Casa Colombo by Carlo Colombo

The Milanese designer Carlo Colombo will present the project “Casa Colombo” at the upcoming edition of Abitare il Tempo in Verona on the 17th – 21st September 2009. The project is based on the concept that a house has to express the thought of the architect and his lifestyle. That way Colombo defines two separate unities assigned to the two souls of a house: the day unity and the night unity. The two unities are separated by water, the natural element to which the architect has a strong connection, that separates but at the same time joints the two zones. The house rises from a square form that creates a hidden mesh on which are arranged the partition walls and pillars, therefore the space appears very open.

Interieur of Casa Colombo

It is the choice of the interior that divides the spaces and creates a cosy and informal atmosphere, typical of modern living. The night zone has as its centre the large volume of the shower cubicle, the moment of regeneration, fundamental in the fast-paced modern life. The stone of the sink rises from the ground in an harmonic arrangement. The entire house doesn’t have a filter between the inside and outside to unite mankind and nature. It is nearly a primeval house concept, a shelter from the rain, however considering the main expectation of modern mankind.

"A house has to express the thought of the architect and his lifestyle."

The project will be realized together with Stratex, the leading company in the sector of plywood with which the architect Carlo Colombo already collaborated for the production of a series of projects of ecological prefabricated houses and with the collaboration of important furniture companies to guarantee solutions of quality and design made in Italy.

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Proposal for the Macedonia Fight Museum, Model No 3

Proposal for the Macedonia Fight Museum

The Macedonian fight for independence has been a journey lasting many centuries. At times the future has seemed hopeless, but the Macedonian people have always struggled forward towards the hopeful light of freedom. Inspired by this journey the proposal for the Macedonia Fight Museum by the Swedish architects Joakim Kaminsky and Fredrik Kjellgren consists of a chronological walk through Macedonian history, covered in the soft light filtrated by Macedonian marble.

light perspective

The new museum both adapts to its surroundings and interprets them in new ways. Architectonically the building is made up of only a few strong elements; the transparent façade, the ramps and the central wall. The façade is made up of thin sheets of marble filtering the natural light. On certain carefully chosen spots the façade is punctuated by transparent glass offering views of important historical places in the surrounding. The ramps let the visitor comfortably stroll through the exhibitions circling around the central wall.

interior perspective

 The central wall constitutes the bulk of the exhibition and here one may follow the chronology of events illustrated by pictures and movies projected on the wall. Along the façade smaller rooms contain more specialized exhibitions concerning certain events. Left is a generous flexible area, which can be arranged in different ways depending on the type of material being exhibited. Between the two exhibitions is a common room that can host joint activities and functions as electronic information centre.

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Method Lounge Series

USA-based Davis Furniture recently presented the Method Lounge Series by Designer Wolfgang C.R. Mezger from the Netherlands. The Method Lounge Series encompasses minimal design elements that merge to support various configurations, functions, and aesthetic design statements for a variety of environments.

Design: Wolfgang C.R. Mezger

The shining star of this design is the polished aluminum leg. They seem to disappear under the pallets and add a prominent aesthetic. Another unique design detail of Method is the way the seats and benches wrap around the pallets. It is a most unusual approach to upholstery, yet it creates a clean, sculptured look.

Backless benches are offered in two styles – one that is wrapped on both sides of the pallet for sitting on each side and a half wrapped bench that would be used against a wall or to direct one-side seating.

Davis Furniture 2008

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'Filament Wound Bench' by Moorhead & Moorhead

While Granger Moorhead studied architecture at Yale University his brother Robert made his Bachelor of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Industrial Design at the Rhode Island School of Design. After a couple of years work experience they formed their own studio Morrhead & Moorhead in New York. In fact many of their products somehow demonstrate the different educational background of the brothers.

One of my favourites is the ‘Filament Wound Bench’ which consists of an extremely light construction made of carbon fibre.

Production of the 'Filament Wound Bench'

“The wrapping pattern for Filament Wound Bench was developed to allow a single band of filaments to be wrapped continuously around a reusable mold. The pattern can be easily adjusted using winding software, allowing a number of unique pieces to be generated off of a single mold.”

'Sidearm Chair' by Moorhead & Moorhead

“‘Sidearm Chair’ was designed to enable a young company, with modest resources, to execute economic production runs. CNC technology efficiently converts readily available raw materials, with minimal waste and tooling. Outsourced components are shipped flat, minimizing shipping costs and warehouse space.”

'Felt Stool' by Moorhead & Moorhead

The felt stool is an investigation in structural folding.

“Felt Stool is comprised primarily of a sheet of felt which has been folded and riveted to create structural volume and upholstery simultaneously.
In the spirit of origami, a series of folding patterns were developed, each starting with a single sheet of industrial felt. As the exploration evolved, the pattern was refined to efficiently use material and create a comfortable saddle-shaped seat.”

to the Moorhead & Moorhead website

'Stickbee' by Andreas Wiehl

Andreas Wiehl is Munich-based artist, art teacher and self-proclaimed inventor. With ‘Stickabee’ he presents a smart modular system and provides hope that art classes don’t have to end with painting and pottery.

‚Stickbee’ is a modular furniture system based on the 60-degrees angle. Six basic elements are monted to a hexagon, with no tools required. Two or more hexagons connect via a pug-in module, namely the ‚pirat’. The resulting structure, similar to a honeycomb, becomes more stable with its size increasing, thus making gaps in betweeen the elements possible. Thus the system can take a variety of shapes and can function as a shelf, a cupboard, a table, a bench, a chair or any combination of the latter.

'Stickbee' by Andreas Wiehl

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'Tio' indoor/outdoor collection by Massproductions

The British and Swedish designers Chris Martin and Magnus Elebäck formed their company Massproductions after ten years working side by side as consultants for the furniture industry. In February this year they presented their first collection at the Stockholm Furniture Fair. Their wire chair ‘Tio’ is special for its exceptional comfort, using a minimal amount of materials. The ‘Tio’ family consists of a chair, an easy chair, a low table and a coffee table. All the pieces are stackable and made of powder coated steel wire.

All pieces are stackable

'Tio' table

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