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An essential structure which is completed with different covers, a kind of dress to choose depending on your taste, distinguishes the “Grace” chair by..

Milan 2013: a map of genetic code generated the forms of a table and sculpture on show at Dutch studio Tjep.’s stand at Ventura Lambrate in Milan.

Produced with Netherlands-based company Dutch DNA, Tjep. has utilised gene mapping to create patterns that can be manipulated with specially designed software, producing forms that can be translated into furniture pieces.

To create the DNA map, a sample was taken from the saliva of Dutch contemporary dancer Giulia Wolthuis, whose father Eric founded Dutch DNA. “The process starts with a simple and very established genetic profiling test, the same that’s used by the police or in parental tests,” Tjep. founder Frank Tjepkema told Dezeen.

Analysis completed at a laboratory in Holland is fed into a program that charts the data, then the lines are built up into 3D forms. “The mapping process is based on a designated design map that we put together ourselves,” said Tjepkema. “We map the unique genetic markers, which are essentially numbers, against design points and then can use a range of modelling tools to visualise the patterns and create the final forms.”

As everyone’s DNA is unique, the patterns created by mapping the genes of individuals will each be slightly different and could be used to create personal furniture pieces. Wolthuis’ sample was used for the sculptural glass-topped Darwin table, which was milled on a CNC router, and the Torus sculpture, which was 3D printed from resin. Both pieces are finished in lacquer: the table in white and the sculpture in pink.

Tjep. is also showing a dining booth inspired by old train compartments and a chair with legs like ice skates at Ventura Lambrate, which continues until Sunday.

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Read on for more information from Tjep.:

Tjep. introduces DutchDNA and the world’s first DNA driven furniture designs.

Dutch design house Tjep. introduces Dutch DNA and the launch of the world’s first DNA furniture and jewellery collection at Milan’s International Furniture Fair in April.

DNA is the life code, representing every unique aspect of mankind and the living world. This pattern is what enables everyone to become the people they are. Dutch DNA enables people to capture this life essence in a timeless mode. Offering people the opportunity to visualize this individual expression of life, this most unique of patterns, through exclusive jewelry, furniture and home accessories.

Above: Giulia Wolthuis with the Darwin table and Torus sculpture created using her DNA

Tjep., who are exhibiting in the Ventura Lambrate area of Milan, will crown their new collection with this ultimate expression of design individualism. “There is no limit to the extent of personal expression that can be modeled through our own DNA – it is the unique record of who we are, but also where we came from and connects us to our past,” says Tjep. founder and lead designer Frank Tjepkema. “Your home is a personal reflection of self, now we can offer people the most intimate reflection of our innate identity to embellish and decorate this environment.”

The first display pieces are made from Giulia Wolthuis’s DNA. Giulia is a Dutch contemporary dance performer and model, and daughter of Eric Wolthuis, the founder of Dutch DNA. Dance sits at the pinnacle of human achievement, a resplendent art form showcasing human endeavor: a fusion of will, passion, and pure physical ability. To capture and express Giulia’s life, Dutch DNA samples her life code and through the language of design translates Giulia’s distinguishing genetic characteristics into visual forms. Based on Dutch design house Tjep.’s compositions, these beautiful and haunting forms capture the organic, dynamic and eloquent essence of human life. This is then expressed through jewelry, home accessories, sculptures and furniture. The Darwin table is crafted through precision 3D milling and hand-finished in the Netherlands by the same artisans that create Joris Laarman’s furniture.

Eric Wolthuis initiated the investigation into how genetic patterns could augment design. “I first looked at jewelry, which is very personal, but knew there was more. Furniture is a natural extension of our desire to create original and personal habitats; what is more personal than modeling your home through your own DNA?”

The DNA patterns used to form designs can be anyone’s. Just like nature, combinations can also be used to create a unique articulation of a couple’s love or a family’s remembrance. “I see two lovers creating unique artefacts for their shared home that is truly a conjoint reflection of both individuals,” notes Frank Tjepkema.

Eric, who has commissioned designs based on his daughter’s, his wife’s and his own genetic patterns, states “Seeing yourself and your family visualized in this way is very powerful, it’s a deeply emotional way of embodying everything that they represent to you.”

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and Dutch DNA appeared first on Dezeen.

Memoir is a wall hanging system inspired by classic accordion style coat racks. Essential yet smoothly elegant, this mix of geometric lines and round ..

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: we’ll be rounding up our highlights from each major design district in Milan as the week unfolds, starting with Dezeen editor Rose Etherington’s choice of new furniture and lighting at the Salone.

Scroll on for the hottest launches from international furniture brands at Salone Internazionale del Mobile, lighting firms at Euroluce and young designers at SaloneSatellite, plus an installation on office design by Jean Nouvel at Salone Ufficio.

Check out Dezeen’s map of Milan 2013 to find all the best parties, exhibitions and talks around town or see all our stories about design at Milan 2013.

Salone Internazionale del Mobile

Rem Koolhaas’ firm OMA created the scenography for American brand Knoll, with sheer white curtains encircling the new range of sofas by Londoners BarberOsgerby (above).

Moroso’s colourful stand based on a tangram puzzle was devised by Patricia Urquiola and features three new products by the Spanish designer, including the felt Mafalda chair and the Mathilda chair with a backrest wrapped in natural rushes (above).

Other highlights in the extensive new collection include a modular furniture system called Bikini Island by Werner Aisslinger (pictured top) and a rounded chair called Dumbo by Polish designer Tomek Rygalik (above).

The Magis stand packs in prototypes of a large looping rotational-moulded bench named Folly by Ron Arad (above), an extending table that rolls out on big wheels at one end by Philippe Starck, the Theca sideboard by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec and a tangled wire-frame chair by Konstantin Grcic called Traffic (below).

Grcic seems to be everywhere: with US brand Emeco he presents his Parrish chair (below), first created for Herzog & de Meuron’s Parrish Art Museum and now in production, for BD Barcelona Design he presents his B Bench based on the famous Barcelona Chair – alongside outdoor furniture by Jaime Hayon – and for Mattiazzi he’s showing a stool to match the Medici chair he launched with the Italian brand this time last year.

Mattiazzi also presents wooden chairs based on camping furniture by Jasper Morrison and a three-legged high stool by Industrial Facility.

Additionally, Morrison has a stacking aluminium chair called Village and a new folding version of his Park Life chair (above) on show with Spanish brand Kettal.

Hella Jongerius brings her expertise with colour to the Vitra stand, where she’s applied a new palette to Jean Prouve’s Standard chair (above) and the Eames’ Hang it All coat hooks. She also shows a ring of swatches called the Daylight Wheel, demonstrating how our perception of colour changes throughout the day.

Kartell’s presentation mimics a galleria and features plastic stools based on cut-crystal glasses (above) by Japanese designer Tokujin Yoshioka plus a sofa by Philippe Starck that the brand claims is the largest injection-moulded piece in the world.

Euroluce

Above image is by Mark Cocksedge

The Euroluce lighting show takes place alongside the Salone del Mobile and it’s the Italian brands that stand out. Key product launches this year include Shade by Paul Cocksedge for Flos (above), which uses an LED light source on the floor to illuminate the shade hanging from almost invisible wires above.

On the Foscarini stand, new pieces include Lightwing by Jean-Marie Massaud (above), which uses a wing or sail-shaped reflector to soften or direct the LED light source, and the bubble-like Yoko by Anderssen & Voll (below). Slamp has new lamps by designers including Nigel Coates and Zaha Hadid.

Oluce, one of the oldest Italian lighting companies, shows the Semplice lamp by Industrial Facility with a glass base wrapped round the beam of light, while Luceplan presents Ascent lamp by Daniel Rybakken, dimmed by pushing the shade down the stem.

Salone Ufficio

The centrepiece of the Salone Ufficio office furniture exhibition is Jean Nouvel’s Office for Living installation (below), where visitors have the sensation of being transported from a dark cylindrical hall into workspaces in a skyscraper, period house or converted industrial warehouse, depending on which door they choose to enter.

The installation also features a glimpse into the workspaces of designers including Philippe Starck and Marc Newson, and a new range of colour-changing furniture by Ron Arad (below).

SaloneSatellite

SaloneSatellite is the area at Salone where the young designers and brands present their work to the industry. Our favourites this year were mostly lighting and included Studio Vit’s ceramic lights with big bowls as reflectors (above), Samuel Treindl’s cabinets from Ikea cut up to create lamps as extensions and Thomas Schnur’s Rubber Lamps (below).

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Salone appeared first on Dezeen.