Space Milan News 2014

Moooi stand with photographic installation by Massimo Listri

The Power of Process, wood shavings used in chair production

Milan News 2014 spacefurniture.com Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur This newspaper is not for sale

B&B Italia, Husk by Patricia Urquiola

SaloneInternazionaledel Mobile

2014 Milan Design & Furniture Fair

Space presents the Milan Salone Internazionale del Mobile. Established in 1961, the furniture fair has become one of the most important points of reference for designers today.

Pop up installation in Brera

Hones t design

celebr atingm ateri a l s

a nd p ro c e s s e s

Hones t design

celebr atingm ateri a l s

a nd p ro c e s s e s

MILAN NEWS 2014

This year in Milan, it was colour, textiles and interesting combinations of materials that stole the show, while emerging designers, led predominantly by the Dutch, took experimentation to an exciting new level

B&B Italia, Tobi-Ishi by Edward Barber & Jay Osgerby

Vanity Fair Laundry pop-up designed by Paola Navone in Brera

Tabano by Patricia Urquiola at the B&B Italia showroom

Moooi, Tudor Buffet by Kiki van Eijk and Joost van Bleiswijk

2 INTRODUCTION

This year in Milanby Heidi Dokulil

Designers Doshi Levien launched the Almora armchair for B&B Italia inspired by trips to the snowy peaks of the Himalayas; Philippe Starck created Uncle Jack, the largest singled-moulded chair ever produced for Kartell; Hella Jongerius worked with Swiss manufacturer Vitra on East River, a chair in colour-balanced patchwork upholstery and finished with leather; Moooi showed the new Prop Light by Bertjan Pot and a collection of beautiful, brightly painted Tudor-inspired cabinets by Kiki van Eijk and Joost van Bleiswijk, underpinning a collection of new and ‘re-newed’ pieces that set the tone for all the major design houses. This year in Milan, it was colour, textiles and interesting combinations of materials that stole the show, while emerging designers, led predominantly by the Dutch, took experimentation to an exciting new level.

Kartell, Namaste by Jean-Marie Massaud

Kartell, Uncle Jim by Philippe Starck

Vitra, East River by Hella Jongerius

Kartell, Fl/y by Ferruccio Laviani

MILAN NEWS 2014 VIEWPOINTS 3

Gavin HarrisDesign Director, futurespace

What key theme did you see this year?There were many themes – wood again was in high use as both a main product, but also in detail. Colours were also more vibrant and challenging compared to the previous year.

Which piece from the Space range would you happily have in your home or office and why?I think the piece I would most like is the Tobi-Ishi table from B&B Italia, released last year, but now in more shapes and sizes – the timber version is beautiful. It also comes in an amazing red lacquer which really suits my own personal palette and style.

Who were this year’s interesting newcomer, designers, brands or both? Doshi Levien – an English designer couple – they never do many products but this year they did products for B&B Italia, Hay, Moroso, BD Barcelona and rugs for Nanimarquina. Their aesthetic is always a little off track. They are husband and wife team, one from England, the other from India who used their rich cultural backgrounds to develop different social parameters in the pieces they produced.

What was the overall highlight for you this year?The highlight for me was the mixed use of colour and the upholstery detailing on some of the collections – it was fresh and interesting. To me it showed that the industry is again gaining confidence in itself.

How would you describe your own personal design direction?I like the use of colour. I focus on commercial fit-outs where colour is always a difficult subject to include, but it can add so much to our working lives. It just needs to be handled with subtlety and not as ‘fashion’. Second item is always detail, the element that you can feel and interact with, when you sit in a chair and you notice the leg to arm junction. That is very interesting to me and it adds quality to peoples lives.

Describe the Milan fair in one wordMulti-faceted.

ViewpointsThree Australian industry figures share their thoughts and some highlights from the 2014 Fair

B&B Italia, Almora by Doshi Levien

Mariposa by Edward Barber & Jay Osgerby at Vitra stand

Kartell, Clap by Patricia Urquiola

Living Divani, Upland by Massimo Mariani

Zanotta stand

Foscarini, Spokes by Vicente Garcia Vicente Garcia Jiménez & Cinzia Cumini

Vitra, Rotary by Jasper Morrison

MILAN NEWS 2014 4 VIEWPOINTS

Cameron BruhnEditorial Director, Architecture Media

What key theme did you see this year? Optimism and renewal.

What colours stood out? The colour palette continued to feature greens and blues in both strong and muted shades but was this year contrasted with softer, dusty colours like pink and grey.

What were your new favourite products from B&B Italia? The “cute as a button” small Button tables designed by London-based studio Barber Osgerby.

What were your new favourite products from Moooi? The Nest sofa with its elegant wire frame and bold, super-graphic floral cushions.

Which new piece from the Space range would you happily have in your home or office and why? The Schermo sideboard by Alessandro Mendini for Porro. Mendini is a key figure of the important Memphis design movement and this limited edition cabinet is an instant collector’s piece.

Who had the best installation? Why? The Living Divani Giardino Geometrico installation at Orto Botanico Di Brera by Lissoni Associati. This light-filled folly within a beautiful Milanese walled garden was a sheer delight and the perfect backdrop for Living Divani’s outdoor collection.

What lasting impression will you personally be taking home this year? On the most basic of levels furniture design is a response to the functional needs of living, working and playing. However, to create something that is authentic and inspiring, a designer must combine our desire for novelty, the feeling of the era and practical requirements with careful consideration. It is an exciting moment when this alchemy occurs.

Describe the Milan fair in one wordMega.

Foscarini by Diesel, Pylon by Diesel Creative Team

Diesel Living stand

Installation at Ventura Lambrate

B&B Italia, Metropolitan ‘14 by Jeffrey Bernett

Moooi, Nest by Marcel Wanders

Where Architects Live Exhibition at Rho Fiera

Porro, Schermo by Alessandro Mendini

B&B Italia, Button by Edward Barber & Jay Osgerby

Kartell, Piuma by Piero Lissoni

MILAN NEWS 2014

Zanotta, Twist by Emilio Nanni

VIEWPOINTS 5

Jane Mackay & Tim JacksonInterior Designer & Director, Jackson Clements Burrows

What key theme did you see this year?Chairs of all kinds with wings or high backs, built in storage behind sofas, simple steel shelving, thinner bench tops, clever furniture and storage ideas for small scale living environments, relaunching of some design classics.

What were your new favorite products from Living Divani?My favourite product would have to be Piero Lissoni’s Lipp sofa, which combines a modernist shape with traditional detailing so it could sit happily in any environment.

Which new piece from the Space range would you happily have in your home or office and why?Patricia Urquiola’s Husk sofa for B&B Italia… looks and feels great and is a perfect extension of this range as well as Moooi’s Love chair and sofa which will revolutionise the meaning of the perfect side chair.

What was the overall highlight for you this year?Walking into the Moooi space and being overwhelmed by the power and the scale of the images which perfectly offset their unique design pieces.

What influence/inspiration/lasting impression will you personally be taking home this year?Simple but clever design solutions, natural materials, highlights of colour, fine steel detailing and no compromising on the comfort.

What advice would you give anyone attending the fair?Allow yourself time in Milan… it’s not just a fair, but an immersion of design throughout the city for a week everywhere you turn.

Describe the Milan fair in one wordGlobal.

Maxalto, Fulgens by Antonio Citterio

Living Divani, Plane by Massimo Mariani

Installation at Ventura LambrateRoll & Hill, Fiddlehead by Jason Miller

Living Divani, Lipp by Piero Lissoni

B&B Italia, Iuta ‘14 by Antonio Citterio

Allow yourself time in milAn… it’s not just A fAir, but

An immersion of design throughout

the city for A week everywhere you

turnJane Mackay & Tim Jackson

Allow yourself time in milAn… it’s not just A fAir, but

An immersion of design throughout

the city for A week everywhere you

turnJane Mackay & Tim Jackson


MILAN NEWS 2014 6 THE POWER OF PROCESS

Most products begin their lifecycle as a sketch. The designer lends form to an idea and goes on to refine this crystallized concept. Material, finish and colour follow later. Sometimes a material is the point of departure for a product. The designer explores ways in which to bend it to his will. Ultimately, specific properties of that material – along with the manufacturing method and the size of the budget, of course – will determine the boundaries of the designers freedom. — Robert Theiman, Frame publisher in the introduction to Diptych, a book on the collaboration between Lex Pott and New Window.

At present, virtually every product that appears in a showroom will have gone through a rigorous process of refinement. Even after months of being worked and reworked by the designers thought processes, and by the hands of the studio assistants during prototyping, the concept still has to be finally resolved as an industrial product by the manufacturer. In recent years however, there has been a growing fascination with the process itself – a path of discovery without undue emphasis in the form that appears at the end of all the conceptual, material and mechanical explorations. Often there are months, even years of research, and sometimes with no commercially viable product at the end of the process from which to earn royalty payments, the designer must rely on selling documentation of the process and experimental objects through design galleries – much in the way contemporary artists do.

But while these limited edition pieces can sometimes fetch high prices, what is more interesting is the fact that the designers arrived at their result totally unfettered by commercial restraints: no design brief, no budget, no concerns for shipping volumes, functionality or colour palette. It is the result of the designer’s curiosity around what is possible. It’s true to say that the rise of fascination with process can largely be laid at the door of the Dutch. Since Gijs Bakker and design historian Renny Ramakers established Droog in 1993, there has been a change in the way this nation’s designers are taught and how they operate. Some may argue that this was already happening prior to Droog but the establishment of the studio/brand allowed a generation of designers the opportunity to explore their work in a new way. Many of the current Moooi designers including Marcel Wanders, Bertjan Pot, Maarten Baas and Studio Job were brought up on this diet of conceptual and material investigation and although they have become well-known through the success of their commercially manufactured products, continue to work with a high level of conceptual freedom on personal projects and commissions.

According to Bertjan Pot, whose highly successful Random light and Carbon chair were the commercial results of endless experiments in resin soaked fibres, research through trial and error remains his greatest pleasure.

Most experiments start quite impulsively by a certain curiosity for how things would function or how something would look. The reward for each challenge is a new one.

Recently the interest in process and the story behind the product has grown even more intense. In 2012 James Shaw & Marjan van Aubel (he is British, she is Dutch) were studying at the Royal College of Art London and collaborated on experiments around the use of waste timber products. Through a happy

accident they discovered that wood shavings when added to a particular bio resin, reacted wildly, foaming and bubbling into every crevice of a mould before finally setting rock hard. The process was difficult to control with every test producing a radically different result but due to the expansion of the material the moulding process could be done using rudimentary tools. Rather than working to find a way of controlling the unruly nature of their concoction they embraced its ad hoc nature and retained all of its weird and wonderful qualities with the Well Proven Chair as the result. While it is admirable for its adventurous method it’s hard to imagine manufacturing or distributing such a variable product. Thankfully there is a new design label that has risen to the challenge. Transnatural distribute objects that are closer to science projects than residential products – the Trap light by Gionatta Gatto and Mike Thompson, is made from glass with trapped photoluminescent pigments and Thermophores by Tim van Cromvoirt, a decorative wall ‘coral’ made from iron filings and pigment that changes colour with fluctuations in room temperature.

Studio Formafantasma is a Dutch studio that since 2009, when Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin graduated from Design Academy Eindhoven, have been allowing process to drive their work in intriguing directions. This year during Milan design week, they exhibited their most recent research into the volcanic eruption of Mount Etna in late 2013. The process took over 12 months of intense study and experimentation and the products which resulted while undoubtedly beautiful, are really just part of the story. Studio Formafantasma studied the materials that were thrown from the crater and began exploring what could be done with them individually and together.

Through collecting lava rock from three sites on Stromboli and analysing them at the INGV of Catania, Formafantasma was able to present the concept of time through three eras of volcanic rock ground into powder – one representing hours, another minutes and the youngest example, seconds. Brass hands sweep the dusty material around the clock face. Lava rocks were also taken to the Glass Museum in Leerdam and the Berengo Studio in Murano for experimentation and melted into Lavic glass, then mouth-blown into unique vessels or cast into structures.

In a way, the work of Lex Pott in collaboration with Dutch gallery/brand, New Window, ends up revealing a very similar outcome through an entirely different set of actions and materials.

During the autumn of 2013 Pott was commissioned by New Window founder Woes van Haaften to experiment and document process through images and text online. There was no goal, apart from discovery. Pott began by looking into the difference in resistance of annual growth rings in trees. This ultimately led to the discovery that wood cut by the quarter-sawn method could be sandblasted to create diaphanous grids in thin planks of Douglas fir. The soft wood disappeared leaving a surface held together by the harder winter growth beside it. The objects that came to pass; matches, combs, wall hangings and some small wall hung cabinets, have a strangely Japanese quality that while intensely delicate, express the inner strength of timber. Through both the ongoing online diary and the publishing of Diptych, the process undertaken was recorded for all to see and learn from.

All these intense and rather left-of-field investigations were undertaken without any thought of creating a best seller or discovering the coolest new material. Instead, the process resulted in a group of objects with great meaning and intrinsic beauty.

The Power of Processby David Harrison

Moooi, Paper Desk by Studio Job

Moooi, Random by Bertjan Pot

Moooi, Carbon by Bertjan Pot

Moooi, Smoke by Maarten Baas

Moooi, Sponge by Marcel Wanders

Often the hidden element behind finished products, the revealing of process is emerging as a defining statement for some designers

MILAN NEWS 2014 THE POWER OF PROCESS 7

Well Proven Chair 1 Wood shavings.2 Colour testing pots where natural

dyes are added to the bio resin wood shavings mix.

3 James Shaw and Marjan van Aubel working on versions of the Well Proven Chair.

4 Waiting for mixture to set.5 Removing the cured chair from

the mould.6 Finished chair once finish

sanding has been completed.

Photography by Petr Krejci

Formafantasma

1 Mt Etna post eruption landscape.2 Glass blowing in Venice.3 Monti Silvestri. Made from basalt, brass,

an electric clock movement and lava sand. Each clock is 35cm in diameter.

4 Lipari. Made from Occhio di pernice basalt, lava rocks, brass and textile.

5 Salina. Mouth blown lava, lava rock, textile and Murano glass.

The work and projects of Formafantasma can be seen at www.formafantasma.com

Photography by Luisa Zanzani

Lex Pott × New Window

1 Lex Pott selecting Douglas fir.2 Close up of a cross section of wood

with softwood removed.3 Sandblasting tests in progress.4 A close up of the sandblasting process

on knots in the Diptych screen.5 A finished wall hung cabinet in

Douglas fir with circular motifs.

The Lex Pott × New Window project can be seen at www.newwindow.nl

Photography by Raw Color

1

1

1

3

3

4

4

5

5

2

2

2

3 4 5

6

MILAN NEWS 2014 8 DESIGNER THOUGHTS

Bertjan Pot Designer, The Netherlands

Could you please describe the mood of the Milan Furniture Fair?It just is one big design orgy!

What have you released this year?This year I released several lights, amongst others products. I worked with Moooi to release the Prop, which includes innovative LED and retrofitting light bulbs.

What was one of the best comments you received?I like your jacket (I just had spent a lot of money on it and it was paying off).

What do you see as the new directions/challenges facing design in the next 12–18 months?Optimism… but not the stupid kind. So I would say be smart, be optimistic.

Describe the Milan Fair in one wordCIRCUS.

Casper VissersFounder & CEO, Moooi, The Netherlands

Could you please describe the mood of the Milan Furniture Fair?Eclectic, green, warm colours and woody.

What have you released this year and what was your inspiration for these collections?Many projects, but two highlights, Marcel Wanders Love sofa collection and Zio collection. Marcel’s furniture is a way to express our further extensions in our approach to the home. The Prop light by Bertjan Pot, was inspired by Bertjan playing with the theatre mirror backstage, you know the ones with the lamp bulbs around the mirror to make you more beautiful.

Were there any major challenges in the design process for your collection?At Moooi we always have extreme challenges as we often develop things not yet explored by anyone, like the warm LED’s, like burning a chair. Or, in the case of the lamp by Danny Fang, the Salago, we are producing with the pulp of a fast growing green grass from the far east. This looks simple but is quite complex.

What do you see as the new directions/challenges facing design in the next 12-18 months? How can the industry overcome these challenges?Challenges that were there in the past, they are still there today and they will be there in the future. This is what makes it interesting and gives us the opportunity to be awake and grow our audience. Nevertheless, a challenge especially for Australia is the replicas from the far east.

We have never seen a good copy, at first sight they look the same, after a closer look they are definitely not the same. After using it for six month, colour changes, failing in functionality, falling apart etc. People who buy originals will never buy copies, this is the good news, however if the copies are spread around too much it declines the value of an original. It declines the mental value.

This is a huge challenge. The only answer is to be the brand that creates new developments. To be a mental leader, to keep up the value of the brand and therefore the value for our partners.

Describe the Milan Fair in one wordFabulous.

Moooi, Zio by Marcel Wanders

Punk is Dad at Diesel Living stand

Kartell, Masters by Philippe Starck

Moooi, Nut by Marcel Wanders

Designer ThoughtsIndustry insiders discuss the challenges of the Milan Salone and where it might be heading tomorrow

Moooi, Prop by Bertjan Pot


MILAN NEWS 2014 DESIGNER THOUGHTS 9

B&B Italia, Mirto by Antonio Citterio

Tom FeredayWinner of Space+Moooi Design Residency 2014

What key theme did you see this year?This year I felt a strong theme for many brands was re-interpreting the past. With the re-launch of a number of classic designs such as the Landi chair by Vitra alongside new furniture ranges such as Tom Dixon’s reference to the fabled British members club.

Was there anything new you observed that will mark a new direction in finishes?A focus towards natural, honest finishes.

Which new piece from the Space range would you happily have in your home or office and why?The Cloverleaf modular lounge from Verpan would be an elegant break out seating in any commercial environment.

How would you describe your own personal design direction?Honest design process which attempts to celebrate the materials and manufacturing processes behind products instead of hiding them away.

What will you personally be taking home this year?A shrinking gap between domestic and commercial furniture design.

Describe the Milan fair in one wordIntriguing.

Kartell, Componibili by Anna Castelli Ferrieri

Verpan Cloverleaf in the Prada Monte Via Napoleone store

Be Original installation by Elle Decor ItaliaMoooi, Salago by Danny Fang

Studio Pepe Heykoop at Ventura Lambrate

Challenges that were there in the

past, they are still there today and they will be there in the

future Casper Vissers

Challenges that were there in the

past, they are still there today and they will be there in the

future Casper Vissers

Moooi, L’Afrique carpet by Studio Job

Moooi, Love by Marcel Wanders

MILAN NEWS 2014 10 DESIGN LIBRARy

Design Library

AccademiaVictor

Iartchitects

AccademiaWeld

Busetti Garuti Redaelli

B&B ItaliaAlmora

Doshi Levien

B&B ItaliaButton

Edward Barber & Jay Osgerby

B&B ItaliaHive

Atelier Oï

B&B ItaliaHusk

Patricia Urquiola

B&B ItaliaIuta ‘14

Antonio Citterio

B&B ItaliaMetropolitan ‘14 Jeffrey Bernett

B&B ItaliaMirto

Antonio Citterio

B&B ItaliaMirto

Antonio Citterio

B&B ItaliaSolo ‘14

Antonio Citterio

B&B ItaliaTabano

Patricia Urquiola

B&B ItaliaTobi-Ishi


B&B ItaliaTobi-Ishi


B&B Italia OutdoorMirto

Antonio Citterio


Antonio Citterio


Antonio Citterio

Edra Bastardo

Fernando & Humberto Campana

EdraGina

Jacopo Foggini

EdraSilver

Leonardo Volpi

EdraSofa

Francesco Binfaré

FiamOvidio

Paolo Cappello

FiamCeralacca

Roberto Giacomucci

FiamScribe

Paolo Cappello

FoscariniAplomb

LucidiPevere

FoscariniMultiple Canopy

Foscarini

FoscariniRituals XL

Ludovica & Roberto Palomba

FoscariniSpokes

Vicente Garcia Jiménez & Cinzia Cumini

Foscarini by DieselFork

Diesel Creative Team

Foscarini by DieselGask


Foscarini by DieselHexx


Foscarini by DieselPylon


GiorgettiAgo

Carlo Colombo

GiorgettiAura

Umberto Asnago

GiorgettiEva

Carlo Colombo

GiorgettiMobius

Umberto Asnago

GiorgettiMove

Rossella Pugliatti

GiorgettiMy

Rossella Pugliatti

GiorgettiPorchette

Roberto Lazzeroni

Glas Italia Brushstroke

Nendo

Glas Italia Diapositive

Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec

Glas Italia Highline

Patrick Norguet

Glas Italia Labyrinth

Piero Lissoni

Glas Italia Prism

Tokujin yoshioka

Glas Italia Shimmer

Patricia Urquiola

Glas Italia Sublimazione

Ron Gilad

KartellBattery

Ferruccio Laviani

Kartell Clap

Patricia Urquiola

Kartell Componibili

Anna Castelli Ferrieri

KartellFl/y

Ferruccio Laviani

KartellTwinkle

Tokujin yoshioka

KartellJelly

Patricia Urquiola

KartellMadame

Philippe Starck

KartellMasters

Philippe Starck

KartellPiuma

Piero Lissoni

KartellSparkle

Tokujin yoshioka

KartellThe Lake

Philippe Starck

KartellUncle Jack

Philippe Starck

KartellUncle Jim

Philippe Starck

KartellUncle Jo

Philippe Starck

Kasthall Ingrid

Gunilla Lagerhem Ullberg

Kasthall Hagga Bloom


Kasthall Aston

Maja Johansson

MILAN NEWS 2014 DESIGN LIBRARy 11

Kasthall Juni


Living Divani B3

Victor Vasilev

Living Divani Anin

David Lòpez Quincoces

Living Divani Filo OutdoorPiero Lissoni

Living Divani Lipp

Piero Lissoni

Living Divani Moonmist-o

Living Divani Plane

Massimo Mariani

Living Divani Starsky

David Lòpez Quincoces

Living Divani Step

Mario Ferrarini

Living Divani Upland

Massimo Mariani

MaxaltoDives

Antonio Citterio

MaxaltoAlcor

Antonio Citterio

MaxaltoRecipio

Antonio Citterio

MaxaltoRecipio

Antonio Citterio

MoooiColour Globe

Scholten & Baijings

MoooiContainer OvalMarcel Wanders

MoooiKroon II Champagne

ZMIK

MoooiL’Afrique

Studio Job

MoooiLove

Marcel Wanders

MoooiNest

Marcel Wanders

MoooiNut

Marcel Wanders

MoooiNut

Marcel Wanders

MoooiPaper

Studio Job

MoooiProp

Bertjan Pot

MoooiSalago

Danny Fang

MoooiTaffeta

Alvin Tjitrowirjo

MoooiTapered

Moooi Works

MoooiTudor

Kiki van Eijk & Joost van Bleiswijk

MoooiValentine

Marcel Wanders

MoooiZio

Marcel Wanders

MoooiZio

Marcel Wanders

MoooiZio

Marcel Wanders

MoooiCocktail

Marcel Wanders

MoooiBassotti

Marcel Wanders

Opinion CiattiMammamia

Marcello Ziliani

Opinion CiattiLaLampadaLapo Ciatti

Porro Galileo

Piero Lissoni

Porro Ipe

Piero Lissoni

Porro LoopFront

Porro Maggio

Alessandro Mendini

Porro Schermo

Alessandro Mendini

Porro Taiko

Piero Lissoni

Roll & HillFiddlehead

Jason Miller

Roll & HillGridlock

Philippe Malouin

SerralungaLuba

Joan Gaspar

SerralungaPicnic

Joan Gaspar

VerpanWelle

Verner Panton

VitraEast River

Hella Jongerius

VitraHAL

Jasper Morrison

VitraLandi

Hans Coray

VitraRise

Jasper Morrison

VitraRotary

Jasper Morrison

Zanotta Nuno

Kensaku Oshiro

VitraMariposa


VitraWood


VitraZeb


Zanotta Agio


Zanotta Arom

Noé Duchaufour Lawrance

Zanotta Emil

Frank Rettenbacher

Zanotta Scott


Zanotta Mina

Frank Rettenbacher

Zanotta Twist

Emilio Nanni

Zanotta for Maserati Maestrale


SyDNEy, MELBOURNE, BRISBANESPACEFURNITURE.COM

Kartell stand

Conversation Pieces by ‘HEAD’, Geneva University of Art & Design at Ventura Lambrate

Via Montenapoleone

Kartell accessories installation at flagship showroom

Serralunga stand

Zanotta, Emil by Frank Rettenbacher

Edra, Bastardo by Fernando & Humberto Campana

Roll & Hill, Gridlock by Philippe Malouin

Giorgetti, Move by Rossella Pugliatti

Documents

Space Milan News 2014