As all around, certainly all around here in Europe, the world blossoms and blooms into life, as colour and variety and vitality abound, it's strange to remember that just a few short weeks ago everything was so barren, monochrome, desolate. Not least in context of the global architecture and design museum community: how hard we had to labour to achieve anything approaching what could justifiably be termed a 'list' of new architecture and design exhibitions. Similarly it's hard to imagine that
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Much as with "Bauhaus", "Memphis" is all too often popularly reduced to a "style", something one can "recreate". As with "Bauhaus" that it is not only disingenuous, and erroneous, but hinders development of understandings of the (hi)story of design, understandings of the path taken to our contemporary design that are important for considerations on where we are and how best to progress. With the showcase Memphis: 40 Years of Kitsch and Elegance the Vitra Design Museum Gallery issue an
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"I don't know what design is", opined once the Italian designer Enzo Mari. Not because he hadn't considered the question. But because he had. A lot. With the exhibition Enzo Mari curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist with Francesca Giacomelli the Triennale Milano present an opportunity to approach an understanding of that which in the course of those considerations, and his 60+ year career, Enzo Mari has variously understood both design to be, and what it could, should, must, be........ Enzo Mari
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"Last night the waiter put the celery on with the cheese, and I knew that summer was indeed dead", opined once A.A. Milne, continuing that, while there may be other indications of autumn's arrival, "it is only with the first celery that summer is over." And the first celery appears, or at least appeared in early 20th century England, in October. Not that one should fear the celery, for in its crispness, freshness, tenderness, sweetness celery, so A.A. Milne, reminds us that winter isn't only
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Not the Situla itself. But rather what is depicted on that small, delicately carved, 10th century ivory object: the four Christian Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, busy writing their gospels while seated at height-adjustable desks....... La Situla del vescovo Gotofredo (photo Dominik Matus via commons.wikimedia, CC BY-SA 4.0) .....or possibly, possibly, height-adjustable desks. As Bert S. Hall, to whom we will be eternally indebted for introducing us to the Situla,1 notes, the
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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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Every time we are in Milan, be it for the Design Week or simply to enjoy the city without the inconvenience of the Design Week, we invariably find ourselves strolling past the Rossignoli bicycle shop on the Corso Garibaldi. An emporium with a history stretching back to 1900, and which positively oozes such, the Rossignoli store has long fascinated us, long fired our imaginations, and yet remains an address we have somehow never managed to enter: this year the perfect excuse was delivered by
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December can be a trying month: always having to think of others; always having to patronise bars and restaurants you've spent the rest of the year wishing would return to the parallel hell from whence they came; eating, eating and eating as if trapped in some culinary Groundhog Day. Do yourself a favour, gift yourself a few hours and visit one of the following new design and architecture exhibitions opening in December 2015. We can't guarantee they'll be good, but can guarantee they'll be
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To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Fritz Haller and Paul Schärer's USM Haller modular furniture system USM instigated a series of masterclasses in which students at seven international design schools were paired with a mentor and asked to "Rethink the Modular" and for all to "consider the significance of modularity in architecture and design" and so "exploit the idea of modularity for contemporary design". The results of the academic exercise were unveiled in an exhibition premièred during
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As is becoming traditional the interregional initiative Belgium is Design used Milan Design Week to present a showcase of contemporary Belgian design talent. However, in a break with the tenderfoot tradition the 2015 exhibition didn’t take place in the reserved grandeur of the Triennale di Milano design museum but in the decadent marble festooned grandeur of the Sala Napoleonica of the Accademia di Brera; a venue whose almost stereotypical sumptuousness presented the perfect contrast to the
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Back in the hazy mists of 2014 the Grassi Museum for Applied Arts, Leipzig presented Sitting – Lying – Swinging. Furniture from Thonet, an exhibition which provided a leisurely stroll through 150 years of Thonet chair design and helped explain the evolution of the company's designs over the decades, including why Thonet lost their way in the 1980s and how from the late 1990s onwards they regained their position as one of Europe's leading contemporary furniture producers. And an exhibition
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If we're honest, we really, really, should have seen it coming. We didn't. Having been acquired in 2013 by Vitra, Artek have now begun working with leading designers from the Vitra roster. Specifically, in Milan Artek launched a new chair from Konstantin Grcic and new colour and textile schemes from Hella Jongerius for the classic Alvar Aalto 400 and 401 armchairs and Stool 60. We just hope no-one is tempted to over egg this particular pudding. In the Milan press release Artek CEO Mirkku
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In design the term "readymade" is used to refer to products created by giving existing objects a new function; generally a new function far, far removed from the original. Examples of the genre include the Mezzadro stool fashioned from a tractor seat by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Jasper Morrison's 1983 Handlebar Table or David Olschewski's Clothes Peg Lamp, an object that never reached the fame of the previous two examples. But which is and was every bit as interesting. Berlin
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Preparing for his solo exhibition "Pinned Up at the Stedelijk, 25 years of design" clearly helped Marcel Wanders tackle, and defeat, his inner demons. We can find no other explanation for the transformation from the darkness of Moooi's 2013 Milan show to the lighter, happier, untroubled, feel of 2014's. The formats were and are essentially the same, both based around room contexts backdropped by large format photos of heavily stylised spaces, but whereas last year's presentation was a
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Exhibitions in which designers present objects that inspire them are nothing new. But are by their very nature exhibitions that are always new. No two being the same. A fact that always makes them worth visiting. During Milan Design Week the Kaleidoscope Project Space is showing "Source Material", the latest such exhibition. Presenting objects submitted by 45 creatives from across a range of genres, Source Material claims to be an exploration of how the creative process is both "informed by
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"Okay so is there ANYTHING interesting happening in Milan this year?" asked dezeen founder and Editor in Chief Marcus Fairs in a recent tweet, "Judging by my inbox so far, the answer is no" The real answer of course is: ignore your inbox. As a Marcus Fairs must surely know. But which is admittedly easier said than done. With Milan design week, as with life, the best, most interesting, most enjoyable discoveries are invariably to be made on the by-ways. And often as the result of
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After the relative calm and civility of July and August, September sees a more than inconsequential upping of our professional pensum. In addition to our regular pilgrimage to Vienna Design Week, September 2013 also saw the opening of Lightopia at the Vitra Design Museum, Made in Slums - Mathare Nairobi at the Triennale Design Museum Milan, the International Marianne Brandt Contest in Chemnitz, and the acquisition of Finnish manufacturer Artek by Vitra......
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A few weeks ago in our post on the opening of the Droog Lab exhibition The New Original in Guangzhou, China we noted, "....knowing Droog we’re fairly certain that “The New Original” will be presented in Europe before too long. " Droog didn't disappoint and the objects were displayed in Milan as part of the show "Droog 20+, Up to a beautiful future", 20 years of Droog celebrated by looking forwards rather than the more conventional backwards. The background idea to The New Original is
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For us one of the true highlights of Saloni Milano 2009 was the kkaarrlls showcase from students at the Staatliche Hochschule für Gestaltung Karlsruhe. Not least because in comparison to many of the student shows at Milan 2009, the kkaarrlls show displayed some real potential. And talent. And so excellent to see the project rolling on again for Milan 2010. As ever we'll have to wait until we've actually seen the items before deciding. However from the photos we like the look of "Screw
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We sadly didn't meet the colleagues from Stylepark, but had we - a day ticket for Milan costs €3 and a return ticket to the exhibition centre costs €4. There's meant to be a global recession
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It's almost time. The exhibition halls are half-empty, the beer fridge in the press room half-full and the hold of our Lufthansa plane back to Leipzig is being waterproofed on account of the 6 kilos Italian rainwater we are now carrying with us. It's been a fun week - and a heart-felt thanks from us to all who made it possible and who made it what it was, both here at the exhibition centre, but also Superstudio, Zona Tortona and all the off-site shows and exhibitions. But although we are
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They say that in every life a little rain must fall. The amount that has fallen in Milan in the past 24 hour is however ridiculous. And unjust. We don't know what the Milanese did to annoy Tlaloc, BUT WE WEREN'T THERE!!!! And had we been, and had we seen what the Milanese were doing we would have tried to stop them. As it is, however, we were forced to flee our tent at 3.15 this morning - enjoyable as the water bed effect through the tent floor was, we have an awful lot of state of the art
read moreIn our entry on the designersblock showcase we mentioned a foldable cardboard chair that had caught our attention. Now we know as well as everyone else that are our heads are readily turned by free beer and bagpipes (thanks Calum) - and if you throw in some dub and finest Italian ska and we would lie for you in court. And so we thought we had better wait a day or two before saying anything more about Stuart Miller's fine folding cardboard chair. In case we found something better. We thought we
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