db design reports

Moroso 2008

2008-05-13T09:40:08Z

]]> Moroso presented a large number of new products last month in Milan, designed by Patricia Urquiola, Ron Arad, Tokujin Yoshioka and an expanding army of young designers.

The Italian upholstery master and the Spanish designer seem to be done one for the other, their prolific collaboration bring us several new appealing products.
The Tropicalia series is the evolution of her famous Antibodi collection, a geometric frame of steel tubing covered with plaiting, creating different pattern and colour combinations. The materials chosen for the weaving gives every product of the series a different mood: playful and colourful with polymer threads, sophisticated with leather strings, elegant and sober with monochrome polyester cords; a perfect example of Urquiola's eclectic design vision and her meticulous attention for detail.

The Bohemien series is characterized by fluid and irregular shapes interpreted with a modern leather capitonnè and accessorized with a silk shawl and rich set of cushions; the result of the designer's exploration of past and present, of craftsmanship and industrial techniques.

Reverse is a bold plastic chair born after the idea of using plastic as if it was a textile that folds over, to the reverse, to create a continuous pleat along the line of the backrest and armrests.

Ron Arad has got to be known as a designer with a great focus on research, you can love him or hate him but his approach to design is never banal. He signs the Pixel sofa, composed of several rectangular-shaped units of various heights and of different density, the pixels, arranged in different compositions. The result is dazzling but, I have to say, not so comfortable.

Arad's Wavy chair was designed to have the plastic appearing to be a soft fabric draped over the metal frame, but the sensation I had when I first saw it was totally different, to me it appears like a bug cocoon or something like that.

Tokujin Yoshioka presented the final version of his Panna chair and the new Bouquet chair, made of hand-folded fabric squares sewn one by one, with infinite patience, to completely cover the internal surface of the egg-shaped shell.

London based duo formed by Nipa Doshi and Jonathan Levien bring their Indian influenced design with the Beautiful Backside sofa, which has no backrest but a composition of large floating cushions in festive colours and different shapes.

Edward van Vliet signs for Moroso the Sushi collection featuring rich textiles and embroideries, and the Rontonton lamp made of a perforated plastic and allumium sandwich sheet.

Tomek Rygalik designed the Tennis chair, which got that name because like a tennis ball the chair is made of two empty, curving shells joined by heat.

Swarovski Crystal Palace 2008

2008-04-24T10:14:07Z

]]> Swarovski's Crystal Palace feels like a revitalizing refuge. The place is completely dark, with soft music on the background and millions of shiny splashes of light, a truly magical place.
Among this year's installations my favourite one was Veil, by British designer Paul Cocksedge. 1440 crystals created a particular four meters high curtain that hide a secret, only by looking into a mirror placed in its back the viewer could see the iconic image of Mona Lisa.

Swedish design group Front experimented with crystals and blown glass, creating Random, a series of vases and lights that are always unique. In fact the liquid glass is contaminated with crystals that determine the final shape of the object.

Marcel Wanders brought together Bisazza and Swarovski, designing a mosaic encrusted with crystal tiles. Zaha Hadid presented a striking advanced chandelier and Studio Job proposed an enormous globe completely covered with Swarovski crystals.

Marcel Wanders and Bisazza

Zaha Hadid

Studio Job

Arne Quinze showed some strange looking sculptural lamps; Piero Lissoni explored the depth of light and crystals creating a scenic chandelier; Tokujin Yoshioka embedded an out of scale Swarovski crystal into an acrylic cube, the result was not as emotional as I would have expected from his celebrated installations; artist Marcus Tremonto explored the magic of electro luminescent wire and Fredrikson Stallard created a series of monolithic furniture perforated with crystal covered caverns.

Arne Quinze

Piero Lissoni

Tokujin Yoshioka

Marcus Tremonto

Fredrikson Stallard

Kartell 2008

2008-04-23T09:51:12Z

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Philippe Starck remains the company's favourite designer. His Hi Cut chair, designed with Eugeni Quitllet, has essential lines and a characteristic top piece in the backrest that plays with shiny fluorescent colours and a vertical texture.

Mr. Impossible is a beautiful shell chair named after the huge challenge that meant for the company the use of the laser technology applied to plastics, by the perfect welding of two semi-spheres and the use of different colours the chair has a rich deepness effect and the seat appears to be floating in the air.

Dr. Yes is a characteristic chair devised for outdoors and contract, a pure example of Starck's aesthetical sensibility.
Lou Lou Ghost is the baby version of the very famous Louis Ghost chair, available in brilliant colours including the new trendy green and orange fluorescent colour, children have never been happier.

Misses Flower Power is a giant polycarbonate vase obtained with rotational moulding, a technology that has never been used before with this material and that allows to obtain a one piece product; the imperfect surface creates an interesting vintage look.

Patricia Urquiola signs the Frilly chair, inspired in the wavy texture created by pliseè fabrics the chair has an interesting surface and visual effect, but it feels a bit weighty. Presented in a beautiful colour palette that includes fuchsia, orange, turquoise, pink, violet and amber.

Alberto Meda presented the production version of his Honeycomb chair, a light, functional and elegant foldable chair that reflects the characteristics of its creator.

Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec sign one of my favorite pieces of this Salone, the Papyrus armchair impeccably conjugates simplicity, memory and grace.

Tokujin Yoshioka, one of the most prolific designers of the show (he also signed new pieces for Moroso, Driade, Cassina and Swarovski) in his first collaboration with Kartell creates Ami Ami, a chair and a table inspired in the art of weaving. The interlaced effect is interesting but I'm not sure the result is worthy the complex manufacturing procedure needed for reproducing it.

Spoon is the name of the foldable table designed by Antonio Citterio that has a peculiar toy look.

Materialise.MGX

2007-04-26T16:55:59Z

]]> Materialise.MGX presented an impressive set of new products in Milan this year.
Dan Yeffet signs the Detail lampshade, inspired by the pattern of a fingerprint, his own. San Francisco based studio One&Co presented the Con.Sequence lamp, which takes advantage of the unique possibilities provided by the rapid prototyping technology, that of having both hard and soft structures in one piece made of the same material.
Dutch architect Luc Merx presented Damned, a lampshade born as an algorithmic mass of writhing nudes that recalls the classical motif of the fall of the damned. Israeli designer Assa Ashuach designed the Al Chair, produced by laser sintering, the chair consists of a cosmetic skin and intelligent soft and hard structures.

Detail lampshade by Dan Yeffet

Con.Sequence lamp by One&Co

Damned lampshade by Luc Merx

Al Chair by Assa Ashuach

www.materialise-mgx.com

New Milano Fair by Massimiliano Fuksas

2006-04-09T19:35:17Z

]]> Massimiliano Fuksas . The building is simply outstanding, it has a great transparent central axis that gives visual and functional continuity, on both sides the pavilions are clean and neat buildings covered with reflecting metal; the result is a huge transparent building that virtually disappears to the sight.

Nuovo Polo Fiera Milano
Italy

www.nuovopolofieramilano.it

Danese

2006-04-09T19:27:48Z

]]> Danese was present at Milan with many novelties, beautifully expressed in the outstanding images of photographer Miro Zagnoli . DANESE N.E.W.S. (North-East-West-South) is the concept behind the new generation of products, merging cultures and environments in a dynamic and adaptable collection.

Yves Behar signs the multifunctional Kada , ready to transform itself into a stool, a seater, a low table, a tray or even a hub; and also the chair and newspaper holder Farallon .
Japanese star designer Naoto Fukasawa created the Amila chair. James Irvine paid tribute to Italy with his Belvedere mirror.
Carlota de Bevilacqua presented TET TAN , the evolution of last years's lihts TET, a nice combination of textures and languages gives a wide range of possibilities. Last year's Bincan series by Fukasawa was expanded and Ovidio table by Francisco Gomez Paz was presented in the final production version.

Fukasawa's Amila chair and Behar's Kada stool

Ovidio table by Francisco Gomez Paz and Kada stool by Yves Behar

Danese Milano
Italy

www.danesemilano.com

Diamantini Domeniconi

2006-04-09T19:26:19Z

]]> Diamantini&Domeniconi has changed its image in the last years thanks to talented art director Pascal Tarabay and a young team of international designers. Among the new products they presented Data , a metal coffee table and magazine holder, the Basic chair and Hi! , a clothes stand in plywood designed by Pascal Tarabay . Lorenzo Bustillos signs the storage unit Pits and together with Juan Carlos Viso the original coat stand I Pali .

I Pali by Lorenzo Bustillos and Juan Carlos Viso on the left and clothes stand Hi! by Pascal Tarabay

Data coffee table by Pascal Tarabay and Pits storage by Lorenzo Bustillos

Low tables by Lorenzo Bustillos and Juan Carlos Viso

Basic chair by Pascal Tarabay

Diamantini & Domeniconi
Italy

www.diamantinidomeniconi.it

Edra

2006-04-09T19:22:18Z

]]> Edra 's stand was dominated by one colour: white. Not only the architecture was white but also the company's collection: the Flap sofa, Campana's armchair Corallo and Vermelha , last year's Mummy and Jenette chairs where all presented in white; the ideal backdrop to present the vibrant colours of the new products.
Campana brothers presented the Brasilia table, as usual for the couple's production the table is more an sculptural piece than a real product and I find hard to understand why should we call this design when is art, the result is emotional effective but the functionality of the table is seriously compromised by its constructive logic. Francesco Binfare presented a wild sofa with metal structure and softly uplholstered named Corbeille.

Brasilia low tables by Campana Brothers

Brasilia table by Campana Brothers

Corbeille by Francesco Binfare

Edra
Italy

www.edra.com

Kartell

2006-04-09T19:17:49Z

]]> Ferruccio Laviani. It covered 900 sqm and the company's entire collection since the beggining till the brand new products. Below some shots of the booth and the details of the new products that enlarge the company's colorful collection.

The omnipresent Starck presented the series of coffee tables Top Top with their combination of different materials, shapes and finishes; the rotating moulded stool Royal T and the, at least strange if not more, stool Chicos.
For the first time Marcel Wanders joined the selected group of designers working for Kartell, he presented Stone, a jewel-like stool with an irregular surface.

Also Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec joined for the first time, they designed a lovely transparent container, Panier , available in a wide colour palette. Dark brown, grey shades, acid green, the new season protagonists, the new comer colour: light blue and the king colour: orange.

Optic is the new stool designed by french Patrick Jouin; the cube has a geometrically faceted surface but the effect is as natural as water. The prolific (and always surprising) designer Patricia Urquiola presented the final version of her T Table , with decorated top.

My own favourite designer Alberto Meda presented a folding chair made of honeycomb plastic and metal. Antonio Citterio introduced a refined, high performance trolley, Flip. Piero Lissoni showed a series of upholstered sofa and armchair with transparent structure and high visual impact print.

Kartell
Italy

www.kartell.it

Moroso

2006-04-09T19:11:51Z

]]> Moroso 's stand last year was breathtaking and this year was no less. Designed by Patricia Urquiola and Martino Berghinz; it was surrounded and internally divided by endless moving panels displaying the new products, in a synthetically black and white graphic expression, that reminds very much the one used by Alias.
An impressive amount of new products, a growing number of young and affirmed designers and deep investment in innovation, material research and creative verve make of Moroso one of the most influential companies in the contemporary furniture scene.

Patricia Urquiola presented the Shanghai Tip seating system with a vague Oriental inspiration. The new pieces represent very much Urquiolas's design style, simple, fresh, sophisticated, functional, perfect proportions and never banal. My favourite piece was Antibodi, a clever lounge chair also available as chaise longue; created from a cellular structure of reversible materials sewn in triangular shape, creating from one side a clean, geometrical structure and from the other side an extremely organic, flower petals like 3D pattern.

The Spanish designer signs the greater part of Moroso's product range, but there is also space for young designers such as Tomek Rygalik with a self-supporting leather armchair; Clemens Weisshaar and his Countach table created with a software that controls the generation of unique geometries, the guys from 4Use presented a series of upholstered furniture with moveable backrest and Italian Luca Nichetto & Massimo Gardone presented Around the Roses , a collection of low tables with alicrite tops and textile based photo prints.

Ross Lovegrove with Supernatural chair, Ron Arad with Ripple Chair and Konstantin Grcic with the brand new Ultra Chair represent the company's approach to plastic.

Ron Arad presented the results of his collaboration with APAC (A Piece of Cloth). Using an innovative digitally enhanced process Arad has created a garment that has a dual function of clothing a person's body or the Ripple Chair.

Ornamentation master Tord Boontje presented his collection of Corian tables; Nest, a new rotationally moulded armchair with embossed floral decorations; outsized upholstered seaters called Closer and a collection of vases and ceramic containers with various beautiful decorations.

Moroso
Italy

www.moroso.it

Vitra

2006-04-09T19:04:21Z

]]> Vitra , for the first time at Milan's Fair, presented a nice range of new products. Hella Jongerius has been working lately to breach the strict boundaries between mass-produced industrial products and unique handcrafted objects and she successfully achieves her intention with The Worker , a solid armchair with a tough character and a large selection of upholstery materials and The Handles , a series of pillows with a prominent handle, colourful embroidery and sewn-on label. I loved her series of vases and bowls One Grip made of anodised aluminium in gorgeous colours.

Bouroullecs reinterpret the classic armchair in their Slow Chair , which uses an extremely strong, precisely shaped knit stretched over the frame of the chair like a fitted stocking. Their new Late Sofa guarantees comfort thanks to its soft upholstered structural panels and the pliable, extra high side and back panels. Roc is an original system for organising spaces conformed by variously shaped cardboard panels covered in multi coloured fabric.
Vitra 's beautiful colour palette was rich of blues, natural browns shades and red.

Late Sofa and Slow armchair by Bouroullec Brothers (in the picture Ronan Bouroullec)

www.vitra.com

Driade

2006-04-09T18:55:20Z

]]> Driade Store novelties. Matteo Thun presented the Isu series of chair, armchair and stool in anodized aluminium treated to produce both a particular luminosity and a pleasant touch. Philippe Starck signs the Cafe' series of chairs and tables, classic styled pieces in sandblasted anodized aluminium. Francisco Gomez Paz presented his original magazine holder Omero , Christophe Pillet designed the Paris Bar stool, a minimalist shape obtained thanks to elaborate production technology in mirror finished aluminium.

Isu series by Matteo Thun

Cafe' series by Philippe Starck

Omero magazine holder by Francisco Gomez Paz

Christophe Pillet explains his Paris Bar stool

Ron Arad signs for Driade Aleph an intriguing stool, Screw is adjustable in height by a screwing movement, the result is a strange shape not very appealing to me and I guess quite complicated to produce. Tokujin Toshioka designed a low armchair with mirror polished steel structure and leather strips. Patricia Urquiola does it again with her Pavo and Pavo Real chairs, the talented spanish designer continues her exploration of craftmanship production and past languages with outstanding results.

Ron Arad seats on his own Screw

Tokujin Toshioka interviewed seats on his armchair

Pavo Real by Patricia Urquiola

Driade
Italy

www.driade.com

Nendo

2006-04-09T18:39:49Z

]]> Nendo had a tiny and magic exhibition last april at Milan named Bloomroom. The japanese team managed to surprise again with their simple yet intriguing objects. They showed the Polar table manufactured by Swedese, a series of three esencial small tables covered with polarizing film, which makes flower patterns appear through the clear glass surface when the tables are stacked.
Hanabi was the star of the show, a clever lamp that utilizes the heat of the light bulb to open and close the metal petals, the result is both surprising and enchanting.

Materialise.MGX

2006-04-09T18:27:54Z

]]> Materialise.MGX has suceeded again in surprising the audience. At Milan's Superstudio Piu they presented the new series pieces along with breathtaking prototypes.
Dan Yeffet from JellyLab designed the Hidden vase , a beautiful piece of Rapid Prototyping nature and the geometrical Polyvase available in a beautiful grass green.

Lamp by Philip Treacy designed for the G Hotel in Ireland and Handshake by Arik Levy

Foldable stool by MGX

Fruit bowl

Hidden vase by Dan Yeffet

Polyvase by Dan Yeffet

Materialise
Belgium

www.materialise-mgx.com

Tom Dixon

2006-04-09T18:16:38Z

]]> Tom Dixon uses for describing his new collection. Ornamentation is an internal urge in humans and he embraces this philosophy for emotive sake.The new patterns are inspired by the underlying structure of things: woven textiles, chain-mail, microscopic cell construction, and have a protagonist role in the Plane tables, the Tall chairs and last year's Soft System.
Wired steel structures characterise the Link armchair and the new Cage light available in two different sizes.
One of my favourites pieces was the Fat Spot , I loved the prismatic polycarbonate shade internally coated with copper and the hand beaten brass lamps Beat Light. The Diamond Light is a large-scale pendant light in folded aluminium with anodised finish.

New geometrical patterns enrich the collection

Link easy chair

Cage Light

Fat Spot

Beat Lights

Diamond Light

Tom Dixon
UK

www.tomdixon.net