Hasta La Ideas

Chinese design studio Neri&Hu will present a collection of wooden furniture for De La Espada in New York later this month (+ slideshow).

New items in the collection for the woodwork brand include the Opium Sofa, Solo Table and Tray Desk.

Neri&Hu took the typology of a Chinese Tang Dynasty opium bed and modified it to create a sofa, which has shelves under the deep arms for storage.

The oval Solo table sits on two sets of three legs, each arranged in a triangle.

A two-tier desk folds out into a vanity table, with a mirror in the top shelf and a drawer full of different sized compartments in the lower bottom shelf.

Neri&Hu’s previous designs including the Extend Mirrors that prop up against the wall, slender Duet Chairs, plus their Solo Series of lounge and dining shell chairs are now being produced solely for De La Espada.

The collection will be shown at an exhibition in New York’s meatpacking district during the city’s design week from 18 to 21 May.

We interviewed Neri&Hu towards the end of last year for the opening of their design gallery, shop and event space in a former colonial police station in Shanghai.

The studio recently reinterpreted traditional Chinese architecture and courtyard typologies for a hotel in Xi’an.

See more architecture and design by Neri & Hu »
See more products for De La Espada »
See all our stories about furniture »

Read on for more details from De La Espada:

Opium Sofa

Opium beds for communal lounging have been in China since the Tang Dynasty, when opium smoking became an accepted social activity which necessitated a comfortable and presentable piece of furniture for receiving guests. neri&hu took this historic typology and updated it to create a contemporary sofa with a simple profile that retains the deep seat and low back of its inspiration. Flanking the sofa are deep arms which form two useful shelves, as well as side tables for books or a cup of tea. The solid wood frame cradles our tired bodies on a lazy Sunday morning, as addicts to our newspapers and coffee instead of the opium in imperial China.

Tray Desk

Trays function as a surface container for collectables, and this multi-tasking desk/vanity table was designed as two stacking trays on a light wooden frame . Contemporary lifestyles demand furniture to be more mobile and flexible, servicing multiple functions, while remaining lightweight for easy transport. This piece responds to that need, using the analogy of trays on trestles as a point of departure.

Solo Table

Solo Table is a solid wood dining table with purity of form and material.

Extend Mirrors

In the past, common bamboo ladders were used as household objects inside and outside country homes in China, functioning as an ever-ready stand for hanging a wide variety of things from tools and cloths to dried food. As a tribute to this utilitarian household symbol, neri&hu used three different ladder proportions to make a set of solid hardwood frames for floor standing mirrors. They lean on the floor in a casual manner, as ladders do, and can be used alone or as an interesting ensemble of many ladders with varying heights on the wall.

Solo Series (chair and table)

Inspired by the Eames Shell Chair, the Solo Chair is an updated version that transforms the early industrial look of the Eames iconic chair into a sophisticated, comfortable chair that is suitable both in domestic and commercial settings.

Solo chairs are a “universe within a chair”, wherein the upholstered shell hugs the sitting body to create a microcosmic universe for the person, where the chair becomes an object of shelter and refuge, where the person can be “solo” and undisturbed while being hugged in this position.

An upholstered foam-covered shell creates the universe that is the chair, and claims its singular autonomy in function, form, and beauty.

Duet Chair

The name speaks to the tectonic nature of the construction. Two pieces of bentwood work as a duet, creating the overall shape of the chair. They are stacked one on top of another to form the backrest, and while one extends to create the arm and front legs, the other turns to form the back legs. Originally created as a variation on the classic Thonet bent-wood tradition, the Duet Chair takes on a quiet yet graceful demeanor that is not unlike the German-Austrian classic original.

Neri&Hu Launches Collaboration with De La Espada

New York Design Week, 18-21 May 2013 at 345meatpacking

New York Design Week 2013 marks the launch of collaboration between Shanghai-based inter-disciplinary architectural practice, Neri&Hu Design and Research Office and leading modern woodworker, De La Espada. The launch event is presented by The Future Perfect at 345meatpacking, a stunning building by DDG. A large-scale purpose-built installation by Neri&Hu sets the scene for the debut of over ten new products born of their collaboration with De La Espada.

A unique sensory environment, the Neri&Hu installation for New York Design Week communicates at once the Neri&Hu approach to interiors and architecture, and their evolution toward product design.

Over ten new products will launch at the event, utilising timber extensively and spanning the needs of the home from dining to living spaces. The pieces are designed by Neri&Hu for their product brand ‘neri&hu’ and manufactured in premium materials by De La Espada craftsmen in Portugal.

The Future Perfect, host of the exhibition, will be the exclusive retailer of neri&hu furniture in the New York City and San Francisco areas.

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De La Espada appeared first on Dezeen.

German design studio Aekae has abstracted the logo of Swiss accessory brand QWSTION to form textural laser-cut patterns within the outer fabric of these bags.

Aekae collaborated with typographer Fabian Leuenberger from EuropaType to explore ways in which QWSTION could subtly apply branding to their products in a more integrated and functional way.

The designers transformed the brand’s logo into various patterns, which were then laser-cut into the outer fabric of QWSTION’s Oyster Grey Special Edition bags, increasing the stretch of the products through the typographic cuts.

The QWSTION brand was co-founded by Fabrice Aeberhard and Christian Kaegi of Aekae studio, who act as creative directors and industrial designers for the brand.

The bags were made by textile laboratory DevelopmentNeverStops as an experiment in branding and are not intended for sale.

Earlier this year we featured these handbags carried by clamping fingers in woven tubes, similar to Chinese finger trap puzzle.

See all our stories about bag design ».

Here’s some more information from QWSTION:

A few thousand years ago, artisans were the first to place distinctive marks on their fabrications as signs of quality. At QWSTION, we believe that a product should speak in great terms for itself and a subtle statement of origin is all the branding it really needs. That’s why we came up with the concept of functional branding, only placing our name on parts of the product that serve a functional purpose (such as buckles, twist locks, zipper pullers, and rivets).

In correspondence, choosing a typeface that’s simple and timeless was crucial. We discovered it in EuropaType’s modern sans serif typeface EUROPA. Run by graphic designer and typographer Fabian Leuenberger, EuropaType is based in Zurich and London. Their approach of developing typeface turned out to be very similar to our approach of designing functional bags: Questioning, refining, and maybe even redefining the shapes of our heritage.

The goal of this collaboration was to push the boundaries of the functionality of branding. Using a laser cutter and bags of the current Oyster Grey Special Edition, we created various patterns based on our logotype. Branding becomes subtle and abstract, and the otherwise stiff material as a result became expandable and enhanced in its utility through the typographical cuts. The products are not intended for sale.

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for QWSTION appeared first on Dezeen.

This concept for a digital camera would let users look through a hole right in the middle of the ring of sensors, rather than framing their shot on a screen or through a viewfinder (+ movie).

The design was a response to a challenge set by technology and science website BBC Future, who asked Jared Mankelow, senior product designer at Conran & Partners, to re-imagine an everyday item.

He came up with a Post-it note-sized camera that would have a hole in it for users to look through when they’re taking a picture.

Traditionally a camera’s viewfinder would be above its sensor, but in Mankelov’s design the hole itself acts as the viewfinder, with multiple sensors forming a ring around the eye.

“The ultimate goal is to take a photo of what you see. What we’ve done is punch a big aperture through the camera’s centre to connect the photographer with what’s in front of them,” explained Mankelow.

Inspired by an old SLR camera, he also decided to do without a digital screen and instead control the device manually with buttons and wheels. A ring flash around the hole would also make it suitable for close-up photography.

We previously featured an eye-tracking camera controlled by blinking and squinting and a wearable camera that decides which moments of your life are worth photographing – see all cameras.

Other technology we’ve published lately includes headsets that allow their wearer to adjust their sight and hearing as they would with a TV and a cuckoo clock that announces new Twitter messages – see all technology on Dezeen.

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by Jared Mankelow appeared first on Dezeen.

Milan 2013: Netherlands-based designer Tomáš Gabzdil Libertíny presented a solid marble chair at the Bagatti Valsecchi exhibition curated by Rossana Orlandi in Milan.

Tomáš Gabzdil Libertíny collaborated with sculptors at the Henraux Foundation – a company that specialises in marble production – when creating the Bust chair.

“After an exchange of ideas, the fluid robust form with cantilevered seat offered itself to a beautiful combination with marble. The chair is a sculptural study on comfort and ergonomics,” explains the designer.

The Bust chair exists in both an indoor and outdoor version, the latter of which is equipped with small holes for drainage.

Tomáš Gabzdil Libertíny is famous for his series of honeycomb vases made by bees. We’ve also featured his cabinet stained with ink from a ball-point pen and paper vases turned on a lathe.

The Henraux Foundation has previously worked with some of the world’s leading artists including Henry Moore, Hans Arp and Isamu Noguchi.

The Bagatti Valsecchi 2.0 exhibition by Rossana Orlandi also featured a sofa with a cast concrete seat by JamesPlumb and a purposefully inaccurate time-keeping device by Maarten Baas. Read more about the Bagatti Valsecchiexhibition.

See all our stories about chair design »
See all our coverage of Milan 2013 »

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Tomáš Gabzdil Libertíny appeared first on Dezeen.

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