apply thus requiring new considerations in terms of materials or construction, but functionality takes on whole new meanings: “comfort” being replaced by “need to survive”, “ergonomics” being replaced by “need to survive”, “adaptability” being replaced by “need to survive” And does the interior of a spaceship need to be
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In his review of Chris Taylor's book "How Star Wars Conquered the Universe" the American film critic Tom Shone makes a point so obvious you wonder how it has escaped you these past 38 years: Junk is everything in Star Wars. The Jawas deal in junk. The droids are sold as junk. Our heroes are delivered as junk into the Death Stars trash compactor. That the Death Star is the only new piece of technology on display is sign enough of its nefariousness: those serving the Empire are the only people
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As previously reported, Bauhaus Dessau are currently presenting “The coop principle – Hannes Meyer and the Concept of Collective Design”, an exhibition devoted to the second Bauhaus Director and for all his belief in the strength of the collective in almost all aspects of life, but especially in design. Hannes Meyer himself never completed projects alone, but always as part of a collective, the Dessau exhibition celebrates that fact and Meyer's unshakeable belief in the power of the
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From June 1st until June 7th the 15th D'Days Paris will be staged under the theme "Experience" Which is hopefully something one has gathered sufficient of after 14 festivals. Featuring contributions from some 100+ creatives the principle focus of D'Days Paris 2015 is, as ever, in-store presentations including, for example, a vapour installation from Krux Amsterdam in the Boffi flagship store, a special presentation of Kartell's latest products in a scenography designed by Ferruccio Laviani in
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Given that Bauhaus is often perceived as having been an incubator for the creative talents of the 1920s, it is perhaps fitting that windows salvaged from Bauhaus Dessau should have been upcycled into a greenhouse for the Bauhaus Archiv Berlin. Or at least into a greenhouse-esque structure for the Bauhaus Archiv Berlin. Conceived, planned and realised by Berlin architectural practice zukunftsgeraeusche GbR together with the Bauhaus Archiv Berlin, Technischen Universität Berlin and Wagner
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How can the urban environment be improved with new housing? Which spatial constellations foster interaction? Which strategies reduce costs but still produce a high quality? How can we initiate a new era of house building? Such and similar questions are posed, and possible answers presented, in the exhibition URBAN LIVING - Strategies for the Future currently on show at the Deutsches Architektur Zentrum DAZ in Berlin. URBAN LIVING - Strategies for the Future at the Deutsches Architektur
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Shium is the many ways the Korean antipode to our modern world: Shium is decelerate, rest, relax, pause, reflect, slow down. Refresh body and soul Shium is also the foundation on which the exhibition Tools for A Break – Korean Crafts and Design is built, and following its première during Munich Creative Business Week 2015, Tools for A Break – Korean Crafts and Design is currently on show in Berlin. Tools for A Break - Korean Crafts and Design at Orangelab Berlin Fascinated by the diversity
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