Hasta La Ideas

Cologne 2011: London designer Harry Thaler‘s Pressed Chair is one of two joint winning projects in this year’s [D3] Contest, an international competition for young designers organised by imm cologne.

The chair is made from a 2.5mm-thick aluminium sheet with a relief pressed into the surface, which provides structural strength once the legs are bent into place.

A stool using the same technique is made in a similar way from three pieces bolted together.

Thaler developed the project while studying at the Royal College of Art in London last year.

His project shares first place with OLA Foldable Table by Swedish studio AKKA – more information to follow soon.

Dezeen editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs will interview the [D3] Contest winners tomorrow as part of our series of Dezeentalks at [D3] Design Talents in collaboration with imm cologne. The talks are free so come along! More details »

imm cologne takes place 18-23 January 2011. See all our stories about the even in our special category »

See films of all the Dezeentalks at last year’s fair here.

The information below is from Harry Thaler:

Pressed Chair

Pressed Chair is a pressed aluminium chair which has been bent into shape to form a super-light, stackable chair.

For Pressed Chair I wanted to create an elegant and simple chair from a single sheet of 2.5mm aluminium. By pressing structural elements into the 2 dimensional sheet, I was able to make a chair that pushes the limits of minimization and material. The chair, which is light enough to be lifted with only two fingers, is extremely strong without any external structural support. Instead decorative features pressed into the sheet provide the required strength once the chair is bent into shape.

Materials used:
Aluminium sheet 2.5mm, 1 m² for one chair

As part of my aim to minimize everything, I have also created a stool from the areas of scrap surrounding the chair when it is being cut. The stool, unlike the chair, is not made from 1 piece, but three. It is held together by screws.

See also:

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[D3] Contest winners 2010	[D3] Contest winners 2009	More about Cologne 2011

Brazilian designer Brunno Jahara of Jahara Studio will launch a dented task lamp made of anodised aluminium during Design Miami next week.

The lamp is called Batucada, which means “beaten” in Portuguese, and is a continuation of Jahara’s Batucada range of crumpled aluminium homeware.

Brazilian lighting company ViaLight manufactures the lamp, which will be launched at the Ornare showroom in Miami’s Design District on 29 November.

See also our story about Jahara Studio’s Neorustica furniture made of scrap wood.

Here’s some info from Jahara Studio:

Jahara Studio will display in Miami, Batucada Lamp, made by ViaLight in Brazil.

Batucada Light, a hammered task table lamp in anodized colors, will be on display during the Design Miami week at Ornare showroom in the Design District.

The manufacturer of the lamps, the Brazil-based company ViaLight, has invited up-and-coming Brazilian designer Brunno Jahara to make a series of special task lamps using LED technology and low impact materials such as aluminum, which is 100% recyclable.

The lamps are a continuation of the Batucada Collection, where the designer hammers and smashes objects such as centerpieces, vases and lamps. For these first pieces, green, yellow, purple and black were chosen. Every year new colors will be added to the collection.

While making every piece unique, the hammered surfaces reflect the light and lend character to the lamps. Batucada stands for a percussion rhythm of Brazilian carnival parties, where many instruments are made of cans or tin pots.

The lamps are reminiscent of classic industrial metal lamps from the 20th century, but the battered surfaces and flashy metallic colors highlight their imperfections and uniqueness, transforming them into a new contemporary icon.

Previous ViaLight projects include a limited edition of lamps by designer Karim Rashid, released in 2008.

The opening night is November 29th at Ornare showroom in Miami Design District, at 8 p.m.

Address: 3930 NE 2nd Avenue – Suites 102/103 Miami – Florida

See also:

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Batucada collection by Jahara Studio	PLET Table by Reinier de Jong	More furniture on Dezeen

Vienna Design Week: Vienna designers Dottings presented a series of coffee cups made of recycled aluminium coffee capsules for coffee brand Nespresso in Vienna last week.

Called Grand Crus Cup Parade, the pieces are each made of recycled aluminium and styled to resemble Nespresso’s range of capsules in sixteen colours.

The designers propose a system where customers return their used capsules for recycling in order to collect points, which they can exchange for the set.

The design was one of three winning entires in a competition entitled SUSTAIN.ABILITY.DESIGN, sponsored by Vienna Design Week organisers Neigungsgruppe Design and Nespresso Austria.

See all our stories about Vienna Design Week »

Here’s some more information from the designers:

dottings was invited to present their idea concerning the theme Nespresso & Sustainability for a Vienna Design Week Exhibition.
What was developed is a Vision – from the used Nespresso capsule to a designed Recyclingproduct.

“Grand Crus Cup Parade” is produced from 100% recycled Aluminium Capsules that Nespresso followers return to Recycling Stations. For returning capsules they collect “Eco-Points” – the only currency to buy “Grand Crus Cup Parade” with.

Recycling Aluminium requires just 10% of the energy compared to extraction of new aluminium.

The shape of “Grand Crus Cup Parade” is dedicated to the capsule. In Small, Medium & Large Size, in 16 Nespresso Blend Colours, the cups define perfect size of each coffee. It´s a klind of “guidance system” for Nespresso Coffees Selection.

See also:

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Concrete coffee maker by Shmuel Linski	Cylinda and Dot by Paul Smith for Stelton	Slim Cup by Sharona Merlin

London office Levitt Bernstein have completed an energy centre for the University of Liverpool in the UK, clad in diamond-shaped aluminium scales. (more…)

Austrian architecture firm COOP HIMMELB(L)AU have unveiled their design for a temporary pavilion for the Munich Opera Festival 2010. (more…)