Hasta La Ideas

Milan 2013: Zaha Hadid imagined a block of ice formed in the crevasses of a glacier for the design of this bench, launching this week in the Tortona district of Milan.

The Serac Bench, designed by Zaha Hadid for street furniture brand Lab23, is made from a resin and quartz composite that gives it a sparkling white colour.

The surface of the bench is shaped into a series of smooth ridges and curves, and a single arch forms a backrest on one side.

The piece is on show at the Officine della Torneria, Via Novi, 5, just around the corner from Dezeen’s movie studio at the MINI Paceman Garage.

London architect Zaha Hadid is showing a number of projects around Milan this week, including a pair of monochrome pendant lamps, a limited edition of marble tables and a system of twisting auditorium seats.

See more design by Zaha Hadid »
See more design from Milan 2013 »
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Photography is by Jacopo Spilimbergo.

Here’s some more information from Zaha Hadid Architects:

Zaha Hadid for Lab23

Zaha Hadid’s concept of urban furniture to be seamlessly integrated with its context and Lab23’s experience coalesce into the Serac Collection, especially the Serac Bench, the urban bench designed by the architect and designer for the renowned street furniture label.

The concept behind the Serac Bench, which will be presented at Fuorisalone 2013, at the Officine della Torneria from April 8th to 14th, is evoked by the image of a block of ice formed by intersecting crevasses in a glacier. Developed as an urban sculpture for seating and resting, the Serac Bench seamlessly integrates with its context. Its striated articulations emerge from the landscape, each layer taking its own unique trajectory in reaction to latent forces that disperse – and ultimately coalesce – the many strata of the bench to generate its overall formal composition. The design rediscovers the fluid, continuous nature of Zaha Hadid’s work – exploring relationships between full and void, object and background, form and function; an evolutionary pattern that is evident throughout her repertoire.
The bench has been developed in resin quartz, a tough and durable material that when shaped into a more curvaceous form, transitions into a softer, fluid and tactile surface. The sparkling crystal balances a stunning light play with mesmerizing depth.

Lab23, with numerous collaborations with world-renowned architects and designers under its belt, will present the Serach Bench together with its entire collection of street furniture, developed with innovative and enviromentally friendly materials, which have always characterized the brand. Five and Sofa are designed to furnish urban living rooms with ottomans, side tables and sofas. On the other hand, line S, designed by Veronica Martinez, consists of benches and flower boxes that recall the winding shape of an S. Stéphane Chapelet developed benches, tables and Zadig, a steel seat which features an interesting texture thanks to its laser cutting.

At Fuorisalone 2013, and after focusing mainly on public spaces, Lab23 will have the chance to present Aria23, a collection of outdoor furniture dedicated to the general public that distinguishes itself for a unique sensitivity for enviromental impact. For Aria23, architecture studio Marconato e Zappa, has developed a selection of décors.

The common and idenitfying feature of this collection is indeed the use of WPC, wood and plastic composit, an entirely recyclable material.

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for Lab23 appeared first on Dezeen.

Milan 2013: London designers Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby have unveiled a collection of sofas for American furniture brand Knoll at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan.

Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby, the duo behind the London 2012 Olympic torch, have designed a series of furniture with cast aluminium legs that can be finished in red, white or black paint.

The range includes two and three seat sofas, an armchair and ottomans, available in a selection of fabrics including leather, as well as side tables and a stool. They are on display at Knoll’s stand C01-D02, Pavilion 20 at the Milan Fairgrounds in Rho, and in the brand’s showroom located at Piazza Bertarelli 2.

The sofas feature in our round up of the best products at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile.

Knoll is also presenting a collection of rotating, sliding and motorised furniture by architect Rem Koolhaas at the Prada exhibition space in Milan – see all our coverage of Milan 2013 here and our map of events taking place across the city here.

As BarberOsgerby, the designers have previously designed limited edition stripy tables for Established & Sons and a tilting chair for Vitra.

See all our stories about design by BarberOsgerby »
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See all our stories about Milan 2013 »

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& Jay Osgerby for Knoll appeared first on Dezeen.

Milan 2013: pulses of electricity change the colour of this workstation unveiled by designer Ron Arad at Salone in Milan this week (+ movie).

No Bad Colours by Ron Arad is presented as part of Jean Nouvel’s Project: Office for Living installation in the SaloneUfficio space, which sets out the architect’s vision for offices of the future.

The workstation is a simple black box with a desk and shelves against a colour-changing wall, which uses a patented technology developed by UK materials firm Versatile Technologies.

The colour of the wall changes instantly or fades slowly as pulses of electricity are applied to a layer of fluid held between transparent sheets.

The user can change or programme the colours with Bluetooth technology using their desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone application.

The wall doesn’t require artificial lighting and once a colour has been selected it needs no extra power to be maintained.

“We are talking about reflecting rather than transmitting colours, so we don’t require backlit panels and the surfaces enjoy rather than suffer from external light,” said Arad.

Yesterday we reported on Arad’s new range of 3D-printed spectacles and sunglasses for eyewear brand pq and Dezeen editor Rose Etherington posted a round-up of highlights from the Salone, including an aluminium sideboard by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec and monochrome pendant lamps by Zaha Hadid.

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Here’s some more information from Versatile Technologies:

In a blink, a beautiful block of green-veined marble is transformed into a rich shade of gold. At the touch of a button, a spectacular restaurant transitions from its winter theme to spring. The walls of a corporate office brighten to lift the spirits and productivity of employees near the end of the workday. And as caterers prepare for the arrival of guests, a family kitchen becomes the backdrop for a high-class cocktail party.

Introducing Active True Colour from Versatile Technologies, Ltd. — a dynamic surface material technology that enables infinite and instant changes in colour, design and pattern. Active True Colour is being introduced in Milan at Salone Internazionale del Mobile 2013. The revolutionary, patented Active True Colour technology enriches living spaces, workspaces and public spaces by dramatically expanding and enriching the way people experience colour and design. Using Active True Colour, surfaces are no longer static; they become adaptive and vital expressions of mood, tone, season and environment.

Ron Arad is presenting the first Active True Colour piece, an integrated colour-changing workstation containing a desk, shelves and wall, within his new project, No Bad Colours, as part of a Jean Nouvel-curated exhibition, Office For Living, taking place inside the Salone Ufficio Pavilion during the Salone del Mobile. This is the first outing of Arad’s ongoing development of products and projects incorporating Active True Colour in his role as lead designer and art director of the product.

“I was very excited to join this project as it offered a genuine new possibility to alter colours at will in both architectural spaces and small products,” said Mr. Arad. “The main ‘news’ here is that we are talking about reflecting rather than transmitting colours, so we don’t require backlit panels and the surfaces enjoy rather than suffer from external light. We immediately started work in a variety of scales and contexts. This is just the beginning.”

Active True Colour delivers a nearly endless spectrum of yet-to-be imagined original designs, natural colours, patterns, and architectural finishes that can be applied to virtually any surface (interior and exterior walls, floors, table/counter tops, furniture, etc.). Active True Colour delivers vivid and beautiful colours, reflecting the ambient light, just like natural colour. The technology is nothing like the harsh, intrusive and more energy intensive light-emitting design solutions offered through LED, LCD or Plasma.

“Active True Colour is the foundation of a game-changing surface material and there is no better place to introduce it to the design and architecture community than the Saloni 2013,” said Ran Poliakine, chairman, Versatile, Ltd. “The potential for incorporating Active True Colour into the design of all the places we live is as infinite as the boundaries of your imagination.”

“As Active True Colour becomes a new standard for innovative, adaptive surface materials, we’re no longer going to ask what colour an object is without adding the word ‘now,'” said Eyal Cohen, CEO, Versatile, Ltd. “We’re not going to choose colour when we buy, we’ll choose colour as we go. Active True Colour opens up a colourful new world of design possibilities that can evolve based on life’s ever-changing moments in time.”

Initially, Versatile Technologies, Ltd. will partner with a select group of the world’s top designers, architects and real estate developers. Subsequently, Versatile plans to offer an electronic catalogue of stock and original colourful designs and patterns to all architects and designers seeking to work and design with this new medium. Versatile will deliver an array of architectural finishes: stone (marble, granite, etc.), wood, fabric, metals, glass, leather, sand, stucco; plus original surfaces that spring from the imaginations of designers.

How Active True Colour Works: For the layman, the foundation of the revolutionary, patented Active True Colour technology is organic chemistry. Versatile, Ltd. has pioneered and developed a proprietary, very low power technology that can be used to indefinitely change surface colours. The coloured layer of Active True Colour consists of a fluid held between transparent sheets that can selectively reflect a range of colours. The colours can be easily changed – either instantly or by fading – by applying pulses of electricity to the fluid film, which reorients the molecules of the fluid to create other colours. Active True Colour does not require any artificial, projected backlighting. Once the colour is generated, no further power is required to maintain the natural colour. Dr. David Coates, chief technology officer and the creator of Active True Colour, has
published more than 80 articles and eight scientific textbook chapters, and is named as an inventor on over 200 patents.

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by Ron Arad appeared first on Dezeen.

Milan 2013: a compact furniture production line designed by Design Academy Eindhoven alumni Thomas Vailly, Itay Ohaly and Christian Fiebig has won this year’s Frame Moooi Award.

The creators of the Impulsive Furnishing Unit were presented with the interior design award this evening in a ceremony at the Salone del Mobile in Milan.

Thomas Vailly, Itay Ohaly and Christian Fiebig’s design compresses a whole furniture factory to the size of a standardised plywood pallet so that it can be shipped and used anywhere.

“By adjusting the CNC machine to the thickness of each sheet, it will only cut one sheet at a time,” explain the designers. “As soon as the machine is finished with cutting the top sheet it will cut two holes as handles on one of the length sides of the board.

“This side of the machine can then be opened and the cut board can be pulled out. The CNC machine will smoothly drop on the next sheet to cut. If one pallet of wood is almost finished it simply has to be stacked on the next pallet, and the machine continues to cut sheet by sheet.”

The machine was used to create furniture for the C-Fabriek exhibition in the Netherlands last year, where visitors were invited to pitch in and make furniture, lighting, clothes, shoes and more on experimental production lines.

Above: Inner Fashion

The Frame Moooi Award is presented annually to furniture or lighting custom-designed for a specific public or commercial interior and the winner receives €25,000.

Above: Inner Fashion

The finalists were anonymously selected by Jana Scholze, curator of contemporary furniture and product design at the V&A museum in London.

Above: Stool Unit

Vailly is also showing a compact fashion production line designed with Laura Lynn Jansen, called Inner Fashion, and another one-man furniture factory, Stool Unit, in Milan this week at Cascina Cuccagna, Via Cuccagna 2, on the invitation of Eindhoven-based StudioKlawer.

Above: Stool Unit

We’ve previously featured a few other designs by Ohaly, including benches that have been torn or smashed into individual chairs and jewellery carved from layers of coloured paint applied to a wooden table – see all design by Itay Ohaly.

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Frame Moooi Award 2013 appeared first on Dezeen.

Gino Sarfatti is possibly the most important lighting designer in the history of Italian design. Between founding the beloved Arteluce in 1939 and selling it to Flos in 1973, the self-taught designer had over 600 lamps…

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