Elise Gabriel, working in collaboration with TheGreenFactory, has created ‘The Zelfo Embrace’, a collection of furniture that explores the material possibilities of Zelfo, a 100% biodegradable cellulose paste.
'Liga' chair by Elise Gabriel & TheGreenFactory
Funded by VIA, the Paris-based organisation set up to support and promote emerging French designers, Gabriel has designed a chair, trestles and lamps, which illustrate the patented material’s capacities to lend shape to, and to maintain, complex three-dimensional structures that are strong and light.
'Ossos' trestle by Elise Gabriel & TheGreenFactory
Zelfo was discovered by TheGreenFactory, who are initiating a Europe-wide R&D programme to industrialise applications of the material, which is made from recycled materials (papers, agricultural wastes) and fast-growing plants (hemp and miscanthus).
'Vélines' lamps by Elise Gabriel & TheGreenFactory
The Basel based HHF Architekten realised this countryhouse for two young art collectors. The design reflects their request for simple abstract looking piece, sitting almost without scale on top of the vaste property, which is located two hours upstate from New York City.
Tsai Residence, photo by Iwan Baan
“The four equal sized boxes are built as simple wood construction covered with corrugated metal panels on the outside and wood and gypsum panels on the inside. The floor plan is based on the needs of a traditional countryhouse. Only partially the organization of the rooms is a direct consequence of the rigid outer form. The Living Room focuses on the different light conditions needed for an existing and future art collection, while the great view into the nearby countryside is present without being dominant. The sequence of the different rooms reflects the idea of a private gallery. Natural light is coming into the spaces through the openings in between the outer boxes.”
'A Parallel Image' by Gebhard Sengmüller, photo by Julius Höhne
During this year’s Transmediale, the annual festival for art and digital culture in Berlin, the Austrian artist Gebhard Sengmüller presented his impressive installation ‘A Parallel Image’. It consists of a camera and a monitor which are connected through 2 500 cables.
A Parallel Image' by Gebhard Sengmüller, photo by Julius Höhne
Gebhard Sengmüller explains: “A Parallel Image” is an electronic camera obscura. This media-archaeological, interactive sculpture is based on the fictive assumption that the currently still valid principle of electronically transmitting moving images, namely by breaking them down into single images and image lines, was never discovered. The result is an apparatus that attempts a highly elaborate parallel transmission of every single pixel from sender to receiver.”
A Parallel Image' by Gebhard Sengmüller, photo by Julius Höhne
The installation was realised in collaboration with Franz Büchinger, supported by Fels-Multiprint.
A Parallel Image' by Gebhard Sengmüller, photo by Julius Höhne
A Parallel Image' by Gebhard Sengmüller, photo by Julius Höhne
'Notime', 'Nightime' and 'Finetime' clocks by Farrow Design for SCP
Leading graphic-design agency Farrow’s first foray into product design has produced a series of clocks that are (yes, you’ve guessed it) highly graphic.
'Nightime' clock by Farrow Design for SCP
Given that timepiece design is (or should be) about visual communication, it’s no wonder that the British design practice has chosen this particular object-type to experiment with. That said, the three clocks in the collection vary in terms of their legibility. No prizes for guessing that ‘Notime’ makes the user work the hardest…
Felt is his material. Last year the young Swedish designer Fredrik Färg presented a series of reused chairs he upgraded with artfully folded felt backrests. At this year’s Stockholm Design Fair Fredrik comes back with a new ‘RE:cover’ edition.
'RE:cover' by Fredrik Färg
Fredrik Färg will be exibiting at the Green Design project, Stand: KF:10, KF:20.
The installation is the latest instalment in the Dornbracht Edges series featuring projects in which architecture, design and art intersect. Curated by Mike Meiré, the installation is the work of the group Interpalazzo.
Interpalazzo is a collective of media artists. For ‘Revolving Realities’, Interpalazzo (Martin Hesselmeier, Andreas Muxel und Carsten Goertz) has teamed up with composer Marcus Schmickler, who is creating a sound composition specifically for the project.
The Swedish company RVW Furniture was founded by the two designers Jonas Nordgren and Johannes Herbertsson in 2009. Based in Malmö in the south of Sweden they work closely with suppliers in the Öresund region and Småland to produce their furniture.
'Haijk' flowerpot by Johannes Herbertsson and Martin Berg
Like many designers Nordgren and Herbertsson grew tired of the fast paced design business and decided to take matters into their own hands.
“Things are finding their own pace now and we are working in close contact with our suppliers. Producing something that’s more than a throwaway takes time. There are so many logos and slogans about sustainability or local production, but to communicate expression or comfort is more delicate: if someone has to tell you how to enjoy a furniture or artwork, then it is not a good piece of art,” says Jonas Nordgren.
'Mollis' easy chair by Artur Moustafa and Jonas Nordgren
The Zurich based practice Müller Sigrist Architekten realised this festival hall, a crystalline, copper cladded volume, in Amriswil, close to Lake Constance.
Festival Hall in Amriswil, photo by Thomas Enz
“With its loosened-up shape, the large volume fits into a rurally determined city. Seemingly introvert, a – from roof top to base level – integrated front conceals its inner workings. Only the main entrance is accentuated by breaking up the uniform façade. The complex shape arises from the combination of the present parameters: the specific interpretation of the programme, the locations of the small town and the desired identification effect from the festival.”
Festival Hall in Amriswil, photo by Thomas Enz
“The primary demand to provide a suitable framework for the celebration in the interior is met by the erection of a five-cornered central festival hall. A free polygonal outer shape allows an onion-shaped arrangement of the serving rooms around its core. Spatial tension is created by the concentric order around the main room. A central space highlights the importance of the celebration with people at the centre of attention. Leaving a strong mark on the external perception, the roof also unfolds its effect in the interior reaching its zenith high above the heads of the visitors. The roof bend itself centres the room and the house in a non-concentric location.”
In the tradition of furniture designed for a specific architectural space (think Mies van der Rohe’s ‘Barcelona Chair’ for the German Pavilion at the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition, Ernest Race’s ‘Antelope’ chair for the 1951 Festival of Britain, or, more recently, BarberOsgerby’s 2005 ‘De La Warr Pavilion Chair’ for Erich Mendelsohn and Serge Chermayeff’s Modernist English-seaside masterpiece), Hay have presented a chair at this year’s Maison & Objet in Paris designed by KiBiSi especially for the Danish Pavilion at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai.
'Expo Chair' by KiBiSi for Hay
The piece is fabricated in powder-coated plywood. Hay have yet to decide which colours it will be produced in.
Looking back to sports classes we all remember the age-old equipment, whose design did not change since it was invented by F. L. Jahn in the mid 19th century.
Recently the German design practice Phoenix Design developed this design study for a series of modern gymnastics appararti.
Uneven bars by Phoenix Design
Here is what Phoenix Design explains:
It was a challenge for Phoenix Design to deal with a topic which time has left untouched as it were. The designers asked themselves how an athlete might feel doing high-performance exercises on this antiquated equipment, which also does not seem very dynamic. The focus of their concept study was the athlete. Only from there, first designs for adequate products developed. Tom Schönherr on the creative approach to the new sports equipment: “We wanted to create a dynamic, or rather, a grown structure. It had to have a human dimension and appear natural. These positive impressions should directly be transfered to the athlete.”
Balance beam by Phoenix Design
In comparison to the status quo, you now see elegant, light equipment. They are anchored in the floor with vertical supports, but seem to grow out of it elegantly. You have the impression that they connect with the athlete’s movements. Tom Schönherr: “We formed a modern grid structure and reduced the use of materials to a minimum by giving it a well thought-out form. This has a huge advantage: You see a lot more of the athlete. The equipment has a reduced design and is a perfect stage for the athlete.”
The Independent Source for Products, Materials and Concepts
Fascinating World of Design for Modern Kids
Broadcasting Architecture Worldwide
International Architecture News
Online Design Magazine
