Tom Kühne, 'Hellebarde'

'Wohnwagen' by Tom Kühne

Tom, you have created architecture for a long time. In what way does this influence your work as a designer? 
As with many other architects the design is being strongly influenced. You literally speak of architects’ design. So you just feel if an object was created by a trained industrial designer or rather by an architect. Because an architect is used to thinking in bigger dimensions, he doesn’t give that much attention to detail and the form of an object. He has a rather skeptical approach to design and tries to integrate other parameters. A designer doesn’t fundamentally question the function, but tries to revive it with a bold form. The architect is obsessed with philosophic thoughts about behaviours, spaces for movement and everyday functionality, obviously with various degrees of success.

And that has to to do with the Dimensions? 
Of course. The architect is a general planner and the bigger the matter he is planning, the more conscious he becomes about the processes involved. He has to consider time, space and approaches. He always has to bare the parameters which can influence the procedure in mind. All of this together has a higher complexity. This leads to solutions which indeed express themselves in a certain style, but point out to the actual application stronger. And exactly that is what my objects shall do.

iLand by Tom Kühne

Your dwelling objects move away from the established prospect. Doing this, you seem to be inventing completely new types of furniture as for example the “Wohnwagen”. What exactly is your goal creating those dwelling objects? And what is your approach to this? 
It’s all about performance. You could say, I see the use the object highly stylised. We are actually not aware of the meaning of handling as well as the meaning of an objects independent existence. The rituals of Zen Buddhism clarify this fact. A good example is the art of archery. What is the point there? The point is to empathise the course of movement and to bring it to perfection step by step. Thereby you gain consciousness of the extensive interaction between your own body and the bow. Only such consciousness allows a deeper relationship to items: you start to appreciate them, you develop feelings. With my objects I want to implement such association with things.

'Supersystem' by Tom Kühne

Can you explain this process of conditioning on the basis of one of your objects? 

I have developed a light which you carry like a flag or a torch. The illuminant soars above your head as a trophy. It demonstrates solemn might and emblematises the power over light like a torch. In contrast to this, the light has the weakness to fall over when not supported by a wall. The lance-like rod suggests further power blended with slick elegance – the one of a weapon – also resembling the handling of a stick. You will find various associations. The more there are, the more emotional the response towards the object will be.

continue interview @ Architonic

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Blasius Osko and Oliver Deichmann

The two German designers Blasius Osko and Oliver Deichmann have been working as a team for over ten years now. They first attracted international attention with their ‘Pebble’ sofa at Salone Satellite in 2005. A lot has happened since then. ‘Pebble’ is finally in production and osko+deichman have impressed a number of prestigious manufacturers with their reduced and minimalist designs. We met them at their studio in Berlin.

'Clip Chair' by osko+deichmann

You got to know each other while you were studying in Berlin and started your first company as early as 1998. How did this early cooperation come about? 
Deichmann: Yes, everything actually started during an integrative course of study which was taking place in this form for the last time. We worked very hard in a group of 10 students. As soon as we received our preliminary diploma we decided to set up our own company — in the late 90s there was a feeling that everything was possible and in this spirit we launched ‘Wunschforscher’. 
Osko: during the period of the New Economy everything was very dynamic and you could take risks.

Last year you started a cooperation with the Swedish manufacturer Blå Station. Your ‘Pebble’ sofa, which you presented in 2005 at the Salone Satellite, is now finally in production. It was actually ready for production back then — why was it mothballed for so long? 
In fact it wasn’t mothballed for so long, at least not by us but rather by a number of manufacturers. The original response to the sofa was great and a number of prestigious companies were interested in it. However, the first manufacturer we came to an agreement with simply took too long for us, and the next one withdrew from the project – I no longer know how many hands ‘Pebble’ went through. Blå Station got in touch with us almost 4 years after they had seen the sofa in Milan.

'Pebble' armchair and ottoman

In view of the current economic situation, designers of consumer goods are coming in for a certain amount of criticism. How do you think designers should and could react to this situation? 
Osko: I believe that the keyword is reduction. Quite apart from the crisis, we have always tried to design things at a low level of complexity. Our products are intended to have a clear concept and be as simple to create as possible. It would be nice if the kind of transparency which is being demanded at the political level also managed to to trickle down to the design level. The result would be ‘honest’ products. 
Our design always involves the challenge of saying as much as possible while using the minimum amount of resources. I believe that this type of design will be very much in demand in the years to come, for both economic and ecological reasons.

'Straw Chair' by osko+deichmann, a interpretation of the Marcel Breuer cantilever

continue the interview @ Architonic

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Alain Gilles, Photo: Serge Anton

With his playful design Alain Gilles creates entire worlds which are conspicuous for their colour. As the product of a conscious exploration of the possible multiple personalities of an individual object, Gilles has now created a piece of furniture which is designed along strict but at the same time geometrically free lines. The concepts of movement and durability are integrated into the design process of the ‘Big Table’, which was created for Bonaldo and presented at Salone del Mobile 2009. The result is a fusion of function and sculpture.

Big Table for Bonaldo

We met the Begian designer for this interview.

read the interview @ Architonic

to the Bonaldo collection @ Architonic

The collaboration between Artek and the Japanese architect Shigeru Ban has been going on for several years now. At this year´s Salone del Mobile the Finnish manufacturer presented ‘10-unit system’ by Shigeru Ban under the motto “One chair is enough”. The modular system consits of only one element. With a minimum of ten pieces one can create chairs of varying designs, stools, coffee tables, and even combine them for benches and more.

We had the pleasure to meet Shigeru Ban on the Artek stand in Milan.

to the Artek collection @ Architonic

At this year’s Milan furniture fair the German manufacturer ClassiCon presented some famous classic creations by Sergio Rodriges, a real doyen of Brazilian furniture design. With his work Rodrigues managed to give Brazilian design its own identity and with his casual ‘Mole’ armchair he attracted well-deserved international recognition – “modern furniture in the spirit of Brazilian tradition,” as Oskar Niemeyer remarked. From this year on ClassiCon will be marketing some of these classics. We had the honour of interviewing Sergio Rodrigues in Milan.

read the interview with Sergio Rodrigues @ Architonic

to the ClassiCon collection @ Architonic

more products from Brazil @ Architonic

Poul Christiansen and Boris Berlin (under the Nobody chair by HAY)

The Danes Poul Christiansen and Boris Berlin have been working together as Komplot Design for more than twenty years now. With their many and varied designs, which are characterised by cutting-edge and in many cases experimental production processes, they are among those designers who set international trends. We visited Boris Berlin at his studio in Copenhagen.

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