Formwork by Industrial Facility for Herman Miller

London Design Festival 2013: London studio Industrial Facility has created a range of stacking containers to store desktop items for American office furniture manufacturer Herman Miller.

Formwork desk storage by Industrial Facility for Herman Miller

Sam Hecht and Kim Colin of Industrial Facility designed the Formwork plastic boxes with a non-slip silicone base to stack in any combination, lining up horizontally or stacking vertically.

Formwork desk storage by Industrial Facility for Herman Miller

The products grew out of a project by the duo last year, in which they closely examined the analogue and digital items that tend to populate a desk.

Formwork desk storage by Industrial Facility for Herman Miller

“It became clear that the modern desk is an amalgamation of not just the office, but also the kitchen, the workshop and the bathroom,” they said, explaining how they found that alongside stationery, workstations tend to accommodate items like fruit, mugs, tissue boxes and toiletries.

Formwork desk storage by Industrial Facility for Herman Miller

The Formwork storage system for Herman Miller keeps some of these items on show and in easy reach, while hiding others from view. Some pieces include cantilevered ledges that act as a little tray, elevating important objects and keeping them to hand.

Formwork desk storage by Industrial Facility for Herman Miller

Components of the system include a pencil pot that a roll of masking tape will fit around, small and large trays, a tissue box, a media stand and paper trays.

“The idea is that with forms that are pluralistic and stackable, the range of use is far broader than in the office, and can be used in the home, the workshop and many other places too,” said the designers.

Formwork desk storage by Industrial Facility for Herman Miller

Hecht and Colin will preview the range as part of a pop-up shop by Retail Facility, the arm of their company set up to sell their products, at 20 Britton Street, London EC1M 5UA from 17 to 20 September as part of the London Design festival.

They’ll also show lighting for OLuce and a stool for Mattiazzi, which we reported on when they were first shown in Milan in April 2013.

Formwork desk storage by Industrial Facility for Herman Miller

Earlier this year Industrial Facility unveiled an office furniture system for Herman Miller that promotes interaction in the workplace.

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Formwork desk storage by Industrial Facility for Herman Miller

Here’s some more information from the designers:


Formwork

Herman Miller’s Formwork modular desk accessories have been designed by Sam Hecht and Kim Colin to help people bring order to their papers, tools, and artifacts. The approach aligns itself with Herman Miller’s recent trajectory of extending its reach beyond furniture and into personal tools and accessories that serve the users’ individual needs and preferences, enhancing their experience for both home and work life.

With shapes and sizes that were rigorously considered to relate an intuitive sense of utility, Formwork™ may be stacked and combined in any way the user sees fit. In varying permutations they allow for some items to be kept out of view, while others to remain within reach. The simple yet sophisticated forms, material production, and color palette indicate a level of thoughtfulness rarely brought to desktop goods.

Formwork is made from ABS Plastic with a non-slip Silicone Base. The collection ranges from a Pencil to Small and Large Trays, Small and Large Boxes, a Tissue Box, a Media Stand, and Paper Tray. The idea is that with forms that are pluralistic and stackable, the range of use is far broader than in the office, and can be used in the home, the workshop and many other places too.

Background

Formwork™ was first commissioned in 2012 as an affirmation that the things we have around us are now a mixture of the analogue and the digital. Hecht and Colin approached the project by examing the items themselves that were populating our lives and our desks, rather than the environements where these items are found. Most research and documentation in these areas are photographs from a distance which merely presents visual complexity and disorder.

By looking more closely at the actual items on the desk themselves, it became clear that the modern desk is an amalgamation not just the office, but also the kitchen, the workshop and the bathroom. Not only were there stationary items, but fruit, sugar packets, spoons and mugs; tissue boxes, ear buds and plasters; tapes, glues and staplers.

Because of the sheer breadth of these items to be stored and used, the simplest of forms – the box – was chosen. The box sizes realte to the dimensions of these commonly found items. For instance pen cups share the same diameter as the internal roll of masking tape; boxes share the same size as tissue boxes; and paper trays are the share the sizes of assorted papers and magazines. Hecht and Colin promoted the idea of a collection of simple boxes that could be arranged horizontally or stacked vertically, with each accessory being multi-dimensional in where they could be used and what they could contain and allowing for a hierarchy of usefulness.

Some things can be hidden away, while others can be kept visible. Several of the accessories have cantilivered surfaces that act as a tray to help with this type of hierachical organization – instead of digging for a USB stick, it can stay at a higher level.

Retail Facility pop-up shop

17th – 20th September 2013
20 Britton Street,
London EC1M 5UA

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Locale Office Furniture by Industrial Facility for Herman Miller

Product news: London studio Industrial Facility has designed an office furniture system for American manufacturer Herman Miller that promotes interaction in the workplace (+ slideshow).

dezeen_Locale Office Furniture by Industrial Facility_1sq

Industrial Facility created cantilevered tables with rounded edges to encourage movement and provide space for users to gather round work stations as they would around a meeting table.

dezeen_Locale Office Furniture by Industrial Facility_3

Low, linear units covered in vertical planking combine to create a unifying spine along which modules acting as desks, social areas, meeting tables and a library can be arranged.

dezeen_Locale Office Furniture by Industrial Facility_4

Screens wrap around the desks to provide privacy, while the height of tables, screens, easels and storage can be adjusted to create a more personal and less rigid arrangement.

dezeen_Locale Office Furniture by Industrial Facility_6

“One could argue that collaboration is a buzzword right now, that somehow it might go away, but we think this is unimaginable,” says Sam Hecht of Industrial Facility. “People are collaborating globally, empowered by digital networks, but the most ambitious businesses still need productive, collaborative physical environments.”

dezeen_Locale Office Furniture by Industrial Facility_7

The system was presented as part of Herman Miller’s Living Office project at the Neocon trade fair in Chicago last week, alongside modular office furniture by Yves Behar’s San Francisco studio Fuseproject.

dezeen_Locale Office Furniture by Industrial Facility_8

Sam Hecht and Kim Colin of Industrial Facility previously collaborated with Herman Miller on a two-tier work table with a sliding surface, and launched new products in Milan this year including a lamp that projects light onto the tabletop and a three-legged wooden stool.

More design by Industrial Facility »
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Here’s some more information from Industrial Facility:


Locale Office Furniture

What is work today? It is as much about the individual as it is about the company. It is the individual who brings an organization to life. An organisation benefits from creating an office environment that connects people in a more natural way. The reason to come to work is to work together, to collaborate. Herman Miller, Living Office.

dezeen_Locale Office Furniture by Industrial Facility_2

Locale is an intelligent office furniture system that previewed at NeoCon 2013 as part of Herman Miller’s Living Office. Locale promotes collaboration at work by creating dynamic, high-performance neighborhoods that allow for free movement, variety and adjustability. Locale makes working together simpler and more pleasurable by promoting interaction around large, adjustable tables, and by fostering easy transition between focussed work and collaboration. Cantilevered, rounded work surfaces give individuals more space to change position throughout the day and can easily accommodate multiple colleagues to sit or stand together without the clutter of legs at floor level. Locale simplifies the usual chaos of collaborative work and cleverly balances individual and group needs within an open plan office.

dezeen_Locale Office Furniture by Industrial Facility_5

Background

Locale has been in development for more than two years. During this time, the conditions of work in terms of atmosphere and attitude have shifted, so it was important that Industrial Facility leapfrog any old preconceptions of the modern office and propose a new place based on deeper social and cultural changes. Herman Miller research noted early in the project that the office now should become ‘a place you want to be’ rather than ‘a place you need to be’. However, Hecht and Colin remained suspicious of recent efforts to evoke a kind of forced playfulness in the office to achieve this. Locale addresses a significant paradigm shift that sees in-person communication as increasingly relevant to productivity, effectiveness and enjoyment at work.

Design

“We often talk about how social networks behave given current technology, where close relationships are not based on physical proximity, but instead on similarity of purpose or interest. You might make an alliance in a social network with someone who is very far away but very close to you in other ways. They are great spatial condensers in this respect. Locale is a physical manifestation of this principle, where the most relevant participants are kept close and communication is fast and frequent.” Kim Colin

Locale organizes the office into clusters of activity along a Workbase, a linear, low, architectonic element that helps give definition and organisation to the open-plan office. Distinct clusters are composed out of different functional modules; the result is that seemingly disparate functions of the office reside comfortably together along one line of the Workbase, which organizes the plan orthogonally. The library, the social setting, the working desk, and the meeting table are all close by and visually coherent along the Workbase. Useful mobile pieces (height-adjustable tables, screens, easels, storage, a refreshment unit) can be ‘pulled up’ to customize the group and individual settings off the Workbase, making an even richer neighborhood. Clusters can be wider or narrower, with adjacencies nearer or further, depending on need.

Spontaneous interaction or unplanned communication increases productivity at work and Locale encourages this in the open plan office without relying on broader architectural-scale social devices like open stairs and community eating areas. Screens attached to the Workbase or parallel and perpendicular desks allow a balance of visual separation and porisity in the cluster. A lot of engineering effort was spent getting rid of legs on the desks and in creating a mobile table and accessories program so that work can occur easily, sitting or standing in a variety of settings.

Locale brings different parts of the office together in proximity so you shouldn’t have to go away to talk to a colleague in a more conducive manner. Instead, you can raise a table, stand, and discuss. You don’t have to move to completely separate spaces to accommodate varied work styles. Locale is planned for availability in the Winter of 2013.

Facts

A third of working people are now mobile, up from a quarter since 2006. The world’s top companies spend 40% of their time collaborating, compared with 21% on focussed work. A healthy work life is one that lets you adjust. To sit, to stand and to walk will let you work better and live longer.

Kim Colin – “We find a lot of value in our own office, which is small, highly productive and considerate. We are all from different parts of the world, which says a lot about how the free movement of people has created a multi-dimensional condition. We collaborate constantly about ideas, methods and opinions. We travel a lot. Our work is never created in cultural isolation, and therefore our office itself behaves like a good, condensed international neighborhood, which is efficient, energetic and pleasurable.”

Sam Hecht – “One could argue that collaboration is a buzzword right now, that somehow it might go away, but we think this is unimaginable. People are collaborating globally, empowered by digital networks, but the most ambitious businesses still need productive, collaborative physical environments. The offices we visited during our research—places where people want to work—are open-plan, transparent, and energetic.”

Client: Herman Miller Inc.
Design: Sam Hecht & Kim Colin, Industrial Facility
Award: NeoCon 2013 Silver Award

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Radice Stools by Industrial Facility for Mattiazzi

Milan 2013: British designers Industrial Facility will unveil these three-legged stools for Italian design brand Mattiazzi in Milan this week (+ movie).

Radice Stools by Industrial Facility for Mattiazzi

Named Radice, the stools combine the front-half of a traditional four-legged stool with an unusual single leg in the middle of the back.

Radice Stools by Industrial Facility for Mattiazzi

“Radice has some tension in its form and it is a slight surprise that the third leg works as well as it does to resolve the overall structure,” says Industrial Facility’s Sam Hecht. “It is in some ways structurally diagrammatic, yet is made comfortable visually and physically because of how this third leg supports the seat.”

Radice Stools by Industrial Facility for Mattiazzi

A low backrest branches upwards from the back leg. Its t-bar shape provides a practical place to hang coats and handbags and is reflected in the bracing at the top and bottom of the legs.

Radice Stools by Industrial Facility for Mattiazzi

The Radice stools have no visible fixings or screws and the seat appears to merely rest on the leg frame.

Radice Stools by Industrial Facility for Mattiazzi

Manufactured by Mattiazzi, the stools will be available in red, yellow, black or natural wood, with additional cushion options. There is also a choice of two heights.

Radice Stools by Industrial Facility for Mattiazzi

This is Industrial Facility’s second product for Mattiazzi: in 2010 they presented a chair called Branca, inspired by the growth of tree branches. See all our stories about design by Industrial Facility.

Radice Stools by Industrial Facility for Mattiazzi

Mattiazzi will show the project at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile from 9 to 14 April, alongside chairs based on camping equipment by Jasper Morrison. See all our stories about Mattiazzi.

Radice Stools by Industrial Facility for Mattiazzi

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Semplice lamp by Industrial Facility for Oluce

Milan 2013: London studio Industrial Facility will present a lamp with a glass base wrapping round the beam of light in Milan this week.

Semplice by Industrial Facility for Oluce

Named Semplice, Industrial Facility‘s lamp for lighting brand Oluce comprises a round glass stand capped with a metal shade in black or white.

Semplice by Industrial Facility for Oluce

Other projects by Industrial Facility include a wooden chair that combines robotic and handcrafted production processes for Mattiazzi and an alarm clock for IDEA International that uses a bell as part of the casing.

Semplice will be presented at Euroluce in Milan from 9 to 14 April.

See all our stories about Milan 2013 »
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Bench Years by Established & Sons at the V&A museum

London Design Festival: Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby, Jasper Morrison and AL_A are among the designers who have created benches with British design brand Established & Sons for the central courtyard of the V&A museum (+slideshow).

The Bench Years by Established and Sons

Each of the one-off benches is made from a different material and produced in collaboration with a company specialising in that material. After being on display for the festival they’ll be auctioned off and the money fed back to fund next year’s London Design Festival commissions.

The Bench Years by Established and Sons

Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby, the designers of the Olympic torch, made a marble bench with holes bored through (above) in collaboration with Italian studio Tor Art. They were inspired by shrapnel marks left in the V&A museum’s western facade after the Second World War. “It’s something that always fascinated me and Ed on the way from South Kensington tube up to the Royal College when we were students, and so when this project came up we thought it was a nice way to reference that,” explained Jay Osgerby at the opening.

The Bench Years by Established and Sons

AL_A, the architecture practice led by Amanda Levete, worked with Barcelona ceramics company Ceramica Cumella to come up with a bench (above) made of overlapping tiles, glazed with colours inspired by the museum’s ceramics collections. AL_A is also designing a new subterranean gallery for the museum.

The Bench Years by Established and Sons

British designer Alexander Taylor made a bench from mirror-polished stainless steel cylinders (above) with steel specialists Caparo. He explained that making perfect cylinders in steel is tricky because “the material is extruded with an oval profile so it has to be cut and put back together again.”

The Bench Years by Established and Sons

Italian designer Martino Gamper built a wooden bench (above) from slanted planks of thermally modified hardwood, treated to improve its stability and resistance to decay. The angled stripes of red oak, maple, ash, yellow birch and tulipwood provided by the American Hardwood Export Council create an “optical illusion” and “somehow give the impression of animation” said Gamper, adding that the modular system can be extended to any length.

The Bench Years by Established and Sons

British designer Jasper Morrison collaborated with concrete specialists lowinfo to create a concrete bench (above) with narrow runnels along the seat that allow rain water to drain away despite the seat being curved for comfort, while German designer Konstantin Grcic worked with Italian company Bisazza on a glass mosaic bench (below).

The Bench Years by Established and Sons

Portugese designer Fernando Brizio created a cork bench in the shape of a pig’s foot (below) with Amorim Cork.

The Bench Years by Established and Sons

British designer Felix de Pass produced a cream-coloured sheet-steel bench (below) with perforations that help water drain away and disperse heat from the sun. It’s an adaptation of his bench that’s already in production with Established & Sons.

The Bench Years by Established and Sons

Sam Hecht and Kim Colin from Industrial Facility worked with Corian, a material often used for kitchen worktops, to create two benches (below) that mimic the marble plinths found inside the museum.

The Bench Years by Established and Sons

Sadly the final bench in the collection, created by Italian designer Luca Nichetto and glass manufacturer Nardo Vetro, was broken in transit.

Other installations at the V&A during the London Design Festival include Keiichi Matsuda’s data visualisation and chairs by Nendo scattered around the museum.

See all stories about the V&A »
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Alumi by Industrial Facility at Pop-Down

London Design Festival: designers Industrial Facility will show a prototype of an aluminium chair inspired by handrails at their east London studio on Saturday.

Alumi by Industrial Facility

“Through a lot of thinking and walking I realised that over the course of the day we’re putting our hands on so many handrails all around London,” Sam Hecht of Industrial Facility told Dezeen. “I thought it would be interesting if the diametre of the armrest of the chair was the same as a handrail, which means that the armrest is much more chunky than you would normally find in an aluminium chair.”

Alumi by Industrial Facility

Thick extrusions form the front leg, armrest and back leg in one piece on each side of the Alumi chair.

Alumi by Industrial Facility

“It’s all made out of aluminium and it’s a very thin gauge, so it’s super light and yet it has this kind of solid, chunky appearance,” Hecht added.

Alumi by Industrial Facility

The chair will be previewed as part of a one-day show called Pop-Down at the Industrial Facility studio at 20 Britton Street, Clerkenwell, London EC1M 5UA on Saturday 22 September from 10am to 6pm

Alumi by Industrial Facility

See all our stories about Industrial Facility | See all our stories about the London Design Festival


Movie: Alumi by Industrial Facility
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Dezeen’s London Design Festival map

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The map above is taken from Dezeen’s guide to the London Design Festival, which lists all the events going on across the city this week. We’ll be updating it over the coming days with extra information on our highlights so keep checking back. Explore the larger version of this map here.

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An Alarm by Industrial Facility at Dezeen Watch Store

An Alarm by Industrial Facility at Dezeen Watch Store

Dezeen Watch Store: An Alarm, a watch by UK designers Industrial Facility modelled on the iconic alarm clock, is now available at Dezeen Watch Store.

An Alarm by Industrial Facility at Dezeen Watch Store

As with an alarm clock, the alert is set by moving the alarm hand to the required time and lifting the alert button.

An Alarm by Industrial Facility at Dezeen Watch Store

When the alarm is activated a small motor creates vibrations on the wrist as opposed to emitting sound, resulting in alarm personal to the user.

An Alarm by Industrial Facility at Dezeen Watch Store

Part of the Untrod collection for Japanese brand IDEA, An Alarm is available with a green or black face.

An Alarm by Industrial Facility at Dezeen Watch Store

More information about the design in our earlier story.

An Alarm by Industrial Facility at Dezeen Watch Store

Dezeen Watch Store is a carefully curated online store specialising in watches by named designers and boutique brands.

An Alarm by Industrial Facility at Dezeen Watch Store

Go to Dezeen Watch Store »

Here are some more details from IDEA:


‘An Alarm’ alert watch

‘An Alarm’ is a discreet and effective personal alert watch, that takes its starting point from the iconic alarm clock. When the alert is activated, a small motor creates a vibration on the wrist rather than a sound, similar to mobile phone. Its intelligence is in how simple it is to use – the alert is set by simply moving the alarm hand to the desired time and lifting the alert button. Every detail, from the interface to materials has been considered, resulting in an unexpectedley fresh clarity.

Size 36 x 36 x 15mm Vibration alarm with Hour, Minute and Second hands. Stainless steel case and buttons with ionised plating, Japanese movement, mineral glass, Calf leather band.

Available in a black case with either clear glass and black dial; or green glass with white dial.

Manufactured by IDEA Japan. This product is made from durable stainless metals with tough ionised plating. The battery is replaceable and serviceable.

See all our stories about watches »

www.dezeenwatchstore.com

Analarm by Industrial Facility

Analarm by Industrial Facility at Dezeen Watch Store

The Temporium: our Dezeen Watch Store pop-up at The Temporium, a temporary department store opening in London on Thursday, will feature an exclusive UK preview of Analarm, the new Industrial Facility watch with a vibrating alarm. 

Analarm by Industrial Facility at Dezeen Watch Store

The watch is modelled on a table-top alarm clock and can be set by winding the alarm hand to the required time.

Analarm by Industrial Facility at Dezeen Watch Store

A small motor vibrates quietly when the alarm is activated, alerting the wearer without disturbing those around them.

Analarm by Industrial Facility at Dezeen Watch Store

The watches will be available through Dezeen Watch Store and the designers’ own online store Retail Facility in the new year.

Analarm by Industrial Facility at Dezeen Watch Store

The Temporium runs 9-19 December at 221 Brompton Road, London SW3 2EJ. Click here for full details plus a list of participating designers and brands.

Analarm by Industrial Facility at Dezeen Watch Store

See all our stories about Industrial Facility »

The information below is from Industrial Facility:


Analarm Vibration Alert Watch

Analarm is a discreet and effective analog alert watch with its interface modelled on the iconic alarm clock. When the alert is activated, a small motor creates a vibration on the wrist, similar to mobile phone vibrations, instead of sound. Its intelligence is in how simple it is to use. Unlike other alarm watches that are set through through many layers, Analarm’s interface is simple and straightforward. The alarm is set simply by moving the alarm hand to the desired time and lifting the alert button.

The vibration is a subtle pulsation with no audible sound. It is enough to wake up someone without affecting their partner; for daily alerts; and for daily reminders.

Every detail, from the interface to the size and material has been considered, resulting in fresh clarity for such a product.

Size 36 x 36 x 15mm

Vibration alarm with Hour, Minute and Second hands.
Stainless steel case and buttons with ionised plating, Japanese movement, mineral glass, Calf leather band.
Available in a black case with either clear glass and black dial; or green glass with white dial. The battery is replaceable and serviceable.

About Industrial Facility and IDEA Japan

Sam Hecht and Kim Colin founded Industrial Facility in 2002. The practice designs pleasingly simplified products with appropriate functionality. Following the successful re-interpretation of the travel clock Jetlag (2008), and stand-alone alarm clock Bell (2009), Industrial Facility examines the world of the alarm watch – a product that receives little design consideration and is somehow unfulfilling.

About Retail Facility

Truly international, consistently intelligent and influential, Retail Facility is a webshop that has become an important destination to view and purchase products designed by Industrial Facility that were previously only available in local markets. It has attracted a global audience who desire straightforward articles for everyday life, designed with the pleasure of use in mind.

The Analarm alert watch is the most recent of these projects and will be available from Retail Facility and the Dezeen Watch Store.

Designed by Industrial Facility
Produced by IDEA Japan


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