Milan 2014: Japanese architect Jo Nagasaka has created a collection of spongy seats by tying up blocks of foam and dipping them in rubber.
Nagasaka, who is principal of architecture studio Schemata Architects, based the Shibari series on the traditional Japanese art form of the same name, which means “to tie something with string”.
To create the pieces of furniture, foam sheets were folded and tied up into bulging forms with rope. They were then dipped in a rubber coating. Each piece is a different irregular shape and comes in black or white.
Different types of furniture – stools, sofas or tables – can be created by varying the way the foam is folded and tied. The lightweight items can then be carried around by using the knot as a handle. “We are envisioning furniture that generates different activities according to what we tie and how we tie,” said Nagasaka.
Shibari is reputed to have evolved from Hojo-jutsu, the martial art of restraining captives by tying them up with rope. Samurai warriors honoured high-status captives by binding them in elaborate and flattering ways.
This later evolved into Shibari, an erotic form of bondage that involves tying up the human body in such a way that the knots and ropes act upon pressure points to create an effect similar to shiatsu or acupuncture.
Milan 2014: Spanish designer Jaime Hayon has created a tableware collection of vessels with metal stands that reference the pottery and architecture of ancient Rome.
This image: Titus in polished ceramic with brushed brass base. Main image: Colosseum II in silver-plated metal
Jaime Hayon‘s New Roman collection for Italian brand Paola C is a series of containers in shapes that reference the forms of ancient carafes, plates and large amphorae storage vessels. It was exhibited at Paola C’s showroom in Brera during Milan design week.
Tiberius in copper with brushed brass base
“Inspired by the vessels of the Roman Empire, this collection transforms antique references into a celebration of contemporary craft,” said Hayon Studio.
Tiberius in polished ceramic with silver plated base
These containers were often originally created with rounded bottoms, so Hayon designed a set of metal stands his designs to stand up on their own.
Tiberius in polished ceramic with silver-plated metal base
Each round-bottomed vessel is made from either metal, ceramic or glass and sits on pedestals in a range of metals, creating a contrast of different textures.
Colosseum II in silver-plated metal with a copper base and Colosseum III in silver-plated metal with a brushed silver-plated metal base. Photograph is by Fabio Padovese
The largest piece in the collection is Colosseum, a large silver-plated bowl atop a brushed brass base shaped like the famous amphitheatre in Rome. There are two smaller versions of Colosseum as well as other plates on simpler bases.
Titus in copper with metal base in gunmetal grey colour
Titus is a vase that sits on a metal stand with four skinny legs. It is available in pale-coloured glass, silver, copper or ceramic, while the base comes in four types of metal.
Titus in transparent glass with silver-plated metal base
Titus is also available in various sizes and with the option of two handles, resembling the amphorae used to transport and store mostly wine by the Romans.
Titus with handles in polished ceramic with a brushed brass base
One of the vessels, Aether, is an oil lamp that comes in either copper or polished ceramic and rests on a brushed brass or copper stand.
Aether oil lamp in copper with brushed brass base and polished ceramic with brushed copper base. Photograph is by Fabio Padovese
Hayon has also created Sagunto, a polished ceramic candle holder with a brushed brass base.
Sagunto
The only object without a separate base is Augustus, a large silver-plated pitcher decorated by Hayon with a comic smiling face.
A wooden treehouse with circular perforations is suspended from the ceiling inside this space for a south London theatre company for disabled children, echoing round patterns on its facade (+ slideshow).
Designed by London firm Hawkins\Brown, the Oily Cart theatre company headquarters sits in the Grade II listed annexe of Smallwood primary school in Wandsworth.
The theatre was created to give children who have disabilities and learning difficulties a place to express themselves artistically.
“Oily Cart works with children who have multiple and complex learning difficulties, helping to bring theatre to audiences who might not otherwise have the chance to experience it,” architect David Bickle told Dezeen.
The exterior of the building features an original soot-coated brick facade and an existing Victorian staircase, which leads up to the studio.
“We were very careful to retain as much of the original structure as possible and wanted to incorporate the same energy into the building as the theatre puts into its productions,” Bickle said.
The architect also installed a bright yellow aluminium lift dotted with black and white spots, which connects the playground outside to the theatre and provides access for disabled children.
“The golden lift, which rises up to the theatre, creates a link between the ordinary outdoors and the extraordinary world of the theatre inside,” Bickle added.
The top of the lift shaft was inspired by the traditional Dutch gables that line the roof of the primary school and is designed to mirror the original Victorian architecture.
On exiting the lift, the first floor lobby leads into an office and admin area with a mezzanine level above. The architects were given permission to remove a dividing wall and create a multipurpose timber treehouse punctured with circles, which hangs over the space.
“The circular theme that runs throughout the build was inspired by the scented bubbles the theatre use to get in touch with their audience,” Bickle explained. “The circular motif that runs across the facade and treehouse are designed to be effervescent like the bubbles themselves.”
Spotlights built into the underside of the wooden cube are designed as an extension to the circular pattern and illuminate a table in the centre of the office.
Upstairs, the timber meeting room extends into the roof and features skylights that fill the box with natural light.
The firm also improved existing studio and storage areas to create a workshop for building original props on the ground floor. The addition of a costume wardrobe, furnished with sewing machines and work benches, allows for every element of the theatre’s productions to be managed on site.
The architects used a bold colour scheme throughout the structure, coating interior walls with primary colours to differentiate between the spaces.
A white-walled group room with suspended strip lighting offers space for the children to take part in drama workshops, while a combined lounge and kitchen provides a place for the children to relax in between rehearsals.
Located in the annexe of the Victorian Grade II listed Smallwood Primary School based in Tooting, Wandsworth, Oily Cart theatre works entirely with children, many of whom have complex disabilities and often attend special needs schools. The theatre group aims to provide cultural stimulation for these often under-serviced audiences.
Stirling Prize nominated architects, Hawkins\Brown, worked with the Oily Cart theatre to create an inspiring and playful scheme in keeping with the theatre’s ethos. The complete development of Oily Cart productions is housed in the annexe, from inception and management through to prop building, costume design and rehearsals. The scheme dramatically improves workshop, rehearsal and storage facilities for the theatre and reconfiguration of spaces as well as improving working conditions within office spaces.
The original theatre had poor accessibility for its occupants and one of Hawkins\Brown major interventions was the addition of an external lift with patterned anodised aluminium panels to access the first floor of the theatre, formerly only accessible via an external staircase.
Bold colours were used throughout the theatre to aid with orientation around the spaces and a new mezzanine level insert was added to the building that acts as a flexible meeting room, as well as clean and dirty workshops to make all of the necessary props, sets and costumes for the theatre.
The resulting building creates an inspiring, bright and tactile space for children to lean and play, as well as reusing and recycling materials and found objects from the site.
Tokujin Yoshioka‘s Twinkle table for Kartell refracts light in a similar way to crystal glass. “The table explores a new possibility of plastic,” said Yoshioka. “Twinkle is a table that shines like a crystal by reflection of light.”
The polycarbonate breakfast table is made using injection moulding, a manufacturing process that allows for a table size that would not be possible to create from glass.
Changes in the thickness of the material created by the shape of the mould produces a prism effect.
With a square base, the table features shallow grooves that run along the single pedestal leg and spread out from the centre beneath the larger square table top.
Milan 2014: cushions scattered on the Nubilo sofa by French designer Constance Guisset look like a collection of giant pebbles (+ slideshow).
Constance Guisset designed the Nubilo sofa for French brand Petite Friture, with round cushions in different sizes and colours that can be rearranged to optimise comfort.
“Nubilo is a sofa made of several round and organic cushions that can be arranged to maximise cosiness,” said Guisset.
The cushions rest against a gently curving back of upholstered foam, which surrounds one side of the elliptical seat.
Coloured fabric covers and the imagination of the sitter can transform the grey pebble-shaped cushions into other objects and create different settings.
“It becomes the place where dreams take the occupant, a springboard to imagination and musing,” said the designer. “Either a cloud, balloons, a sea, anemone, an algae, pebbles…”
The sofa is fully upholstered, with the back and seat available in different shades. It was exhibited on Petite Friture’s stand at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan, which concluded on Sunday.
Dezeen Music Project: discoloured images from children’s science journals have been collaged together by videographer Ewan Jones Morris to create this music video for London band Fanfarlo’s Cell Song (+ movie).
Fanfarlo approached Ewan Jones Morris to create the video for their latest album after seeing his previous work, and offered him the choice of which song to create the visuals.
“They were exploring a lot of sci-fi concepts with their new album,” Jones Morris told Dezeen. “I chose Cell Song as much for the subject as anything else and the story of the video grew from that.”
Imagery zooms in and out, showing sections of life forms from microscopic detail, through cellular and tissue levels up to a more familiar, human scale.
During the video, figures and objects transform into strange creatures and the singers’ faces pop-up in bubbles and on screens of vintage TVs.
The director created the animation from images of children’s science magazines from the 1960s.
“I collect a few different ‘knowledge’ magazines aimed at children, most of them printed in the 1960s – back when kids were into science, cross sections of fungus or who invented the sewing machine,” Jones Morris told Dezeen.
“There’s never a shortage of cell diagrams in biology text books,” he added.
“I used to spend hours looking through these kinds of books as a kid, and I always imagined something beyond what was actually happening in the pictures, made connections between completely different images,” said Jones Morris. “That’s what I’m recreating, that process of collaging with my brain as I scanned through those books.”
The visuals were assembled in Photoshop and each frame – 12 per second – was printed out onto paper using an “unreliable” inkjet machine.
“I try and avoid more complicated software because I want to keep everything 2D and a bit wonky,” said Jones Morris.
He tampered with the ink cartridges so the print becomes uneven, then each page was photographed slightly crumpled or wet to distort the pictures.
Cell Song features on Fanfarlo’s album Let’s Go Extinct released in February 2014.
French architect Noel Dominguez has added a timber-clad residence with an angular penthouse to the former garden of a townhouse on the outskirts of Paris (+ slideshow).
Named Wooden House in Paris, the compact three-storey residence is clad with timber on its two lower storeys, while its glazed top floor is a wedge-shaped penthouse set back from the parapet.
Paris-based Noel Dominguez describes the building as “a periscope” mounted on “a wooden cube”. Its shape was designed to maintain privacy from surrounding buildings, but also ensure it doesn’t restrict the views from any neighbouring windows.
The two-storey base is a timber construction, with deeply recessed windows concentrated onto two elevations, while the upper section was conceived as “a mass of metal and glass” that “contorts and twists to avoid side views,” said the architect.
A large open-plan living room and kitchen occupies the entire ground floor and features exposed ceiling beams and recessed shelving units.
A spiral staircase leads up to a bedroom and bathroom on the middle floor, while the angular penthouse holds the master bedroom.
Due to the restricted nature of the site, construction become a challenge for the design team. Access was through a 1.4-metre-wide passage, meaning that timber had to be lifted into the site with a hand-powered pulley system.
In response to this, the architect built a digital model of the structure, giving each timber component a unique reference number for ease of construction. This enabled the house to be constructed in just three weeks.
Photography is by Fred Toulet, apart from where otherwise stated.
Read on for more text from the architects:
Wooden House in Paris
In the heterogeneous urban fabric of this part of the 20th district of Paris we are asked for a house. At the bottom of what was, before the breakup of the family and the sale of the house on the street, the garden, the client starts a new life.
To make the best use of the qualities of the plot of land allocated, the house is divided into two entities.
The wooden cube – a cube of wood is placed back-to-back against the terraced houses in the site. Four of its faces are open, according to the opportunity for views and illumination offered by the plot of land and the terraced housing.
The periscope – positioned on the wooden cube, a mass of metal and glass contorts and twists to avoid side views while making visual framing and lights of the project.
Ship in a bottle… Over the 18 metres that separate the narrow street from the construction platform site we circulate across passages 1.4m wide, we encounter a porch 2.5m high with a tree across it. The house on the street is inhabited, its garden opens itself on our plot. The project thus looks like a model ship in a bottle.
We choose a technique where small units of wood are assembled on site and placed by hand or pulley, without machinery (no crane !). The entire structure is modelled in 3D, each piece arrives on site with a reference and is part of a very precise mounting process. In order to limit damage to the environment (broadly defined), this technique allows the mounting of the house in three weeks and then the adorning of an insulating wool protection.
Architect: Noel Dominguez Team: Léo Pollard, Zoé Salvaire Structural engineering (foundation): N. Perifan Structural engineering (wood): Rialland TCE: LMP Framing wood, insulation and siding: LS Charpentes Aluminium joinery: FHA Painter: ECRIN Locksmith: La Boite de Fer Carpentry: Francis Bonnet ébénisterie Cost without tax/M²: €2850
Milan 2014: dripping water from ice-encased tropical plants and quietly rotating feather-patterned fans featured in this climate-themed exhibition by Italian research centre Fabrica (+ slideshow).
Industrial, graphic and interactive designers at Fabrica created a series of sensory installations that aimed “to give a visual and experiential form to temperature” for air conditioning brand Daikin, in Milan last week.
Thirty-six exhibits were installed within a laboratory-like setting entitled Hot & Cold.
Following research into the effects of temperature, the designers curated a series of kinetic, material and sound-based works led by the project’s creative director Sam Baron.
“In this project we conceived design as a practice that must communicate through form and function, a design that sets out from an object, and reaches towards sound, graphics and interactivity,” said Baron.
Works on display included Migration, which comprised five motorised exhibits with hand-illustrated feathers. These represented the migration patterns of birds, characterised by height, distance and flock sizes during flight, said the project team.
“We loved the idea of birds migrating from one climate to another, as an expression of cold to hot and vice versa,” design team member Dean Brown told Dezeen.
The Solar exhibit used NASA’s interpretations of what planets sound like. In the centre of the exhibition, the team hung a mechanical model of Venus and Neptune, the hottest and coldest planets, orbiting the sun.
A sculpture called Air was made from suspended borosilicate glass letters, a material which is typically used in laboratories and resists extremely high temperatures.
“We discovered that you can burn the glass on the inside,” said Brown. “These oil lanterns are slowing charring the inside of the glass and by the end of the exhibition, the letters will become totally black.”
A series of tropical plants entitled Flora were encased in ice, which gradually melted away and collected in a glass vessel to reveal the plant.
Smaller objects were displayed on white metal stands with perforated tops, while larger exhibits were protected by low metal barriers designed to evoke a museum environment. “We took these references like these fences and plinths and framing objects the way you might do in a natural history museum,” said Brown.
The exhibition took place at the Garage Milano show during the city’s design week, which concluded on Sunday.
Designer Reiichi Ikeda inserted boxy partitions that follow the pattern of existing ceiling trusses into this clothing boutique in Osaka, Japan (+ slideshow).
Reiichi Ikeda designed the narrow interior of retail store Nietzsche to display a collection of clothing brands.
The sparsely furnished all-white space has been filled with of an arrangement of counters and free-standing painted wooden partitions.
The partitions and benches are all different heights, creating a maze-like pathway through the store.
Ikeda told Dezeen the client didn’t have a strict brief, but simply requested an interior that made the clothing on display “look attractive”.
“I felt that it was important to remove the colours for displaying these clothes, so I used white in the interior rather than black,” Ikeda explained.
“There are random partitions in the long and narrow space to adjust the view, which you can find a bit too wide without these,” he added.
At the top of the new partitions, Ikeda has created a series of openings that mirror the the forms of the existing ceiling trusses in the space.
Customers can manoeuvre their way through the store around the benches and partitions to access clothing hanging on metal rails. These are attached to both the ceiling and concrete floor by long, thin metal wires.
Original wooden boards lining the ceiling and metal trusses have also been painted white.
Rectangular mirrors are attached to various sections of the walls, while bare light bulbs hang at low points throughout the store.
Here’s a project description from Reiichi Ikeda Design:
Nietzsche
This boutique carries various unique brands in Horie, Osaka.
At the first visit to this long narrow site, the trussed ceiling structures caught my eyes in the space which had only white painted walls. The trussed structures showed a presence in the blank environment, and I felt the sigh dotted with them was already made up as a good design.
I planned my design should be an extension of this existing sigh, and worked on it based on the concept of “structures + structures”. I partitioned the boutique with trussed design panels at the same places as where the trussed ceiling structures are on just to link to them.
After I made interior constructions linked to the building ones, just the shape of the structures became to handle the general public flow line. I tried transforming the functional part of the building constructions to the design element, and gave dynamic image to the boutique.
Project Name: Nietzsche Use: clothing store Location: 1-9-12-1F, Minami-Horie, Nishi-ku, Osaka-city, Osaka, Japan 550-0015 Area: 64.41 square meters Date: Aug. 17, 2013 Client: Kenji Nakai Constructor: Takakura Construction Inc. Lighting: Ushio Spax Inc.
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