Hasta La Ideas

Swiss designer Florian Hauswirth has designed a collection of bedroom furniture including an ash shelving unit with components made by a bookbinder.

The three-tier Bookbinder Shelf by Florian Hauswirth features two ladder-like oak side frames and four shelves, joined by wooden components that hook under the side struts.

“It is a simple system with two screws per plank, which you don’t need an instruction manual to put together,” said Hauswirth.

The shelving unit can be enclosed by adding coloured panels to the ends or flaps with tabs to the front, which were made of cardboard covered with textile by a bookbinder.

“I adapted this craft and applied it to my furniture design,” he said. “It is somehow logical for a bookshelf to incorporate a bookbinding technique.”

His Bedroom Collection also features a bed and storage box for small items kept beside it.

The Radius Edge Bed features a simple curved joint on the legs. “Wooden joints are usually quite sharp and edgy, but as a tree is round it seems logical to break this craft tradition,” explained Hauswirth.

The Bedbox is made in the same materials as the panels for the shelving unit. It features a flap on the top for storing a mobile phone and a drawer that pulls out from the front.

Hauswirth previously worked at Vitra and studied industrial design at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland. He currently works as a designer and teacher in Beil, Switzerland.

Photography is by Stefan Hoffmann.

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by Florian Hauswirth appeared first on Dezeen.

In this game of chess created by designer Florian Hauswirth of Switzerland, pieces that are taken can be stacked to create new pieces with combined abilities.

Called Democratic Chess, the maple set can be used either as a traditional chess set or played according to Hauswirth’s rules.

The design was presented at Ventura Lambrate in Milan last month as part of a presentation entitled Trattoria Utopia by design collective Postfossil.

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Here are some more details from Hauswirth:

Democratic Chess – Postfossil Trattoria Utopia Collection 2011

The game of chess as model for a utopian society

The scenario described by a traditional chess set consists of a monarchy with entourage including a castle/city, soldiers/knights and pawns/people. It is a game of strategy, whereby planning for the next move is essential.

Chess – ‘The Royal Game’ – has been played since time immemorial in the most varied cultures from India to Persia, Russia, to the Vikings. Nowadays, computers are increasingly playing alongside chess masters.

Democratic Chess is a new interpretation of the traditional chess game. Not only the form, but also the function of the figures has been re-interpreted, which means that the flow and content of the game can change. Democratic Chess increases the unpredictability of the game, creating totally new and surprising situations.

New ways of playing are made possible by the shape of the figures. Pieces taken are not eliminated but stacked, thus creating new figures, which have more abilities. For example, a knight or even a second queen can be made from several pawns etc.

Democratic Chess can be played in one of three ways:

• normal chess (monarchy) with the traditional rules
• the new, democratic chess, with flexible values and play scenarios
• A constructive children’s game

Material: maple wood, in coloured varnish

POSTFOSSIL sets up its exhibition ‘Trattoria Utopia’ during the Milan Furniture Fair (12 -17 April 2011) in Ventura Lambrate.

The objects exhibited in the exhibition ‘Trattoria Utopia’ provoke discussion, encourage questions and allow new utopias to arise. The interaction in the space is central, as is the exchange between visitors and designers. Trattoria Utopia ventures a peek at the future, suggests possible scenarios and combines these with impossible ones. Visions are presented, but developed together with visitors. Trattoria Utopia is a meeting place that invites one to spend time, make discoveries and to contemplate.

The collection ranges from cutlery, crockery, seating to toys: Objects that can be found in a trattoria, but which also deal with the postfossil vision. The objects are arranged and displayed on and around a large board. Removed from their pure function as exhibits, they can be tried out and tested by the visitors.

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FHNY Collection by Florian Hauswirth	Postfossil at Milan 2010	Doublefacette by Postfossil

This three-legged wooden chair with adjustable back-rest shaped like an oar is part of a special edition collection designed by Florian Hauswirth of Switzerland.

Above: MWC – Minimal Wood Chair

Called FHNY Collection, the range includes a nutcracker, a set of ceramic vessels with coloured strips at the bases and an oar-shaped wooden scoop.

Hauswirth is part of Swiss design collective Postfossil.

Above: My Wood

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The following information is from Hauswirth:

FHNY Collection: materials, tools and origin

In his work, Swiss Industrial Designer Florian Hauswirth combines traditional forms and crafts with new technologies. The origin and lifecycles of materials as well as the production methods of objects are important to the Wallpaper* Award Winner 2010. The FHNY Collection, a result from Hauswirth’s artist residency from the Bernese Foundation for Applied Arts in New York, contemplates the origin of objects in terms of material, production and place.

Above: Vessel

Through his designs, Hauswirth raises awareness of the materiality and production processes of everyday objects in a time when industrial globalization and modern production/transportation methods have left us with little or no relation to the work and efforts behind a product As an industrial designer and technical model maker Hauswirth knows these processes well and seeks to embody them in his work by creating durable and sustainable objects.

All objects of this limited edition were designed and produced in New York City.

MWC Minimal Wood Chair

A minimalist chair from solid wood, inspired by the experimental “Minimal Chair“ developed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1948. The mechanical-functional finesse of a moveable backrest, implemented in wood only, improves the comfort of this novel small wooden chair. The furniture allows two different seating positions. Another inspiration for the mechanical wooden chair was Shaker furniture. Shakers were ingenious craftspeople who, centuries ago already developed ball joints from solid wood.

Above: Nutool

Nutool

Nutool is an aluminum nutcracker, an accessory with a tool character. Products exist to serve as a tool to ease our everyday life. The cracking of a nut is something essential – the natural transport- and wrapping-shell of a fruit is being opened. Nutool is best used at the end of a day, with a fresh piece of bread and a glass of wine.

My Wood

The wood used for this scoop derives from a plum tree that grew next to the house where the designer was raised. Nutrition and cooking were very important in the bringing up of Florian Hauswirth and still are today. Not only should we strive for local and organic foods, our everyday objects should live up to the same sustainable expectations.

Vessel (three ceramic vessels)

The ceramics collection plays with the physical relation between fluidity and form. As vessels swim in the glaze, they are being marked – an inversion of the inside and the outside. Through this marking, the production process becomes apparent on the product. Through different prototypes, industrially appearing ceramics were created.

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Doublefacette by Florian Hauswirth	Assemblage 1 by Toogood	Furniture by Postfossil