Impressions from the press preview of 'neue räume 11'

It’s no news that here at Architonic, we very much enjoy our ritual travels and across-the-globe ventures in the pursuit of the latest architecture and design discoveries. And while, unlike The Wizard of Oz’s Dorothy, we do not feel the need to tap our heels together three times each time we are away, there really is no place like home.

Especially when at home is where one of the best-curated furniture fairs in the world takes place. Of course, the fair we have in mind is ‘neue räume 11′, which opens today (1 November) within the stunning, historical, old industrial hall of Swiss power and automation technologies company ABB.

Showcasing a carefully selected and curated range of contemporary Swiss as well as international design, the bi-annual trade fair has been given a uniform exhibition architecture by Stefan Zwicky which, apart from the numerous fair booths also encompasses Architonic Concept Space designed by the Polish designer Oskar Zieta. See you there!

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find out more about the fair in our special ’neue räume 11′ newsletter

The award-winning Laufen Forum in Laufen, Switzerland

On 13 October, to coincide with the opening of the AR House exhibition, Laufen, the Swiss bathroom manufacturer and the sponsor of this year’s edition of the AR House 2011 competition (which we have mentioned on Dailytonic earlier in May) is organising this rather exciting-sounding lecture which will focus on the topic of ‘Pioneering role of the house in modern architecture’ and feature two prominent speakers: Catherine Slessor, the Editor of the Architectural Review and Beatriz Colomina, an architecture historian and Professor of Architecture at Princeton University.

So if you happen to be near Basel on 13 October, secure your place at the seminar by registering via email and make sure you don’t miss the event which will take place at the award-winning LAUFEN FORUM in, well, Laufen. To attend the event, register (more…)

'feuille blanche' by Christian Horisberger

Just over a week ago, we had a chance to attend a vernissage of a diminutive, yet undeniably inspiring, exhibition surveying the work of 20 young contemporary Swiss designers organised by

Sachenmachen.ch. Entitled ‘feuille blanche’ – French for ‘blank page’ – the show focused on the very first, preliminary stage of a creative process and a variety of approaches adopted by each of the designers.

Working methods, which differ among various creative disciplines, have been juxtaposed with each other thus revealing a highly-imaginative, conceptual, almost artistic aspect of industrial design. A large, rectangular 40x50cm wooden board, the said feuille blanche, served as a focal point of the show, onto which each of the exhibiting designers has projected their work in a very individual, unique manner.

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Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret on Chandigarh's Lake Shukna in a pedal boat designed by Jeanneret, c. 1950; photo Sureh Sharma

Having received the brief to plan and design a new state capital for the Punjab, Le Corbusier, true to form, delivered a striking urban entity that’s a veritable ‘Gesamtkunstwerk’. A forthcoming exhibition at the Galerie Anton Meier in Geneva of the Swiss architect and Pierre Jeanneret’s furniture for India’s first postcolonial city demonstrates neatly the level of consideration given to the shaping this modernist gem. (by Simon Cowell)

read Simon Cowell’s article on Architonic

Bamboo House by Group8; photo by Régis Golay

The Swiss architectural practice Group8 has just finalised this housing estate located in the former industrial neighbourhood in the Chandieu area of Geneva. Comprising 46 apartments and two undergroud garage levels, Bamboo Residence’s distinctive tinted-glass façade was inspired by ‘a theme of vegetation’ and emphasizes building’s ‘exceptional situation next to the Moillebeau-Vermont greenway’. The residence follows the recently-completed Coral House and is Group8′s second development within the area.

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Raiffeisen - Open Lounge by DGJ+NAU; photo by Jan Bitter

This unconventional, futuristic-looking flagship branch of Raiffeisen bank has been recently completed by two Swiss architectural practices DGJ and NAU. Developed around the idea of an ‘open bank’, the clean, streamlined interior serves as ‘an open lounge where customers can learn about new products and services’ within a more casual, interaction-encouraging atmosphere. (more…)

'Rhyholzertischli' coffee table by Adrian Wicki

Inspired by his life-long fascination with one of Europe’s longest rivers, the Rhine, the young Swiss carpenter-turned-designer Adrian Wicki has created this driftwood coffee table. Enigmatically called ‘Rhyholzertischli’, the table is composed of a smooth glass plate which is juxtaposed with the raw natural form of the base created from driftwood found on the banks of Rhine. (more…)

photographer: © Roger Frei

DM2N, the project-developement arm of Zurich-based architects EM2N, have completed the conversion of a 1961 supermarket into five ‘hall houses’, which retain the volume of the original structure. (more…)