Apr 15
Fat Lebowski
Posted in: Fat Lebowski, Visa MalinenNon so perchè Visa Malinen ha scelto Fat Lebowski come nome per il suo sofa, ma sono sicuro che il drugo in versione scandinavo approverebbe.
Apr 15
Jar RGB by Arik Levy for Lasvit
Posted in: Lasvit, Milan 2013Milan 2013: these lamps by designer Arik Levy for glass firm Lasvit filter white light through red, green and blue bottle-shaped pendants.
The Jar RGB collection, for Czech glassware company Lasvit, comprises a series of bottle-shaped vessels designed to hang together in groups of three or seven.
Light is emitted through one translucent white glass lamp, while the coloured pieces made from clear glass hang alongside to create a form of RGB colour mixing.
Arik Levy unveiled the collection at Lasvit’s exhibition at Via Stendhal 35 in the Tortona district of Milan last week. The designer also showed a collection of wooden furniture inspired by traditional Japanese footwear for British brand Modus at EDIT by Designjunction.
Other Lasvit products on show in Milan included a series of vases and lamps inspired by patchwork quilts by Japanese design studio Nendo.
See more design by Arik Levy »
See more products by Lasvit »
See more stories from Milan 2013 »
Here’s a short description from Lasvit:
Jar RGB – Arik Levy
Jar RGB is a lighting project connecting thin colourful glass blowing techniques and the idea of RGB colour mixing. Using white glass for one of the hanging jars allows it to turn into a large light bulb generating the light for the entire fixture.
Above: photograph by Dezeen
Observing one jar through another and the space surrounding them gives one a unique and everlasting discovery of colour superimposition.
The post Jar RGB by Arik Levy
for Lasvit appeared first on Dezeen.
Apr 15
Renault Twinz
Posted in: 2013, Ross Lovergrove, TwinzDécouverte de « Twin’Z », un concept-car par Renault, présenté à la Milan Design Week 2013, voulant illustrer la nouvelle stratégie en matière de design de la marque. Imaginé en collaboration avec le designer Ross Lovergrove, ce concept au design étrange est à découvrir en images dans la suite.
Apr 15
“It’s the most important week in the design calendar”
Posted in: Dezeen and MINI World Tour 2013, Dezeen movies, Milan 2013, World Tour 2013: MilanDezeen and MINI World Tour: designers including Marcel Wanders, Yves Behar, Tom Dixon and Konstantin Grcic discuss the importance of Milan design week, which ended in the city yesterday, and whether it can retain its title as the world’s leading event.
Each April, the world’s leading designers descend on the city for the fair still regarded as the most important in the world. “I come to Milan every year,” says Yves Behar. “It’s the obligatory stop.”
“It’s a moment I can’t miss,” agrees Stephen Burks. “It’s the most important week in the design calendar.”
They are joined by hundreds of thousands of international visitors including students, journalists, buyers and younger designers trying to get their work noticed.
“It gives lots of young designers a great thrill to come here and get discovered,” says Ron Arad. “My entire design team comes here to suck up new ideas and ensure they’re seeing the latest and the greatest,” says Anders Warming, head of design at MINI.
The fair owes its importance to the emergence of Milan as the world’s key centre for the design and manufacture of both furniture and products after the devastation of the Second World War, playing a key role in Italy’s economic recovery. “All of the important history of post-war furniture design happened here,” says Konstantin Grcic.
The official fair, the Salone Internazionale del Mobile, as well as the Fuori Salone events around the city, grew over the years into the sprawling citywide festival it is today. “There was a lot of excitement around [the fair], starting in the early eighties with Memphis and [Studio] Alchimia,” says Arad, citing two of the most influential Milanese design studios of the last century.
However the economic crisis of recent years and the emergence of rival design centres combined to make this year’s fair a more sober affair than recent years. “I feel like there’s a return to the reason why we are all here, which is the actual commerce of the fair,” says Johanna Agerman Ross, editor-in-chief of Disegno magazine.
“It’s certainly got much, much more competition these days,” says journalist and curator Henrietta Thompson. “The London Design Festival is fantastic these days but also Stockholm and Paris.”
Milan-based designer Fabio Novembre touches on the reasons why the city might be losing its edge: “It’s hard to take a group of Italians and make them all go in one direction,” he says. “That explains why we’re in a big crisis and why we are almost losing the importance of Salone del Mobile.”
Joseph Grima, editor-in-chief of Milanese design magazine Domus, agrees. “The city is really in need of someone who’s going to have a vision for the future,” he says.
“Milan remains the only place where you can still see everybody in one go,” says Tom Dixon. “Whether it can maintain that top spot … is hard to tell. It becomes impossible to navigate the city, you can’t get a taxi, you can’t get a hotel room and you can’t afford space to show your goods.”
Look out for more reports from Milan as part of our Dezeen and MINI World Tour in the coming days. The car featured in the movie is the MINI Paceman.
The post “It’s the most important week in
the design calendar” appeared first on Dezeen.
Apr 15
Milan 2013: a curtain of raffia creates a hairy veil around one of five beds designed by Brazilian duo Fernando and Humberto Campana for Italian furniture brand Edra.
The Campana Beds, for Edra’s inaugural bed collection, reinterpret some of the Campana brothers’ most famous furniture designs.
Using the materials of the 2010 Cabana cabinet, the Cabana bed (top) is surrounded by long strands of raffia that can be tied back using magnetic leather belts, while the Grinza bed (above) is covered in wrinkled leather, just like the 2011 Grinza chair.
The fake fur-covered Cipria sofa from 2009 is reimagined for the Cipria bed (above), which comes with a fluffy pink headboard.
The Corallo bed (above) has a jumbled frame of golden wire, similar to the 2004 Corallo chair.
The fifth bed in the collection is Favela (above and below), which is made from wooden boards that have been roughly glued and nailed together. The design first appeared in the Favela chairs, which were used within the Campana’s first hotel interior.
The Campana beds were shown last week in Milan at the Edra showroom.
See more design by Fernando and Humberto Campana, including their famous Cartoon Chairs made from stuffed toys and a recent collection for Louis Vuitton.
See all stories about beds »
See all stories from Milan 2013 »
Here’s some more information from Edra:
In the Edra showroom, visitors will be also treated to a preview of the collection “Campana beds” – five beds created by Fernando and Humberto Campana, which continue that journey between roots and identity started with couches and armchairs already in the collection. These beds are highly unique because of their use of unusual materials inspired by nature and creativity, refined by great manual skills and advanced technologies.
Edra opens its new division, Edra beds, with the Campana Brothers. The five beds that make up the collection are: “Corallo bed” with headboard and footboard made by a weave of inox wire that has been hand-curved and finished with a special golden finish, that contains pure gold; “Favela bed” which is all made of wooden small boards, glued and nailed together by hand one over the other, according to an intentionally casual scheme; “Cabana bed”, screened by raffia veils treated with a special fire-proofing process and featuring leather belts with magnetic clips to control the drapery; “Cipria bed” stuffed with expanded polyurethane and synthetic wadding, with headboard made of four pillows attached to a metallic structure and covered in eco-fur; “Grinza bed” featuring a metallic structure covered by abundant hanging drapery, available in leather.
All the beds in the “Campana beds” collection come with sheets and comforters made of pure natural linen.
The post Campana Beds by Fernando and
Humberto Campana for Edra appeared first on Dezeen.
Apr 14
Quest’anno le Officine Creative Ansaldo ospitavano i ragazzi di Designersblock. Noi li abbiamo visitati per @SkyArteHD. Il collettivo di designer inglesi hanno messo in mostra alcuni tra i loro migliori progetti. Ve ne posso segnalare in particolare tre che hanno attirato la mia attenzione: Olivia Alice con i suoi diffusori di odori milanesi, il magico ripara-bottoni di Tic e l’eleganza di Axthor Furniture.
Apr 14
Pure by Jean Nouvel for Ruco Line
Posted in: Milan 2013, Product news, Ruco LineMilan 2013: French architect Jean Nouvel unveiled a pair of leather and rubber boots for Italian shoe brand Ruco Line at the Interni Hybrid Architecture and Design exhibition in Milan this week.
Jean Nouvel’s Pure footwear for Ruco Line reduces the concept of a shoe to its purest form, according to the architect.
The boots have chunky rubber soles and calf leather uppers with a stretchy Lycra lining inside.
The name of the design is printed in abbreviated form – NVL PR 13 – on the top of the boot alongside a serial number, making each pair unique.
They come in white, black, fluorescent yellow and fuchsia and are sold in translucent plastic bags.
The footwear is on show at the University of Milan as part of the Interni Hybrid Architecture and Design exhibition, which runs until 21 April, as well as elsewhere across the city, including at Nouvel’s huge installation of future office environments at SaloneUfficio.
Other fashion launches in Milan this year include Ron Arad’s 3D-printed spectacles and Tom Dixon’s collection for Adidas featuring garments that convert into luggage and camping equipment – see all fashion on Dezeen.
See more architecture and design by Jean Nouvel »
See all our coverage of Milan 2013 »
See our Milan 2013 map »
Here’s more information from Ruco Line:
Ruco Line previews Pure, the capsule collection designed by Jean Nouvel at the 2013 Milan Furniture Fair.
Ruco Line, a company specialised in the making of high quality designer sneakers, presents Pure, the capsule collection created through the collaboration with the French starchitect Jean Nouvel, dedicated to those who love purity of form. It is the first time that Nouvel explores the world of fashion, transferring his creative vision to an accessory that, beyond the standards of quality, functionality and aesthetics, is a true object of desire. A new perspective for the architect, who goes from the macro to the micro, from the designing of large buildings to that of a shoe, for which Nouvel has always had a passion.
The starting point is the architecture of the shoe, the work of taking away that is characteristic of Nouvel and his search for the ultimate essence of things. The result is a sneaker with a strong identity, a tradition with Ruco Line, for which linearity and essentiality are two cornerstones. The basic concept of the design is the monolith, the search for the elementary that is at the foundation of Jean Nouvel’s creative philosophy. The resulting simplicity is only apparent, the fruit of research that aims at the archetype that best expresses the object’s nature. The complexity, therefore, is dissembled and is perceived only when the sneaker is put on: the bottom, highlighted by a double band, is light and the purity of form gives the shoe a versatility that makes it right at any time during the day.
This complexity, or as Nouvel defines it, this contradiction between opposites becomes a creative paradigm. It makes reference to many dichotomies: simple/complex, light/heavy, macro/micro, universal/special.
This last contrast is developed through attention to details, to the personalisation created by means of the graphic elements that make each shoe unique. The graphic element that identifies Pure, which is also the result of the work of taking away in which the vowels are eliminated from the nouns, will be imprinted on the shoe upper together with a serial ID of the sneaker, making it unrepeatable. It is a refusal of standardisation and homologation, bringing the individual and their unique, original being back into the fore.
Pure, which Ruco Line is previewing at the Milan Furniture Fair, is made from the finest leather, emphasising even more the sneaker’s strong identity, in the neutral, white and black variations and in the bright fluorescent yellow and fuchsia colours.
Pure will be presented in Milan, following an itinerary including the symbolic places of fashion and design, two worlds that influence each other more and more often. The first models in the capsule collection will be shown at the Ruco Line stores on Via della Spiga and Corso di Porta Ticinese; in the concept shop 10CorsoComo; at Antonia Uomo on the second floor of the Excelsior; in the Design Supermarket on the basement floor of la Rinascente and in Spazio Rossana Orlandi; at the event Hybrid Architecture & Design organised by interns at the University of Milan; at the Brera Gallery, as part of the Spazio Umbria project and, lastly, at the iSaloni – Salone Ufficio, within the Project: office for living exhibition created by Jean Nouvel himself in Pav. 24.
The capsule collection will be presented in the display case designed by Jean Nouvel, in which one can see once again those elements of clean forms and linearity that have been the guiding thread of his creative opus. The shoes are inside transparent plastic sacks that are hanging inside clear Plexiglas showcases, underlining the importance of arriving immediately at the ultimate essence of the object, the pureness of the shoe.
The post Pure by Jean Nouvel
for Ruco Line appeared first on Dezeen.
Apr 14
Milan 2013: French designer Philippe Starck recalled childhood memories of his aunts and uncles when designing this family of furniture for Kartell, shown in Milan this week.
Philippe Starck cites nostalgia and sentimentality as his main influences for the collection: “My family of Kartell ‘uncles and aunts’ is the minimalist technological version of the armchairs and sofas where my uncles and aunts used to sit smoking their pipes or knitting by the fireplace in total peace and serenity.”
“Times have changed and so has furniture, but our dreams are always the same,” he adds.
Each member of the Aunts and Uncles series, for Italian brand Kartell, is made of polycarbonate and has been created using single-mould injection technology.
The furniture includes the Uncle Jack sofa, the Uncle Jim armchair, the Uncle Jo chair, the Aunt Jamy table and the Aunt Maggy console.
Each piece comes in a range of colours and the collection was shown at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile.
Starck recently collaborated with Peugeot to design a prototype bicycle crossed with a scooter for a free cycle scheme in Bordeaux, France – see all design by Philippe Starck.
See all news and products from Milan 2013 or take a look at our interactive map featuring the highlights of the week’s exhibitions, parties and talks.
The post Aunts and Uncles by Philippe Starck
for Kartell appeared first on Dezeen.
Apr 13
New products by Discipline
Posted in: Discipline, Milan 2013, Product news, slideshowsMilan 2013: pinching steel clips for holding candles and chairs with legs that tuck into pockets feature in the latest range of products by Italian brand Discipline (+ slideshow).
Above: Clip Candleholders by Nendo
Japanese studio Nendo‘s contributions to the collection include the pinching steel candle holders shaped like fruit, a coat stand made of rectangular steel frames and a similar glass-topped side table.
Above: Linking Rings by Claesson Koivisto Rune
Frameless mirrors set into oval bases and sand-cast tables with round or square tops were created by Swedish designers Claesson Koivisto Rune.
Above: Slice desk organiser by James Irvine
A desk organiser sculpted from a solid piece of cork was designed by James Irvine, who passed away earlier this year.
Above: Pocket Chair by Ding3000
Among the chairs in the collection, one by Ding3000 has wooden legs that tuck into pockets in sides of the leather seat and another by Ichiro Iwasaki is cushioned with cork.
Above: Peg hooks by Jonah Takagi
Accessories include Johanna Dehio‘s waste paper bin with colourful compartments and Jonah Takagi‘s simple coat pegs.
Above: Quarter bin by Johanna Dehio
Discipline is exhibiting the products at Via Pietro Mascagni 4, the same location it launched it’s inaugural collection last year.
Above: Bridge stool by Ichiro Iwasaki
Other product ranges debuting in Milan include the Unexpected Welcome collection by Moooi and new furniture and lighting by Front.
Above: Clip Coat Hanger by Nendo
See all our coverage of Milan 2013 »
See our Milan 2013 map »
Here’s some more information from Discipline:
Pianissimo – Lars Beller Fjetland
A hanging lamp made with a special processing of cork which, cut in light leaves, becomes sinuous like fabric. The upper and lower parts are in glass; the illumination is LED, both direct and indirect.
Drifted – Lars Beller Fjetland
Designed by the young, brilliant Norwegian naturalist designer Lars Beller Fjetland, the Drifted series is the perfect synthesis of the Discipline style. Three stools – in low, high and bar versions, with a cork back, and a chair recall the purity and essentiality of the design – a light structure in oak, comfortable seat, impermeable and lasting, and interlocking assembly make this series unique. The structure is available in 3 colours and the seat in light or dark natural cork.
Above: Puck round table by Claesson Koivisto Rune
Linking Rings – Claesson Koivisto Rune
A minimalist, sober and elegant mirror with a little bamboo shelf on the structure in MDF which makes it light yet resistant. Available in two sizes and 3 colour versions, it is suitable for any type of environment.
Puck – Claesson Koivisto Rune
A small table with metal feet and a steel base treated with a sandcasting process, available both round and square. Particularly suitable for public spaces.

Above: Turné fruit bowl by Pauline Deltour
Quarter Bin – Johanna Dehio
An innovative bin with compartments, modular, for the home or the office, suitable for separating paper, tins and plastic. It is in wood and the individual modules can be combined and joined via a system of magnets, enabling the space to be optimised.
Turné – Pauline Deltour
The fruit bowl becomes an elegant, sophisticated furnishing element. Available in two finishes, mahogany or ash.
Above: Roulé gold tray by Pauline Deltour
Roulé – Pauline Deltour
A tray shouldn’t just be limited to its function but please and move. The sophisticated shape, rounded edges and sought-after materials make it luxurious in its simplicity. Pauline has also designed a little table, in ash or mahogany, where the Roulé tray becomes the top of the table. The series is further enriched by a glass mat, a little tray, a bowl and a centrepiece.
Pocket Chair – Ding 3000
An eccentric solution for this little armchair in natural cuoietto leather with a soft-touch effect. It slips over the wooden structure like a glove, the frame remaining suspended on the structure guaranteeing a surprising adaptability of the seat. The welcoming shape gives it a familiar yet sophisticated air. Washable and resistant, it can be used in different contexts.
Above: Gemma Box by Gemma Holt
Gemma Box – Gemma Holt
This looks like a simple block of wood but the top is a lid held by little magnets. A box or, better, a secret, multi-functional box, in 4 sizes and three finishes – ash, walnut and oak.
Slice – James Irvine
The desk organiser ‘Slice’ is made from a block of solid cork and is an elegant item of classic design which becomes original, contemporary and light through the choice of the material. It can house everything that’s required on a desk, from paper clips to the smartphone, and the pen to the tablet, in its rationally divided sections.
Above: Bridge table by Ichiro Iwasaki
Bridge – Ichiro Iwasaki
The Discipline collection is extended by a range for the outdoors – chair, stool, bench and table, featuring a simple, essential and elegant structure. The chair is in Iroko, a particularly resistant African wood suitable for outside; the structure in treated steel and the back in aluminium give the series robustness and lightness. Available in four colours to create combinations never trivial.

Clip Candleholder – Nendo
The minimalist style of the Japanese studio emerges in the clean lines, emptying of the volumes and the functionality of the items. The slender steel structure of Clip candleholders evokes the shape of fruit and the functional spring system enables any standard candle to be adapted to it.
Above: Clip Side Table by Nendo
Clip Coat Hanger – Nendo
Taking off the clothes worn in the open air so that you can be comfortable in your own home is one of the most comforting feelings associated with well-being. Just like having an object which carries out this function and, at the same time, exalts the aesthetic value. The Clip coat stand, which hooks and hangers can also be attached to, is functional, essential and features the clean lines typical of the Japanese studio. It adapts perfectly to every room where it will certainly be noticed because of its refined elegance. Available in three colours.
Clip Side Table – Nendo
The clean, severe lines and the minimal structure in steel supporting the solid, extra-clear glass top make CLIP a side table able to give every sitting room, office or waiting room a discreet touch of aesthetics and elegance. Available in two sizes and three colours.
Above: Smusso chair by Philippe Nigro
Smusso – Philippe Nigro
Sophisticated, flexible, light and sustainable, Smusso features a monocoque in natural bamboo, cut out to ensure lightness and transpiration, attached to a structure in light, robust steel. It is marked by a transverse design, available in the version with or without arms, and is easy to include in the domestic environment or public spaces. The rotating structure and the height adjustable one, with or without wheels, make it especially suitable as an individual desk or conference room chair. Available in the warm natural colour of bamboo or the more formal black.
Peg – Jonah Takagi
The coat stand becomes an element of style and personality. Simple and linear, in wood, in four colours to create bright colour combinations on the walls.
The post New products
by Discipline appeared first on Dezeen.
Apr 13
Milan 2013: these seats with curvy backrests by Dutch architects UNStudio are on show at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile this week.
Above: Studio Twin
Top: Studio Twin Beam
UNStudio’s collection for Swedish brand Offecct includes Studio Easy Chair, a single seat with a wing on its left or right side, Studio Twin Beam, a pair of seats linked by a small table, and Studio Twin, which has a solid base that mirrors the backrest.
“The Studio Twin design not only encourages communication by enabling the sitters to face each other whilst sitting side-by-side, but is also designed to spatially introduce two visual orientations to the locations in which it is used,” said UNStudio head Ben van Berkel.
Above: Studio Easy Chair
The seats have a laminated wood frame and are upholstered in fabric or leather, while the bases are available in black, white or silver lacquer.
UNStudio has just announced its relaunch in June as an “open-source architecture studio” inspired by technology start-ups. The news was originally revealed by van Berkel in March in an interview with Dezeen at the launch of Canaletto, a residential tower designed by the firm for east London. See all architecture by UNStudio.
Above: Studio Easy Chair with Studio Twin Beam
Other Offecct furniture we’ve published includes a chair by Japanese studio Nendo that flicks out like a flowing cape and a sofa with a winged backrest by Spanish designer Carlos Tíscar – see all design by Offecct.
Elsewhere in the Salone Internazionale del Mobile, Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby unveiled chunky sofas for Knoll and Ron Arad introduced a workstation that uses pulses of electricity to change colour.
See all news and products from Milan 2013 or use our interactive map to discover the highlights of the week’s exhibitions, parties and talks.
Here’s some more information from Offecct:
Offecct initiates cooperation with UNStudio and presents the series Studio, a system of seating furniture that can be adapted to any need or environment. The series will be included in Offecct’s business Travel & Navigation together with many products suitable for different kinds of waiting areas, terminals, cruise ships and airports etc.
The Studio series consists of a number of different versions: Studio Twin, Studio Twin Beam and Studio Easy Chair Right/Left. The Studio Twin version creates a seating element for communication and exchange, whereas the Studio Easy chair Right/Left offer possibilities for the user to choose between open and private arrangements. The Studio Twin Beam creates opportunities for use in public spaces and for more playful organisations in public settings.
The collection is ideal in many varied settings, such as airport waiting areas, lobbies, offices and libraries.
The concept for the Studio series was to create a light, comfortable and easily rearranged collection of seating elements which incorporate a variety of spatial gestures with specific emphasis on versatility in communication, says Ben van Berkel, co-founder and architect at UNStudio.
The varied designs within the series cater for the needs and wishes of the individual in both public and private spaces. The Studio Twin not only encourages communication by enabling the possibility to face each other whilst sitting side-by-side, but is also designed to spatially introduce two visual orientations to the locations in which it is used, van Berkel continues.
The Studio Easy Chair Right/Left are highly versatile, allowing the user to choose their level of connectivity to both the people and the space around them, he concludes.
In accordance with Offecct’s high demands on sustainability, effort has been put into choice of materials, energy, transportation and logistics to assure a product that has a minimal impact on nature.
Frame in laminated wood. Fully upholstered in fabric or leather. Standard leather Elmo Soft, piquet on the inside and standard on the outside Sledge base in black, white or silver lacquer, option in RAL Flexicolours.
The post Studio seating by UNStudio
for Offecct appeared first on Dezeen.
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