Following the assimilation of the Cooper Union Design Museum in New York into the Smithsonian Institution as the Copper-Hewitt Museum, founding director Lisa Taylor wanted an opening exhibition which reflected and celebrated not only the museum's new status but also its new direction and which visually translated the "philosophy of the Smithsonian Institution's new National Museum of Design"1 To this end in 1974 selected designers and architects, including Richard Saul Wurman, Charles and Ray
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Am Anfang war der Pneu - first there was air - so hypothesised the German architect and master of lightweight construction Frei Otto: a conviction which led him to spend a large part of his career attempting to reduce architecture back to its natural origins and build a permanent structure "constructed" solely from air. And although he never realised his dream of material-less construction Frei Otto did develop a couple of very interesting studies, including the 1971 Arctic City project which
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Erected in 1927 in context of the Deutscher Werkbund exhibition "Die Wohnung" the Weißenhofsiedlung in Stuttgart aimed to achieve "…. a reduction in house construction and running costs, in addition to a simplification of housework and a general improvement in living standards" But did it? Or is it just a collection of buildings by Max Taut, Hans Poelzig, Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier, Mart Stam, Peter Behrens and their ilk? A chance for a close connected group of modernists to show off?
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Parallel to the exhibition "Aus allen Richtungen" at the AIT ArchitekturSalon in Cologne and its exploration of 30 young German architects relationships to their profession, the Johannesburg Museum of African Design presents examples of how 12 young German architects transform this philosophical relationship into tangible projects. Focussing on projects realised since 2004 outwith Germany the exhibition presents projects by a dozen young architects/architectural practices which in the words of
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No sooner had we published our post on the innovative high-tech world of silbærg snowboards, than we received information on a fascinating project producing older than old skool skateboards. Initiated by Royal Academy of Art, The Hague graduate Bastiaan van Druten, Woody skateboards are created from elm trees which had to be felled in Amsterdam and Utrecht "...because of disease or because they were in the way of capitalism" Which is a turn of phrase almost as exquisite as the skateboards
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When we stated in our 5 New Design Exhibitions for August 2014 post that there were only three exhibitions opening in August worth recommending, we were, it would appear, being somewhat hasty. On Thursday August 21st the exhibition Aus allen Richtungen. Positionen junger Architekten im BDA opens at the AIT ArchitekturSalon Cologne. Presenting works by some 30 young German architects Aus allen Richtungen is a touring exhibition in which each architect and/or architectural practice is given an
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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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Any self-respecting modern conurbation needs a moniker. An evocative tag line on which to hang its city marketing strategy and attract tourists. Paris is of course the City of Love, Rome the Eternal City, Prague the City of a Hundred Spires while Edinburgh, whether advisable or not, regails as simply Auld Reekie. In 1998 the southern German town of Weil am Rhein re-christened itself "City of Chairs" If we're honest the reason why escapes us, for aside from Vitra there is, as far as we are
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Over the years we have regularly highlighted the fact that buying cheap copies of established furniture design classics is not only an economically and socially questionable strategy, but is also potentially dangerous. Just how potentially dangerous being very neatly illustrated in a recent test undertaken by our colleagues at (smow) Australia. As noted previously, (smow) Australia are not direct, blood, relatives but more second cousins through marriage; we are however bound by a shared
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Since the beginning of July the Weissenhofsiedlung in Stuttgart has been one building richer with the official unveiling of the so-called B10 Active House by Stuttgart based architect Werner Sobek. Realised in collaboration with the Stuttgart Institute of Sustainability in context of the Schaufenster Elektromobilität - Electric Mobility Showcase - research project, the B10 Active House goes beyond normal passive house standards and has been designed to enable it to utilise renewable energy
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As is becoming customary Design Miami Basel 2014 provided the backdrop for the presentation of the Swiss Design Award. And an exhibition of all nominated projects. Inaugurated in 1918 the Swiss Design Award is organised by the Swiss Federal Culture Agency - the Bundesamt für Kultur - and seeks to reward and recognise particularly outstanding contemporary design by both Swiss designers and Swiss based international designers. The 2014 edition attracted 252 entries for the four competition
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By way of a final addendum to our "5 New Design Exhibitions for July 2014" post, the Design museum Gent are currently hosting an exhibition devoted to one of the true masters of 20th century design, Finn Juhl. A designer who, as regular readers will be aware, we yield ground to no man to in our admiration for. Born in Frederiksberg, Denmark in 1912 Finn Juhl studied architecture at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. Following his graduation in 1934 Finn Juhl took up a
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"Weltstadt – Who creates the city?", we wrote in our review of the eponymous exhibition at the Deutsches Architektur Zentrum, DAZ Berlin, "is about promoting a dialogue, of encouraging discussion and for all about motivating each and every one of us to think about our own communities and our own cities and to consider what could be improved. And for all how." Practical examples of just how projects to achieve such could be organised and what they could, potentially, achieve can currently be
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In our post on the Pulpo Galerie in Lörrach we noted that "you don’t get your products shown in the VitraHaus just because you happen to have the correct postcode……." Being local doesn't count. Isn't an advantage. Your work must be good. And as if to prove our point...... Jason Miller's postcode is New York 11232 and his Modo chandelier for Roll and Hill can be found in the VitraHaus. Lars Beller Fjetland's postcode is 5032 Bergen and his Re-Turned birds for Discipline can be found in the
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"Do the expressions ‘art or design?’ and ‘art and design?’ still have a meaning? Has the question of an object’s status become obsolete?" asks Paris based designer Robert Stadler in the introduction to the exhibition QUIZ at Galerie poirel in Nancy. Rather than answer the question himself Robert Stadler has teamed up with Alexis Vaillant, Chief Curator at the CAPC Contemporary Art Museum in Bordeaux, to organise an exhibition in which objects from an enviable roster of international designers
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For us there is very little that epitomises fakeness better than Bling - bold, flash, arrogant jewellery distracting from the soullessness of the wearer. Or the object if we're talking about hideous bejewelled bottles and the like. For their summer 2014 exhibition Depot Basel invited 12 jewellery designers to present their own interpretation of "Fake" Organised in conjunction with the contemporary jewellery magazine Current Obsession Craft & Bling Bling - Fake presents a collection of
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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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Parallel to Berlin Design Week 2014 the Universität der Künste, UdK, platform designtransfer is presenting an exhibition highlighting a selection of student works from across the disciplines of industrial design, fashion and "Communication in Social and Economic Contexts" Featuring a bright spectrum of projects ranging from the theoretical to the painfully practical and which on occasion bend the border between art and design a little more than is helpful, "wild, connected, printed &
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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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At the risk of being accused of wilful and negligent generalisation, contemporary industrial design arose from traditional crafts, driven by a desire to make the products of the artisan available to a wider public and at a more affordable price. Yet despite this desire to separate itself from crafts, design keeps looking to craft for inspiration. Almost as if it doesn't fully trust itself to break free. Scared of its independence. Or as we noted in context of the exhibition Le Feu Sacré at
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SOX is, in all probability, Berlin's smallest gallery. SOX is a circa 2m by 3m window. An oversized display cabinet in the heart of Berlin Kreuzberg. During Berlin Design Week 2014 SOX is hosting 4+1, the latest project from Berlin designer Mark Braun. A shelving/storage element constructed from pear, oak, ash and walnut the individual 4+1 units are accessible from both front and back and can be stacked on top of/next to one another to create the desired landscape. Each unit houses an
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If we’re honest we’re not entirely sure where or when we first saw the work of Gosia & Tomek Rygalik a.k.a Studio Rygalik, but it was certainly before their near legendary Baguette Table project at Vienna Design Week 2011 – yes, tables made from bread – and long before they shot their delightful short film celebrating 20 years of the Vitra Design Museum miniatures collection. What we are sure about is that the logical, uncomplicated nature of the products they create, the pairs commitment to
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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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