Hasta La Ideas

L’illustrateur équatorien Javier Pérez apporte un peu de joie sur Instagram en jouant avec les choses du quotidien pour dessiner et représenter une scène. Un Oreo se transforme en globe terrestre ou une piqûre devient un moustique. Des petites scènes pleines d’imagination et de finesse.

A contemporary take on the traditional seat of Spain by celebrated designer Oscar Tusquets Blanca for Expormim

Common in traditional Spanish furniture design, rattan is often overlooked by contemporary designers. Going against the stigma, famed designer Oscar Tusquets Blanca worked with Spanish furniture maker Expormim to create the rattan-based Fontal Family. After releasing a beautiful side chair earlier this year, the pair launched the Rattan 2012…

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Light permeates this civic hall designed by Magén Arquitectos in southern Spain through blocks of alabaster in the facade.

The building is constructed from translucent alabaster and opaque limestone that were extracted from native quarries.

The harsh geometry contrasts with the warmer, softer bamboo finish that can be found in the more significant internal spaces where the delegates gather.

White stone walls allude to the sobriety and plainness of traditional Iberian vernacular as well as referencing material groups from local quarries.

Three bands organise the spaces: the first and second hold the access, lobby, management and adminstration spaces while the third band holds less public spaces such as the auditorium and classrooms.

Photography is by Pedro Pegenaute

Here are some more details from Magen Arquitectos:

The Bajo Martin County is formed by nine historic populations in Teruel, located in the basin of the River Martin. Alabaster, which is extracted from quarries in the area, is one of its main resources, dedicated to both the export and cultural promotion, through routes, meeting craft and art activities, organized annually by the Center for Integrated Development of Alabaster.

The site is located on the outskirts of Hijar, capital of the county, along the national highway N-232 and the old abandoned silo. It was a dysfunctional urban environment, including existing industrial buildings, and the front of residential townhouses, just across the road.

The absence of urban qualities in the environment legitimizes a certain autonomous condition of the building, rising from the land to form a unified solution, clear and compact. Therefore, the necessary link of building and place, reinforced by its institutional character, not articulated from urban relationships with the immediate environment, but from references to geographical landscape, history and culture, present in their external configuration. The group of carved volumes on local materials -stone and alabaster, alludes, in an abstract and geometric way, to stone groups that occur in quarries in the area. The stone surfaces, opaque or translucent, exhibit materials and expressive features of alabaster in relation to the day or night lighting.

The ordered group volumes in the outside, compact, heavy and massive, is poured inside. The space pierces and perforates the solid volume, producing a dynamic system of voids, connected visually and spatially, diagonally, linking the three floors and articulating the circulation spaces, access and meeting. The continuity with the outside material and the presence of natural light into the interior through various gaps, strengthen the condition of the interior space as empty excavated, drawn from the section as a fundamental tool of the project.

The functional organization of the project is divided into three bands constructed parallel to the path. The first is the plenary hall access and, second, the lobby and areas of management and administration, and third, to the auditorium and classrooms. The distribution of plants distinguishes between the more public areas at ground and first floors, and more related to internal management and work in the second. In contrast to the stone walls inside the bamboo wood finish in the most significant spaces such as the plenary hall, underscores its public, institutional and representative.

Five more-than-meets-the-eye designs for the patio

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With summer in full swing, poolside patio chic just got that much more appealing with Spain’s top designers on deck to transcend pedestrian lounge sets into sleek and functional furnishings. Turning outdoor furniture into an inward meditation on minimalism and ingenuity, Spanish artisans craft dual-function designs that are as much at home overlooking the Mediterranean coast as they are eying the cityscape from a rooftop terrace.

In celebration of its 50th anniversary, furniture design firm Expormim opened a new showroom featuring outdoor furniture that captures the “Mediterranean way of life.” Both playful and utilitarian, a standout piece is the Ulah, created by Mut Design. The unique seesaw chair is crafted out of woven polyester that serves as a comfortable rocker and as a conveniently collapsible, stackable unit.

Valencia’s Vondom evolves modern furniture design into multi-purpose function with its flowerpot-cum-table series. Created for Vondom’s Moma collection, designer Javier Mariscal customized three table models that accommodate both vegetation and varying degrees of comfort for situational seating (lounging, lunching or standing).

Heating up the innovation of outdoor furniture is Spanish label, Kettal, with its Zig Zag Fire Pit created by Emiliana Design. Doubling as a coffee table or barbecue, this aluminum and mesh-woven design makes for a versatile veranda centerpiece.

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Spanish lifestyle brand Point creates modular reinventions of the wicker standard for outdoor décor. With its mobile table-slash-tray, Point seamlessly merges the craftsmanship of contemporary ingenuity with nostalgic charm.

Inspired by his background in textiles, renowned designer José Gandía experimented with materials and shapes to interpret open-space recreation. Taking outdoor furnishings indoors, Gandia encapsulated the patio experience with his glass-enclosed pavilion titled The Cristal Box that combines a porch and pergola for an all-in-one outdoor living room. Constructed of thermolacquered aluminum and wood, The Cristal Box invites backyard basking all year round.

Interiors From Spain details the latest in Spanish design from upcoming products to project highlights.

Playful minimalism in the work of a well-rounded Spanish designer

Spanish designer JM Ferrero recently sat down during ICFF to discuss his singular vision in the areas of lighting, furniture, interior design and textiles. With a miniature version of his first lamp pinned to his sweater, I quickly learned that Ferrero (who’s helmed his own studio since 2003) might be serious about his work but he always adds a touch of underlying humor. His thoughtful approach even comes through in the naming of his atelier. Called estudi{H}ac, the silent “H” isn’t pronounced in Spanish, but without it the word doesn’t make sense. Ferrero chalks this up to the way he designs, weaving important design details into the overall scheme to the point they’re unnoticeable.

The industrious designer calls what he does “bespoke projects,” because no matter the client or field he’s working within, he customizes every design and experience. Rather than repeat work, he instead chooses to work with a new set of challenges for each project. But he does of course have some tendencies. Repeating patterns show up often, such as in the Tea collection he designed for the family-run furniture brand Sancal. Following the molecular structure of tea, Ferrero plays with the hexagonal quilted pattern in a series of chairs, couches and wall coverings—which can also double as a headboard.

His understanding of textile design stems from earlier work he did after graduating from college. Ferrero, originally from Valencia, moved to Barcelona and first worked with renowned designer Oscar Tusquets before joining the team at textile design firm Manterol, where he developed graphics and packaging. This experience not only laid the foundation for a keen interest in fabrics, but the packaging and graphic design side seemingly aided to his overall ability to design a concept from top to bottom. For SIE7E Jewels Gallery, Ferrero designed the jewelry brand’s boutique, website and most recently a collection of small home accessories using the reconfigured “7” he conceived.

The collection spans desk caddies to serving trays and includes a shoe horn, an object with personal meaning for Ferrero. A slight shoe fanatic (he wore leather Paul Smith oxfords with playful socks when we met), Ferrero takes photos of his feet in front of meaningful places around the world during his travels, which hang on the wall of his studio and serve as a conversational starting point for explaining his design inspiration. For example, the Tea collection reflects how much he enjoyed the afternoon tea experience during his years living in London.

One of his favorite countries to spend time in is Japan. Designing colorfully simple indoor and outdoor furniture along with conceptual bath fixtures that express the Japanese lifestyle, Ferrero also won Toyota Japan’s competition to design the interior of a new car. Honing in on the fact that for many, a car is an extension of their personality, his approach was to allow customers to personalize the car’s interior using a mix-and-match assortment of upholstery choices and colors. This has led estudi{H}ac a permanent place as a collaborator on interiors with Toyota’s European Studio.

While his first lamp, dubbed “Sister Lamp” was a playful nod to ’60s nuns with their oversized caps as the shade and a long rosary as the chain, his most recent lighting project for Vondom is a slightly glossier concept. Initially conceiving a collection of giant pot planters ideal for upscale hotel patios, when Ferrero presented the plans to Valencia-based Vondom they noticed a drawing where he had turned the shape upside down into a floor lamp, and commissioned the young designer to continue the series.

For Valencia’s new gastro bar, Cuina al Quadrat, Ferrero designed a space centered around the woven baskets women carry to the local food market—a symbol of the restaurant’s desire to deliver a high-quality menu at a reasonable price. The warm earth tones present an inviting environment, and the simple decor of plants and fruits allow the food to speak for itself.

Sincere and extremely hopeful for the future of Spanish design, JM Ferrero’s estudi{H}ac demonstrates the wide range of potential one studio can possess when focused on exploring new materials, styles and projects.

The Audi Icons series, inspired by the all-new Audi A7, showcases 16 leading figures united by their dedication to innovation and design.