Alberto Alessi sells 40 per cent stake in family business to private equity fund

Alessi private equity fund

Iconic Italian homeware brand Alessi has sold a 40 per cent stake to private equity fund Oakley Capital.

The British fund is understood to have paid around £6 million for the stake. The Alessi family retains the remaining 60 per cent of the company.

The brand, which produces kitchen items, tableware, watches and other household goods, is headed by Alberto Alessi, who said he had been looking for an investor to help the company compete internationally.

Alessi private equity fund
David Chipperfield redesigned the classic Alessi coffee pot earlier this year

“Two years ago, at the turn of Alessi’s centenary, the family started to look for a partner able to help us adapt to the new globalised world without losing our brand strength, spirit of research and design excellence,” Alessi said.

“It was not easy, but with Oakley Capital we believe we have found just that partner. A new phase of Alessi’s development will start very soon.”

Oakley Capital said: “Oakley’s strategy will focus on further strengthening and expanding the proposition of the brand by targeting new audiences and optimising the portfolio’s mix of products, pricing and distribution.”

Alessi was founded in 1921 by Alberto Alessi’s grandfather Giovanni Alessi.

In 2014 it employed around 500 people at its factory in Crusinallo in northern Italy and had an annual turnover is around €100 million.

One of the best-known of Italy’s design-led manufacturers, Alessi started out making stainless steel utensils for the catering industry. It began collaborating with external designers in the 1950s and 1960s, branching into consumer products and becoming renowned for a stream of playful products.

Alessi private equity fund
Richard Sapper designed a coffee maker for the brand in 1978

Famous Alessi collaborations include the 9090 espresso machine designed by Richard Sapper, the Juicy Salif lemon squeezer by Philippe Starck and the 9092 kettle by Michael Graves, which featured a whistling bird on its spout.

In an interview with Dezeen in 2014, Alberto Alessi warned of the difficulties Italian brands face competing with overseas manufacturers.

“Maybe Italian production will disappear,” he said at the time.

The post Alberto Alessi sells 40 per cent stake in family business to private equity fund appeared first on Dezeen.

The Neckpacker 2.0 travel jacket has its own integrated neck pillow, eye-mask and iPad-sleeve

The All Black Hybrid Jacket Neckpacker 2.0 (aka Neckpacker 2.0) may look like a jacket to the untrained eye, but I’d like you to think of it as a piece of luggage that you can wear… and even sleep in. Now while that description might not make sense at first, I promise to take you through what may just be the most revolutionary piece of travel apparel I’ve ever seen. With the Neckpacker 2.0, you can literally travel empty-handed, ditching your carry-on bag, complete with your neck-pillow, eye-mask, and all your other travel accouterments… because this jacket literally has 8 pockets (including one that’s big enough to fit a tablet), and comes fitted with its very own eye-mask and inflatable neck-pillow. Once you’ve worn the Neckpacker 2.0, you’re ready to travel with everything you need right on you, from your passport, kindle, and wallet, to your peace of mind, thanks to the Neckpacker’s ability to let you comfortably lull off to sleep on those long plane or bus journeys.

The Neckpacker 2.0 was designed to be the biggest weapon in a traveler’s arsenal. Crafted as a highly functional piece of classic outerwear, the Neckpacker looks like a classy travel jacket, but is so much more. 8 pockets on the outside and the inside let you carry individual items that you’d normally stash in a backpack, making the Neckpacker literally a backpack that you wear as clothing. An inner pocket lets you store a tablet like an iPad or Kindle, keeping it concealed, while outer pockets are perfect for your wallet, phone, boarding pass, headphones, keys, or even a sandwich if you like. The jacket’s designed to be breathable yet waterproof and windproof, allowing you to stay cool in the heat and warm in cold, windy climates, and dry throughout. The hoodie is extra large, not just completely shielding your face from the rain, but also from the sun. In fact, it even goes as far as becoming an eye-mask for you as you travel, giving you complete darkness as you catch a few winks while traveling. Speaking of catching a few winks, the Neckpacker 2.0’s pièce de résistance is its neck pillow, a flat, inflatable pillow that you can zip to attach or detach on the inside of the hoodie.

The Neckpacker 2.0’s neck pillow really deserves its own paragraph. Designed to be there when you need it, and be either flat-packed or detached when you don’t, the inflatable pillow just gives you the extra mile of comfort as you rack in those miles. An innovative hand-pump allows you to inflate or deflate the neck-pillow, so you don’t really have to blow into it like a fool, while the pillow’s design is optimized to expand around the contours of your neck, not just giving you a cushion to rest your head on, but also adjusting to fit your ergonomic requirements, so you get sound sleep without the sore neck afterwards. Moreover, the Neckpacker’s fabric is designed to be soft, and also help regulate your body temperature, keeping you cool and collected as you sleep against the neck pillow, with the eye-mask drawn over your eyes, and all your belongings right at arms length. Told you, the Neckpacker 2.0 is a piece of luggage that you can wear… and even sleep in. Makes sense now, doesn’t it?

The All Black Hybrid Jacket Neckpacker 2.0 isn’t just a product I wish I had. It’s a product I wish every single one of my co-travelers had too. Imagine a world where your co-passengers are less talkative, more relaxed, not constantly leaning on your shoulder as they try to catch a few winks, and mist importantly, not getting up all the time to pull their bag out of the overhead locker because their book or iPad is inside it. Imagine a world where traveling was actually peaceful. I’d love to live in that world.

Designer: Niklas Kuusela

Click Here to Buy Now: $129 $260 (50% Off). Hurry, only 76/200 Left!

All Black Hybrid Jacket by Neckpacker 2.0

Sleeping comfort on-the-go when you need it. Outdoor and city jacket for when you need it.

This innovative jacket features an inflatable inner hood and unique strap-system. You can use both the hoods when traveling by train, planes or automobiles, to get a comfortable, uninterrupted sleep.

The four straps help you to find your hood-fit. This combo of support generates an incredibly weightless sensation for your head and neck.

The perfect hybrid between travel and everyday jacket.

Eight functional pockets for your belongings.

The Hybrid Jacket is – breathable, lightweight, waterproof and windproof, and with YKK zippers.

Click Here to Buy Now: $129 $260 (50% Off). Hurry, only 76/200 Left!

Dezeen Day schedule: see details of all the talks and speakers

Dezeen Day schedule announced

Dezeen Day is our international architecture and design conference taking place in London on 30 October. Scroll down for information about speakers, sessions, networking events, the venue and tickets.

A limited number of discounted early-bird tickets and student tickets are on sale now and click here to sign up for regular updates.


Overview

Dezeen Day aims to set the agenda for international architecture and design. Expect radical ideas, healthy debate and plenty of questions.

Panel discussions will feature short visual presentations by each panelist followed by a moderated discussion led by a member of the Dezeen editorial team. Questions will be taken from the audience, if time permits. Keynote lectures will end with a brief interview conducted by Dezeen Day host and Dezeen founder Marcus Fairs.

All talks will take place in the spacious NFT1 auditorium at BFI Southbank. Registration, breaks, lunch and post-conference drinks will take place in the adjacent Riverfront restaurant and bar, which is right beside the River Thames.

See the schedule below. Please note that the schedule is subject to change.


Registration and light breakfast

08:30 Coffee, tea and pastries served in the Riverside bar.


Welcome

09:00 Dezeen founder, editor-in-chief and Dezeen Day host Marcus Fairs welcomes everyone and introduces the day ahead.


Panel discussion: post-plastic materials

09:10 How can we solve the problems of plastic waste and what materials could replace it? This panel features some of the world’s most exciting young architects and designers pioneering new approaches to materials and manufacturing.

Speakers:

Arthur Mamou-Mani Architect and director of Mamou-Mani Architects and a specialist in digital fabrication and advanced bioplastics. Read more >

Natsai Audrey Chieza Designer and founder of research studio Faber Futures, which explores and creates biologically inspired materials. Read more >

Nienke Hoogvliet Designer exploring materials such as algae, recycled toilet paper and plastics made from waste water. Read more >


Panel discussion: entrepreneurs

09:55 How do you start a design-led company? How can architects and designers benefit from the value they create? Outstanding architecture and design entrepreneurs explain how they started their own brands and discuss how creatives can run successful businesses without compromising their creative vision.

Speakers:

Dara Huang Architect and founder of Design Haus Liberty and co-founder of co-living brand Vivahouse. Read more >

Benjamin Hubert Industrial designer and founder of Layer. Read more >

Additional speaker TBC.


Break

10:40 Networking and refreshments served in Riverside bar.


Panel discussion: fixing education

11:00 Is architecture and design education fit for purpose? What can we do to improve it? With recent criticism over the long-hours culture in education and concerns that students are not being prepared for the real world, this panel features leading educators with radically different approaches to the topic.

Speakers:

Patrik Schumacher Principal at Zaha Hadid Architects and founder of Design Research Unit at the Architecture Association. Read more >

Harriet Harriss Architect, author and Dean of the Pratt School of Architecture in Brooklyn. Read more >

Stacie Woolsey A design graduate who created her own masters course after finding existing courses unaffordable. Read more >

Neil Pinder Architecture and design teacher at Graveney School, a secondary school in London.


Keynote: Paola Antonelli

11:45 Paola Antonelli, senior curator of architecture and design at The Museum of Modern Art in New York, will discuss architecture and design today and the impact of her groundbreaking exhibition Broken Nature. Read more >


Lunch

12:30 Buffet lunch and networking in the Riverside bar.


Conversation: Designing for the circular economy

13:45 What is the circular economy and how do we design for it? How can buildings and products generate zero waste and zero pollution while nurturing, rather than harming, the natural world?

Speakers:

Andrew Morlet CEO of circular-economy advocacy organisation the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, which has called for 20 million designers to help transform the global economy from linear to circular. Andrew will be in conversation with Marcus Fairs. Read more >


Panel discussion: future cities

14:15 What will the cities of the future look like? What technologies will transform them? Where and how will everyone live? How will they get around? How will they cope with climate change?

Speakers:

Paul Priestman Industrial designer and co-founder of transportation studio PriestmanGoode. Read more >

Suzanne Livingston Co-curator of the AI: More than Human exhibition held at the Barbican Centre this summer and a founding member of the influential Cybernetic Culture Research Unit at Warwick University.

Rachel Armstrong Professor of experimental architecture at Newcastle University, she is a pioneer of living architecture, an approach that seeks to give buildings some of the qualities of natural systems.


Break

15:00 Networking and refreshments in the Riverside bar.


Keynote: Dr Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg

15:20 Dr Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg is an artist and designer whose work explores synthetic biology and the relationship between design and the natural world. Read more >


PechaKucha

16:05 A special edition of the rapid-fire presentation format featuring creatives with ideas that will make the world a better place. Hosted by PechaKucha founders and architects Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham of Klein Dytham Architecture. Read more >

Followed by Dezeen Day finale, details TBC.


Dezeen Day reception

17:30 Join us for drinks and networking at the Riverfront bar beside the Thames.

The post Dezeen Day schedule: see details of all the talks and speakers appeared first on Dezeen.

Curving larch wood buildings with green roofs form school extension in Germany

Mono Architekten has restored and extended a 1970s concrete school block in Germany with a cluster of curving larch-clad volumes topped with sloping green roofs.

The extension houses an after-school care centre for the Waldorf School Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg, which has also had a makeover from the Berlin-based practice.

after-school care centre for the Waldorf School Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg by Mono Architekten

This centre is the first phase of a wider project won by Mono Architekten in 2015 following an invited competition, which will also add a new hall and a senior’s building to the opposite side of the existing building.

Designed to be a stark contrast to the school’s 1970s architecture, the new structures directly link with the existing building.

after-school care centre for the Waldorf School Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg by Mono Architekten

The school sits surrounded by trees, and large, strategically placed openings in the new centre have been placed to frame views to the outside.

Between the bends of the loosely S-shaped building, pockets of space have been used to create terraces. The extension’s shape creates interesting outdoor areas for the children to play in.

after-school care centre for the Waldorf School Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg by Mono Architekten

Mono Architekten  used as many natural and renewable materials as possible for the centre. The building has a timber frame and its walls are built from straw and clay plaster.

Vertical larch boards of various widths clad its exterior.

after-school care centre for the Waldorf School Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg by Mono Architekten

Arranged around a winding corridor, the centre connects to the original building below the canteen, at the western end of the school building.

A set of steps here will also connect to the new hall building, once it is complete.

after-school care centre for the Waldorf School Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg by Mono Architekten

Thick clay-plaster walls line the corridor, loosely splitting the building into two halves. Rooms for different school groups are on either side, as well as storage areas and a cloak room.

An alternative entrance directly into the centre sits tucked-in to the building’s northern edge.

after-school care centre for the Waldorf School Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg by Mono Architekten

The design of the school was intended to mirror the ideals of Waldorf-Steiner schools, which focus on the creativity and imagination of pupils, minimising testing and exams.

MONO Architekten was founded by Daniel Schilp, André Schmidt and Jonas Greubel in 2013.

Many designers have been similarly inspired by this educational approach when designing schools, such as at the recently completed El Tiller Kindergarten near Barcelona by Eduard Balcells, Ignasi Rius and Daniel Tigges.

Photography is by Gregor Schmidt.


Project credits:

Lead architects: Mono Architekten
Design team: Jonas Greubel, Daniel Schilp, André Schmidt, Matteo Pelagatti
Clients: Freie Waldorfschule am Prenzlauer Berg

The post Curving larch wood buildings with green roofs form school extension in Germany appeared first on Dezeen.

A loud speaker with an aesthetic to match!

Whilst it might be its strikingly unique aesthetic that initially grabs your attention, the NOTA speaker greatly considered functionality that will get you hooked! Designed with versatility firmly in mind, NOTA uses its boldly selected shape to allow it to be used within both the domestic and outdoor environment! The wildly distinctive pattern that covers the vast majority of the speaker’s surface area, just asks to be touch; the tactile nature and extreme texture is one that you are either going to love or loathe… we certainly love it!

When it comes to speakers, shop shelves certainly aren’t at a shortage of offerings, therefore the shelf appeal of the packaging can go a long way in determining the success of the product. It’s fair to say that NOTA passes with flying colors in the packaging department; the frosted acrylic shell hints at the product inside, lettings its vibrant color do the talking!

Designers: Nuri Badur & Muhammet Uzuntaş

Arthur Mamou-Mani to speak about post-plastic materials at Dezeen Day

Arthur Mamou-Mani Dezeen Day

Architect Arthur Mamou-Mani will speak at Dezeen Day on 30 October about future materials and designing without plastic.

The French architect and director of Mamou-Mani Architects will take part in a discussion about post-plastic materials.

Based in London, Mamou-Mani specialises in digital fabrication, parametric design and advanced bioplastics.

He designed the spectacular timber Temple Galaxia at Burning Man in 2018, becoming the first non-American designer to create the festival’s centrepiece.

Arthur Mamou-Mani and COS create 3D-printed Conifera installation from 700 bioplastic bricks in Milanese palazzo
Mamou-Mani’s Conifera installation for COS was made from 700 bioplastic bricks

Earlier this year he created a 3D-printed bioplastic installation for fashion brand COS that explored lightweight architecture made entirely of natural materials.

In a video filmed by Dezeen at the installation, Mamou-Mani discussed how bioplastics could create structures that could be composted after use, and which could help reduce the need for fossil-fuel plastics.

Aged 36, Mamou-Mani lectures at the University of Westminster and runs digital fabrication laboratory Fabpub.

Dezeen Day takes place at BFI Southbank in central London on 30 October. The international conference aims to set the agenda for architecture and design and will discuss topics including design education, future cities and the circular economy.

Speakers already announced include Paola Antonelli, Benjamin Hubert, Dara Huang and Patrik Schumacher.

Reduced early bird tickets plus a limited number of half-price student tickets are on sale now. Buy them using the widget below or click here to subscribe to the Dezeen Day newsletter for regular updates.

The post Arthur Mamou-Mani to speak about post-plastic materials at Dezeen Day appeared first on Dezeen.

V&A promotes degrowth with a pavilion that's nothing but empty space

Non-Pavilion at V&A for London Design Festival

The Non-Pavilion is a London Design Festival installation that barely exists, to make a statement that the world needs to produce less.

London-based offices Studio Micat, There Project and Proud Studio teamed up to create the unconventional pavilion, which is on show in the Sackler Courtyard of the V&A museum.

The project is intended to promote degrowth, which is an economic strategy based on stability rather than exponential growth. It is considered by some experts to be the only way that humanity can operate in symbiosis with the natural world and its resources.

Non-Pavilion at V&A for London Design Festival
The Non-Pavilion is on show at the V&A

The designers felt that an empty space, rather than a physical structure, was the most effective way to explain this concept.

“Obviously making something is very much the antithesis of what degrowth is about,” said architect and Studio Micat cofounder Michael Garnett, speaking to journalists on a tour of the project.

“We’re thinking of this in the spirit of the Emperor’s New Clothes,” he added. “We want people to marvel without there being anything there at all.”

Non-Pavilion at V&A for London Design Festival
It is defined by four corner poles, designed to resemble the Swiss baugespanne

The Non-Pavilion is defined by four self-supporting corner poles, with mirror-clad exterior surfaces and neon red inner surfaces.

Studio Micat designed these to resemble baugespanne, which are erected in Switzerland to show the proposed outline of a future development that is waiting to receive planning permission.

“Baugespanne are used in Switzerland, whether for a rooftop extension or a multi-storey building, to essentially pre-visualise the impact that it will have on the surroundings,” explained Garnett.

Non-Pavilion at V&A for London Design Festival
The designers felt that am empty space would help explain the concept of degrowth

To bring the installation to life and to further explain the concept of degrowth, curatorial studio There Project and visualisation office Proud Studio have created six augmented-reality scenarios for the space.

Using a smartphone or tablet, visitors are able to see the Non-Pavilion take on different forms.

Non-Pavilion at V&A for London Design Festival
There are six augmented reality scenarios that animate the space

The Incredible Shrinking Man is based on a concept by Dutch artist Arne Hendriks, which suggests that, if we shrink humans down to an average height of 50 centimetres, we would only need around five per cent of the natural resources we use currently.

This AR scenario turns the space of the pavilion into a house that shrinks as you get closer to it.

The Incredible Shrinking Man
One of the ARs is based on a concept for shrinking humans

Another of the six AR scenarios features The Impossible Hamster, a project that uses an ever-growing hamster to show how quickly things get out of hand in a system of exponential growth.

There’s also a scenario that re-imagines the Bretton Woods Conference of 1944 – where global leaders established the financial system after world war two – taking place again, but on the International Space Station.



Another AR features an ever-growing hamster

“We’re using design to talk about a really difficult topic, which is growth-driven economics and its impact on the environment,” said curator and There Project co-founder Justine Boussard.

“Through the power of design, you can actually make these complex topics more palatable, more direct, and help people hopefully get interested in economics.”

The Non-Pavilion is one of several installations on show at the V&A for London Design Festival 2019, which continues until 22 September. Others include projects by Sam Jacob and Kengo Kuma.

Photography is by Ed Reeve.

The post V&A promotes degrowth with a pavilion that’s nothing but empty space appeared first on Dezeen.

The bench with a hidden secret

Gravità is quite possibly the perfect example of highly flexible outdoor furniture. Whilst its aesthetic doesn’t scream out for attention, its design holds a beautiful method of construction that creates a humble feature! The uniquely engineered mechanism eliminates the need for screws, leading to an undeniably clean aesthetic that we can’t help but love!

Designer: Alexander Knorr

Refugee shelters could be built from concrete fabric in 24 hours

Cortex Shelter by Cutwork

Cortex Shelter by Cutwork is a concept for a shelter for refugee camps than could be built by adding water to a concrete textile in just 24 hours.

Conceptual architecture studio Cutwork designed the shelter to be built with Cortex Composites, a type of flatpack concrete sheeting that can be rolled into place and set into a permanent form by adding water.

Cortex Shelter by Cutwork

The concrete shell hardens in 24 hours and can last up to 30 years with little maintenance, making it potentially a better option than the long-term tent cities that many refugees are currently living in.

Cutwork designed the shelter to show how the material could be used to improve the conditions of some of the 25.9 million refugees recognised by the United Nations.

“Our mission is to create stability and security for people who have lost the most – essential safety, a place to call home, and the simple foundations to rebuild communities and hope,” said Cutwork CEO Kelsea Crawford.

Cortex Shelter by Cutwork

 

Cortex Shelter would require no skilled labour to build and would take two people just a day to erect.

Metallic tubes would be bent into position to create a frame onto which Cortex Composite’s concrete textile can be unrolled over and hydrated to set.

Cortex Shelter by Cutwork

After water is added to the concrete textile, the water soluble fabric holding it disintegrates, leaving behind concrete reinforced by a framework of 3D matting.

Cortex Composite claims its material is two times stronger than traditional concrete. The concrete for the shelter is only 1.25 centimetres thick, so it is less carbon intensive than a cast concrete shell.

Cortex Shelter by Cutwork

Panels of insulation would be fixed to the interior. They would be washable and help regulate the internal temperature, making the shelters a much more comfortable place to live that a tent.

Cutwork added a high window in one of the gables of the Cortex Shelter to bring light and air into the space, while giving residents privacy.

Cortex Shelter by Cutwork

There is enough space for kitchen and bathroom to be installed inside the shelter, which would keep women and children refugees safe from the dangerous communal cooking and toilet areas of the camps.

Solar panels could be placed on the roof, to generate power for lights and phone chargers.

Cortex Shelter by Cutwork

Cutwork believes that these shelters could allow refugee camps that have become home to generations of displaced people become safer and more self-sustaining.

The same technology, they suggest, could be applied to build permanent schools, shops, and even a sports stadium.

Other design solutions for the current global refugee crisis include a clear film to temporarily repair windows damaged in war zones, and a portable toilet for women in refugee camps to use at night.

The post Refugee shelters could be built from concrete fabric in 24 hours appeared first on Dezeen.

Studio Viktor Sørless models "cinematic" Dune House on Roman Polanski movie

Dune House by Studio Viktor Sørless

Cantilevering living spaces laden with “cinematic qualities” and giant windows will define Studio Viktor Sørless’ Dune House in Denmark.

Under construction in Hvide Sande, the dwelling was designed by Studio Viktor Sørless for a film enthusiast that wanted a residence that nodded to The Ghostwriter – a movie directed by Roman Polanski, which features an isolated beachfront home.

Dune House by Studio Viktor Sørless

Like The Ghostwriter dwelling, Dune House will be distinguished by a natural materials and punctured by giant windows.

These windows are designed by the Norwegian studio to invite natural light and strong coastal winds to enter the house, creating a theatrical, unpredictable atmosphere.

Dune House by Studio Viktor Sørless

“We prioritised the client’s request for a living building with ‘cinematic qualities’,” explained the studio’s director Viktor Sørless.

“The windows are supposed to create intriguing views and curtains were placed in every room to emphasise the movement of the wind,” he told Dezeen.

“Light was used as material, too. The angle of light wanders with the sun and changes throughout the day and determines a cinematic mood and message.”

Dune House by Studio Viktor Sørless

From the outside, Dune House will be distinguished by its cross-shaped form. Balancing on a central column, it will be made from local stone and topped by a green roof.

The central column will enclose an elevator and gallery that provides access to the elevated living spaces, which are divided into four quarters.

One segment contains a living room and study, while the three others will contain a dining room, bedrooms and a kitchen respectively.

Though little detail has been disclosed about Dune House’s internal finishes, each living space will also resemble the dwelling featured in The Ghostwriter – lined with natural colours and materials.

The dominant colour throughout the space will be beige, chosen by Studio Viktor Sørless to evoke sand, while a statement furniture piece will include bespoke kitchen unit made from rammed earth.

Dune House by Studio Viktor Sørless

Wes Anderson is another director that has created films that have informed architecture and design projects.

In 2017 Biasol designed a Chinese cafe informed by The Grand Budapest Hotel, and earlier this year Asthetíque completed a restaurant in Moscow called The Y that draws on the stylised sets of his films.

The post Studio Viktor Sørless models “cinematic” Dune House on Roman Polanski movie appeared first on Dezeen.