Identica Insight 04 Clerkenwell Design Week 2013

IDENTICAINSIGHT

Issue 4

CLERKENWELLDESIGN WEEK

CLERKENWELL DESIGN WEEK

Issue 4

Clerkenwell

02

CLERKENWELLDESIGN WEEK

Clerkenwell is home to the interior architecture community in London and boasts more architecture practices per square mile than anywhere else on the planet. No wonder then, the festival is now the largest UK independent design festival.

Traditionally the festival was an excuse for that community to open their doors and showcase new products. Today, the festival receives international recognition for it’s weight in the design calendar.

A small number of the Identica team graced the event and collected some thoughts on what it had to offer.

60furniture showrooms

200architectural practices


Issue 4

JAGUAR PARTNERSHIP

WHY WOULD JAGUAR SPONSOR THE DESIGN WEEK?

Why wouldn’t they.

The festival is synonymous with innovation, craft and detail. Design has always been one of the key strands running through Jaguar’s DNA and their designers would be influenced by all aspects of design, not just automotive.

Apart from exposing their new model to the design community, Jaguar crafted a bronze-painted fiberglass art instillation to perhaps give us an insight into their future design language.

Other festival participants include:

VITRAZAHA HADIDBENECASSINAHERMAN MILLERKNOLL REP OF FRITZ HANSENSTEELCASEINTERSTUHL

03


Issue 4

1

3

4

2

5

We know that the workplace has shifted from the isolation of old cellular desking to the familiar open plan landscapes of today.

We are no longer tethered to the desk, and workplaces are becoming increasingly domesticated.

These open environments encourage collaboration and creativity but it comes at a cost; noise pollution.

Workplace manufacturers are creating solution to this problem without constructing ‘negative’ walls.

1. Hush by Freyja Sewell is an enclosed ‘soft snug’ where users can escape from the world around them.

2. An office phone booth by Studio Tilt. The upholstered interior panelling means people can have short, protected conversations.

3. Buzzi Space offer a wide variety of acoustic furniture systems but the ‘BuzziHub’ traps acoustics inside and protects from its outer environment.

4. The Ear Chair from Prooff is an iconic form in its own right but when configured in a system it offers surprisingly strong acoustic protection.

SMART WORKPLACE

04

5. Again from Studio Tilt, this single seater allows the user to focus.


Issue 4

1

2

3

4

05

As we know, pop-up environments are implemented to surprise and engage consumers in a place of convenience. Clerkenwell Design Week was subject to many examples of temporary spaces.

Brands are in danger of creating temporary spaces with very little customer reward and even smaller inspirational features.

Prior to the event, excitement was brewing when the news that a TfL Canteen was coming to the festival however, slight dissapointment as it was nothing more than a food van and a complete contrast to the success of their more permanent Canteen. Maybe old train carriages would have been far more engaging?

1. Dezeen, the digital publisher usually sell watches through their website. This year they used the festival to create a pop-up shop. The watches were displayed in bird cages.

2. Office furniture manufacturer Sedus pitched a farm outside their showroom with live sheep. The operation was part of a puzzle or ‘sheep hunt’ across the district while also selling their craft dairy products. A little puzzling.

3. Dissapointing. TfL Canteen.

SPACE ELASTICITY

4. Bloc hotels created a space that replicated their hotel rooms in St. Johns Square. Well executed as it had an intriguing journey to the experience.


Issue 4

1

2 3

4 4

Within our digital age, it can be very easy to lose the art of process, thought and approach.

As a branding agency, Identica values the power of process. However it washighlighted, by Zaha Hadid in particular, that process is art. There is magnificent beauty within it.

The models that were on show within the Zaha Hadid gallery were arguably more inspiring than the resulting work. Experimentation, innovation and great craft force their way into the process and it’s wonderful to view.

Jaguar collaborated with the Royal College of Art to experiment the students approach of automotive design. An investment in innovative process.

1. Zaha Hadid’s model for the Abu Dhabi Performance Arts Center. The model holds a gravitas of its own.

2. Again from Zaha Hadid, there were three encased paper models from various projects around the world. They took various perspectives of the projects to give the design added layers of life.

3. This painting from the Zaha Hadid highlights art in the process, the canvas featured contours of the landscape and a beautifully constructed image of the design.

SPACE ELASTICITY

4. Examples of the Jaguar RCA collaboration..

06


Issue 4

4

2

3

1

2

3

4

We know that workplaces are becoming more domesticated; softer and warmer.

What’s magnificent about Clerkenwell Design Week is that it offers a platform to the ‘crafters’, the designers that would otherwise not get the exposure the larger furniture manufacturers do.

Many products are engineered for a lifespan, a ‘warrentyspan’. It was refreshing to see the level of craft thrown wholeheartedly into upholstery and woodwork by certain brands. In contrast to the mass produced metal finishes we’re used to seeing.

1. These two latest additions to the Acorn Collection from Bark were a highlight. They combined form and functionality with the Bark putting extra focus on the comfort of their newest editions.

2. Fine craft and detailing poured into these miniature models from Pinch. There were 16 models placed into individual boxes that would have taken large amounts of time and skill to create.

3. The focus on detailing and form were very clear to see.

ART OF CRAFT

4. James UK have created a Wingback and a Lucan arm chair in buttoned black leather upholstery.

07


Issue 4 08

LOVE IT OR HATE IT

We noticed the art of craft and beauty in the process but some forms were quite difficult to understand.

THANK YOU

Issue 4


TO FIND OUT MORE: Call +44 (0)20 3451 9700, or email Leah Williams [email protected]