Following smow Lisboa's surprise victory in the 2017 smow Song Contest, the Portuguese capital is preparing to host the 2018 song contest: a contest being staged very much in context of the contemporary relevance of smow's historic connections.... As the anniversary of smow Lisboa's victory approaches it remains as controversial and as unexpected as it was on that muggy evening back in May 2017: not least because there is no smow Lisboa. However, never ones to look a gift horse in the mouth
read more
The only FAQ not answered by the smow FAQs is the one that begins, "What is smow........?" And as smow grows and grows so too does the F with which the Q is A'd. The answer in one sense is very simple, smow trade in furniture, lighting and home/office accessories through a series of showrooms and online shops. But that only partly explains "smow". Doesn't explain the how, who, why and wherefore. Nor the richness. Explaining the true smow is in many respects best achieved by exploring another
read more
While it is generally the case that the development, evolution, of product design is dependent on the development, evolution, of technology, such is particularly the case in context of lighting design: ever since a burning stick was first employed to create a relaxing evening atmosphere in a neolithic cave, technological developments have been the driving force behind the development of lighting design, be that formally, functionally or technically. The nature of Light + Building Frankfurt,
read more
Architects are always very keen to stress how they are working in the interests of society, for society. Often selflessly so. Yet little polarises society quite like architecture. And no architecture polarises quite like Brutalism. Whereas in discourses on other architectural genres the middle ground is a place where those of moderate opinions can meet objectively and attempt to approach one another's position: there are no Brutalism moderates. With the exhibition SOS Brutalism - Save the
read more
"The problem of the construction of affordable housing for the lowest earning sections of the population is currently a primary concern in almost all civilized countries." Thus invited the Congrès internationaux d'architecture moderne to their second congress, a three day event which opened on Thursday October 24th 1929 in the Palmengarten Frankfurt am Main, and which saw some of the leading protagonists of inter-war architecture discuss potential solutions for that most primary of concerns.
read more
The September architecture and design exhibition recommendations are arguably the cruellest to write: the fact that the majority of the exhibitions end in the depths of the European winter meaning that as we sit here hoping that summer keeps going just a little, little, longer.... we're forced to think about winter jackets and gloves. And so before things get that far, best get out there and visit an exhibition!! Our five recommendations for September 2017 feature new exhibitions in Weil am
read more
In northern hemispheres June marks the start of both astronomical and meteorological summer. In southern hemispheres June marks the start of both astronomical and meteorological winter. The one rejoices, the other laments .... and we don't even notice, far too busy as we are perusing architecture and design exhibitions. Our five recommendations for June 2017 features new shows in Den Haag, Frankfurt, New York, Leipzig and Brussels. "Architecture and Interiors. The desire for Style" at the
read more
It's early May and once again the party ship we call the smow song contest is ready to set sail...... First staged in 1956 in Lugano, as a small, essentially regional, event, the smow song contest has grown as the smow family has, and now enjoys a popularity far outwith smow's geographic heartland. A fact acknowledged by the addition of Sydney to the competition in 2015: our antipodean cousins having long adopted the spirit of smow. Yes, some, ill informed, never happy's, oafs quite frankly,
read more
In our post The Sedentary Workers: Orchestra Musicians we explored the unique world of orchestra musicians' chairs. One of Europe's largest, and most experienced, manufacturers of orchestra and musicians' chairs is Esslingen based Wilde+Spieth. Who thus seemed an ideal address to learn more about the orchestra chair and the orchestra chair market..... Musicians Chair by Wilde+Spieth, based on the SE 68 by Egon Eiermann (Photo Wilde+Spieth) Originally a manufacturer of window shutters, in
read more
Although the evidence is not, yet, conclusive, recent years have seen an increasing confidence in the theory that sitting for too long can have a negative impact on health, and that all whose job involves prolonged sitting should regularly stand, move and generally change their body position. But what about those workers who can't? What about those workers whose job is defined by long periods of sitting? Orchestra musicians at work. Seated. Specifically, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with
read more
The German designer and silversmith Christian Dell is arguably best known for the numerous lighting designs he realised during the 1920s and 1930s. Christian Dell was however also one of the pioneers of plastic design. If all too briefly. Christian Dell (1893 - 1974) Born in Offenbach am Main on February 24th 1893 Christian Dell initially completed a silversmith apprenticeship before studying at the Königlichen Zeichenakademie Hanau and subsequently serving as a journeyman silversmith,
read more
Ambiente Frankfurt 2017 allowed an all to seldom reunião with Portuguese brand Vicara. And an occasion which served to remind us that we really should catch up with them more often..... Vicara at Ambiente Frankfurt 2017 In many respects we've been admirers of Portuguese brand Vicara since before Vicara even existed: Back at Dutch Design Week 2010 we met Spore Vase by Paulo Sellmayer, an object which instantly spoke to something deep within us and has become one of those reference objects we
read more
Amongst all the fake flavours at Ambiente Frankfurt 2017 the Umami of Japanese design studio Bouillon was a genuine delight. In 1909 the Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda defined Umami: the fifth taste sense, the savoury, that little touch of sensory magic which enables us to enjoy food rather than simply experiencing it. It also paved the way for Monosodium Glutamate and all those other "flavour enhancers" with which the food industry not only convince us to eat more processed food than is
read more
The German architect and designer Ferdinand Kramer didn't just translate the new principles of construction and design which arose in the inter-war years into his architecture, furniture and industrial designs, he was also a very eloquent writer on such matters, and thus helped, and continues to help, explain the motivations behind, and fascination with, functionalist ideals. Chair B 403 for Thonet by Ferdinand Kramer, as seen at The Kramer Principle: Design for Variable Use, Museum
read more
As the name implies the Light + Building Trade Fair in Frankfurt is largely about architectural lighting rather than domestic lighting or office lighting; were it largely about the later it would be called "Light + Living" or "Light + Working" It's called Light + Building. And as such the biggest stands belong to company's you will never have never heard of unless you spend your days planning the construction of hotels, hospitals, shopping centres et al and searching for appropriate
read more
In his Letter of Reference for Christian Dell on the occasion of his departure from the Kunsthochschule Frankfurt, the school's Director Fritz Wichert wrote: "...highly distinguished as college lecturer, silversmith and as an inventor and designer for the lighting industry. His technical ability, his sense for structure and the beauty of materials and his noble, uncluttered forms make him in my opinion the leading figure in this field in Germany."1 A perfect demonstration of what Fritz Wichert
read more
As a "consumer goods" trade fair devoted to tableware, accessories, gifts, light-bulbs with filigree filaments, and the like, Ambiente Frankfurt is not a trade fair to which we feel a particularly empathy. Indeed one could go as far as to say that with its hall upon hall of products who's reason for existence we question and the hollow echo of "Lifestyle", "Trend", "Innovation" and "Buy me! Buy me! Buy me and you'll rise to a social status you could previously never dream of attaining" which
read more
In our interview with Marcel Kabisch, founder of and creative force behind German label Feinserie, he told us that what interested him in design, and part of his motivation to study design, was the idea of "bringing a certain intelligence into a product", and of achieving "an efficiency in design" Principles which are elegantly displayed in his new Griffbereit Chair. In many ways an extension of an idea begun with his award winning Griffbereit Stool/Side Table, the Griffbereit Chair is formed
read more
Internationally known for its financial district, airport, financial institutions and sausages, Frankfurt am Main is less well understood as a city of design. Or at least not a city of contemporary design. That however wasn’t always the case. The 1920s and 30s saw the likes of Ernst May and Christian Dell help the city develop a reputation as a centre for modernist innovation, while the Viennese architect Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky gave it an internationally renowned kitchen concept in which to
read more
December is famously a half month - no one does anything useful in the second half of the month, unless eating, drinking and stressing can be considered useful! We however managed to more than fill the first half of December 2015 with Berlin based Bora Hong's cosmetic surgery of the Eames LCW, the architecture of Ferdinand Kramer in Frankfurt and a very long chat with Köln International School of Design director, and neuen Deutschen Design protagonist, Wolfgang Laubersheimer. Cosmetic Surgery
read more
The end of design's summer hibernation is traditionally marked by the opening of the Vitra Design Museum's winter exhibition, which for 2015/16 is the fulminate The Bauhaus #itsalldesign Elsewhere September 2015 saw us discuss photographing Le Corbusier with Margret Hoppe, the challenges as young designer in Berlin with Gunnar Søren Petersen, how design can be used for social change with Pepe Heykoop ...... and become completely obsessed with a steel horse from Prague. Vitra Design Museum:
read more
Following on from the exploration of Ferdinand Kramer's design work in the exhibition The Kramer Principle: Design for Variable Use at the Frankfurt Museum Angewandte Kunst, the Frankfurt based Deutsches Architekturmuseum is presenting Line Form Function. The Buildings of Ferdinand Kramer, an exhibition dedicated to the German functionalist's architectural output. In many ways the logical follow up. And an excellent extension and completion of The Kramer Principle. So much so it makes you
read more
In the complete interview with Matylda Krzykowski ahead of the Depot Basel exhibition Forum for an Attitude, there is a statement from Matylda which try as we might we simply could not crowbar into our published text: "most people have never visited a design show, art shows yes, but not design shows" It hadn't occurred to us before. But it's true. You don't go to design museums do you? And presumably also not architecture museums! Or certainly not architecture musems if you don't go to
read more
If form follows function, what form does, could, should yearning and longing have? If architects are continually searching for a form that meets our individual understanding of the physical environment, what form does, could, should our individual emotional yearnings and longings have? Do we want our yearnings to have a form? Or are we not, perhaps, when all is said and done, happier when they remain abstract and unreachable? The seventh edition of Vitra Frankfurt's biennial Ampelphase
read more
