Waver by Konstantin Grcic for Vitra

Waver by Konstantin Grcic for Vitra

Milan 2011: industrial designer Konstantin Grcic launched this armchair inspired by windsurfing and paragliding equipment for design brand Vitra at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan.

Waver by Konstantin Grcic for Vitra

Called Waver, the design features a fabric seat hooked over the tubular backrest and suspended from the armrests by two straps.

Waver by Konstantin Grcic for Vitra

The chair swivels on a four-legged base and comes with cushions for the head and backrest.

Waver by Konstantin Grcic for Vitra

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The information below is from Vitra:


Waver Konstantin Grcic, 2011

The Waver armchair is the first collaborative project between Vitra and Konstantin Grcic. Waver embodies a new aesthetic, incorporating materials and construction principles from the outdoor sports that inspired the design.

The idea behind Waver was to deliberately use no conventional armchair typology. Outdoor sports such as windsurfing and paragliding provided inspiration – the commonalities with the lightweight yet high-performance equipment used in such sports are abundantly evident in Waver.

Waver offers a high level of sitting comfort combined with a simple technical construction. Like a paraglider in a trapeze, the user floats in a fabric-spanned seat, which is suspended inside the tubular steel frame by two belts and hung over the top.

Although the back is made of only one layer of fabric, it offers a comfortable contour thanks to its precise cut, at once supporting the body and allowing for a wide range of motion. The tubular steel frame is shaped to offer the flexibility of a cantilever chair, which when combined with a seat and neck cushion provide a level of comfort previously attainable only with conventional upholstered furnishings.

As a swivel chair with a four-star base, Waver interprets a classic type of furniture with sweeping dimensions and unconventional lightness. The energetic colourfulness of the fabrics and the clearly emphasised connecting and functional elements give Waver its sporty look and feel. Its waterproof materials make Waver ideal for use as a garden or patio chair or as an informal and economical indoor seating option.


See also:

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Netscape by
Konstantin Grcic
360° Family by
Konstantin Grcic
Interview with
Konstantin Grcic

Souviens toi que tu vas mourir by Pool at Nouvelle Vague

Souviens toi que tu vas mourir by Pool

Milan 2011: this white plastic chair shaped like a scull and designed by French studio Pool is on show as part of the Nouvelle Vague exhibition of French design in Milan this week.

Souviens toi que tu vas mourir by Pool

Called Souviens toi que tu vas mourir (Remember that you will die), the design is a reinterpretation of the ubiquitous monoblock chair.

Souviens toi que tu vas mourir by Pool

Today is the last chance to see Nouvelle Vague at the Centre Culturel Français, Palazzo delle Stelline , corso Magenta 63, 20123 Milano. See all our stories about Milan 2011 »

Souviens toi que tu vas mourir by Pool

Photographs are by Benjamin Le Du.

The information that follows is from the oganisers:


Souviens toi que tu vas mourir chair

The emblematic monobloc chair reinterpreted as an expression of vanity.

This memento mori represented by a skull acts as a leitmotiv for those who seek the comfort of a chair and the ceremonial act of being seated.

Material: fiberglass
Dimensions: L55cm W50cm H88cm
Prototype

Nouvelle Vague, the new French domestic landscape

Entitled Petite Friture, Moustache, Superette, Specimen and Goodbye Edison. Punchy and easy to remember names chosen to stand out by the plethora of new French furniture and objects editors. Difficult to believe in such a sluggish, but this is reality: France has never known such an entrepreneurial frenzy in the design world. In barely 3 years, the French design market has seen more editors emerge, but also design galleries (YMER & MALTA, Next Level Galerie, Fat Galerie, Galerie BSL, Galerie Gosserez, etc…) than over the last ten years.

In very little time, their pioneering work, production, and commercialisation of new object and furniture collections has permitted a new generation of designers to stand out and become visible. Their work has also given this new wave confidence. Now uninhibited, polyglot and entrepreneurial, they take risks, auto-produce and are opening out to the world. From amongst these numerous new faces, five obviously outstanding will be presented at this exhibition: A+A Cooren, Ionna Vautrin, Pierre Favresse, Studio Nocc and Pool.

Curator: Cédric Morisset


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Mirror Chairs
by Kai Linke
New Amsterdam Chair
by UNStudio
TransPlastic by
Campana Brothers

Rising chair

Inspired by nature and movement, a new product is realized to show what is possible to create a chair out of a flat surface giving the material the op..

Flux by Jerszy Seymour for Magis

Flux by Jerszy Seymour for Magis

Milan 2011: Berlin designer Jerszy Seymour presents this chair made from two continuous metal wires at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan this week.

Flux by Jerszy Seymour for Magis

Called Flux, the design for Italian brand Magis traces the shape of a chair in the air like a sketch.

Flux by Jerszy Seymour for Magis

The show continues until 17 April. See all our stories about Milan 2011 »

More about Jerszy Seymour on Dezeen »
More about Magis on Dezeen »

Here are some more details from Magis:


Flux design Jerszy Seymour

The flux chair is a gentle change in direction. Manipulated like a drawing in air, the wire pieces are treated each as an axis with unlimited directions representing unlimited life possibility. Liberating itself from the modernist grid, the Flux chair declares itself ‘modern modern’ by the use of simple materials, a flexible manufacturing technique and language of a human flow of energy.


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The Workshop Chair by
Jerszy Seymour
Baguette by Ronan&Erwan Bouroullec for MagisSparkling Chair by
Marcel Wanders for Magis

Pond by Nendo for Moroso

Pond by Nendo for Moroso

Milan 2011: in Milan this week Italian brand Moroso launch this set of low tables by Japanese designers Nendo, where a mirrored lower shelf reveals the patterned underside of the table top.

Pond by Nendo for Moroso

Called Pond, the clusters of mirrored surfaces are each supported on three thin metal legs.

Pond by Nendo for Moroso

The project is on show at at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile until 17 April.

Pond by Nendo for Moroso

See all our stories about Milan 2011 »

Pond by Nendo for Moroso

More about Moroso on Dezeen »
More about Nendo on Dezeen »

The information below is from Moroso:


Pond – design by Nendo
The narcissist low table.

Pond illustrates the seductive mystery of an image reflected in a mirror. The idea of a pond as seen in the table’s round shape and in its inspiration which reveals the silence of Nature, the hush of the woods and the trees in bloom reflected inside it.

The table has a simple structure: three rods raise and separate two tabletops, one decorated and upside down, the other a mirror that expands the table’s heigh and depth. But the idea behind this design conceals a particularly fascinating design study.

In fact Pond embodies the dualism of right and reverse as a symbol of nature/earth (light and dark( and of reflected images (which reproduce but are also projected) within a reciprocal relationship involving an enigmatic vision of space and an aesthetic recreated in the decoration.

Available in painted steel, the Pond low table is the perfect addition to any interior.


See also:

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Transparent Collection by
Nendo
Bamboo-steel chair by
Nendo
Wire-chair by
Nendo

Belgium is Design

A group show of Belgian design’s witty practicality in Milan

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Belgium is Design is the slogan under which three Belgian design organizations have banded together to present local creativity at Milan Design week. The effort has brought 34 exhibitors, well-known designers, emerging talents and companies to several locations throughout Milan.

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The program 101% Designed in Brussels promotes Brussels-based designers that show a great deal of promise and innovation. Every year, they introduce designers to international fairs, thanks to a joint initiative of Designed in Brussels and a trade association formed in 2007. The five designers this year—Julien De Smedt, Benoît Deneufbourg, Corentin Dombrecht, Vanessa Hordies and Julien Renault—are exhibiting their most iconic creations in Milan, following a showing in Stockholm. A retrospective is also showing the 25 designers who have been selected since 2007.

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Another exhibit, “Lightness,” consists of a selection of products, prototypes and limited-editions about light and grace. The included products share a special focus on daily life, storytelling, reflections on functions and functionality, visual or tactile perception, environmental impact and design ethics.

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At Salone Satellite, the Wallonie-Bruxelles Design/Mode is showing a choice of eight young designers from Wallonia and Brussels, some of whom (Antonin Bachet and Linda Topic, as well as Adeline Beaudry and Florine Giet) are having their first taste of an international fair, while others (Raphaël Charles, Loïc Detry/Vertige de lʼAjour, Dustdeluxe, Emmanuel Gardin/Krizalid Studio and Stuut) are more experienced and well-known.

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While all the products under the “Belgium is Design” banner vary, from lamps to stools and from furniture to small objects, they all share a light touch, concretized in light shapes, essential functions and a bit of irony—in pure Belgian style.

For a selection of our favorites, see the gallery below.


Grinza by the Campana brothers for Edra

Grinza by Fernando and Humberto Campana for Edra

Milan 2011: Brazilian designers Fernando and Humberto Campana present this wrinkly armchair for Italian brand Edra at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan this week.

Grinza by Fernando and Humberto Campana for Edra

Called Grinza, the design has a steel frame covered in polyurethane foam and folds of leather or fur.

The show continues unto 17 April. See all our stories about Milan 2011 »

Here’s a bit of text from Edra:


“Grinza” armchair, design Fernando and Humberto Campana

The Campana brothers, in their years with Edra, have always considered the material with which each piece is realized as a value unto itself.

From the wooden slats of the Favela chair, to the long strands of raffia of the Cabana container, to the curved stainless steel of the Corallo chair or the 120 meters of velvet tubing of the Boa sofa. And now there’s Grinza, which has a steel tube frame and polyurethane padding, with great expanses of leather or eco-fur draped softly over the structure.


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Scrigno by the
Campana brothers
Barbarians by the
Campana brothers
Peneira by the
Campana brothers

Elos Table

The “Elos” Table is formed by independent pieces that allows the user to try different configurations according to the ambient where the f..

Clamp-a-Leg

Clamp-a-Leg consists of a wooden furniture leg threaded into a simple metal clamp, allowing people to quickly transform any flat surface into a functi..

Foliage by Patricia Urquiola for Kartell

Foliage by Patricia Urquiola for Kartell

Milan 2011: Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola presents this quilted sofa with a plastic frame at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan this week.

Foliage by Patricia Urquiola for Kartell

Called Foliage, the design features branching thermoplatic legs and a polyurethane foam seat covered in stretchy fabric stitched with a leaf-shaped motif.

Foliage by Patricia Urquiola for Kartell

The show is open until 17 April. See all our stories about Milan 2011 »

Foliage by Patricia Urquiola for Kartell

More about Patricia Urquiola on Dezeen »
More about Kartell on Dezeen »

The information that follows is from Kartell:


Dialogue between natural realities and artificial Foliage, the sofa clearly bears the graphic hallmark of Patricia Urquiola as an object that looks as if it just grew naturally in plastic. The leaves form a crown resting on a framework of branches which virtually form a seat. Foliage is a sofa with great personality featuring a seat with top-stitched embroidery on four round legs. Cosy and soft, Foliage offers two roomy seats. The top-stitching runs over the entire surface and on the back too making the sofa a standalone piece that can be placed even in the centre of a room and seen from all sides.

Design: Patricia Urquiola
Material: Frame – batch dyed technopolymer thermoplatic
Seat – polyurethane foam padding with quilted elastic fabric covering
Size: L. 185 cm, H. 90 cm, D. 90 cm
Colours: red fabric, cream frame; cream fabric, acid green frame; green fabric, black frame; petrol blue fabric, hazelnut frame; sugar bag blue fabric, red frame; black fabric, cream frame; sand fabric, cream frame; acid green fabric, red frame


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Quilt by Ronan and
Erwan Bouroullec
Ruché by Inga Sempé
for Ligne Roset
Sofa Lamp by CuldeSac
and Héctor Serrano