Greek designer Yiannis Ghikas has created a 3D-printedvase with a ribbed surface decoration inspired by science fiction special effects that show creatures moving under a person’s skin.
Starting with the outline of an archetypal vase, Athens-based designer Ghikas added a three-dimensional decoration to one side to create the impression of something pushing through the surface from inside.
“I was always impressed while watching science fiction movies when a foreign organism or a parasite was moving underneath the skin of a human being, altering its smooth surface with its own form,” said Ghikas.
The use of 3D printing enabled the designer to create a shape that transitions from a smooth to a ribbed surface.
Ghikas added that the shape also references the metallic blades that emerge from beneath the skin on the hands of comic book character Wolverine.
“I wanted to incorporate these striking movie images discreetly in this specific object, adding a ‘mutation’ that gradually appears and disappears and aesthetically disturbs its smooth surface,” the designer explained.
The ridges increase in depth towards the middle of the vase, enhancing the sense of its surface being stretched from within.
The vase is printed from ABS plastic by 3D printing firm Shapeways.
“We were already using waste material for our products, but there are always little bits of extruded material left over so we wanted to use those too,” the designer told Dezeen.
The vases are made in the same way as the chair, by building up layers of melted polystyrene extruded from a nozzle connected to a robotic arm.
The colour of each vase is determined by the material put into the hopper and can change gradually from one layer to the next. “Because we use our waste bin as material, each vase is uniquely coloured,” explained the designer.
Each vase is a deliberately distorted take on the profile of a traditional vase. The result is a unique perspective that changes depending on where the viewer stands.
The vases come in two sizes: 40 by 49 centimetres or 50 by 66 centimetres. The former weighs five kilograms, the latter seven.
The Changing Vase forms part of Kooij’s latest series, called New Babylon. All of the items utilise the same process Kooij developed while studying at The Design Academy Eindhoven.
Sourcing waste material from fridge recycling centres in the Netherlands, fragments of polystyrene are melted into a consistent thread which can be printed into different shapes without the used of moulds, instead extruding them layer by layer.
Kooij has used the technique to print rocking chairs, dining chairs, tables, lights and even coat hangers. His Endless Chair was one of the winners at the 2011 DMY Awards in Berlin.
Israeli ceramicist Michal Fargo produces these vases by ripping blocks of spongy foam into rough shapes before dipping them in porcelain and firing them (+ slideshow).
Vase from the original Else collection
Michal Fargo developed the unusual technique used to make her Else collection as a way of avoiding parting lines and pouring points that determine the conventional ceramic casting process.
Vase from the original Else collection
“The idea was to create different surfaces in ceramics, to find something interesting and diverse and in some ways more authentic,” said Fargo in a video about the project.
Detail of vase from the original Else collection
The Rock vases, which form part of the Naturelike collection developed for Spanish limited edition brand PCM, are made by tearing chunks from foam blocks until they take on the shape of vessels with a random natural appearance on their internal and external surfaces.
Else Rock Vases from the Naturelike collection
After dipping them in liquid porcelain with a coloured stain, the vases are fired in an outdoor kiln to harden the material while retaining the porous surface detail of the foam.
Foam shapes used to create the Else collection. Photograph by Sasha Flit.
“I was really bored with mould-making and having all these clear, smooth surfaces so I started sculpting in sponge and then just dipping it and firing it,” explained Fargo. “Afterwards I started trying to do some other things like casting into sponge blocks.”
Else Moss Vases from the Naturelike collection
Other pieces in the Naturelike collection are produced using rubber moulds cast inside rough foam shapes. Resin poured into the moulds preserves the bubbly texture of the foam as it sets.
Else Coral Vases from the Naturelike collection
The resin is coloured to give the Coral vases their distinct bright-red hue, and the Moss pieces their subtle green shade.
Vase from the original Else collection
As well as her hands, Fargo uses a small saw and a Japanese knife to carve out organic shapes with different textural surfaces.
Vase from the original Else collection
The Rock vases and centrepiece bowl have been produced as one-offs as the foam shapes used to create them are destroyed during the firing process, while the Coral and Moss designs are made in limited editions.
Stockholm 2014: the delicate glass base of this vase by German designer Hanne Willmann contrasts with a concrete cover that supports the stems of flowers.
The top section of Berlin-based Willmann‘s vase is balanced on a straight-sided cylindrical glass vessel.
“With the Willmann Vase my ambition was to play with contrasts and the fragility of glass,” Willmann told Dezeen. “The concrete is set above the glass, so you can only see the stalk of the flowers.”
The lid narrows towards the top to support flowers placed in the vase, and can be removed to make it easier to clean the two parts.
“The shape of the concrete cover was a result of the need to hold a flower bouquet together,” explained Willmann. “I also wanted to emphasise the roughness and coldness of the strong concrete with a simple and straight shape. The glass appears even more fragile this way and makes a great contrast.”
Willmann used a polyconcrete composite to manufacture the cover. This material combines cement with a polymer binder that provides reinforcement while enabling it to be cast in reduced thicknesses. In the case of the lid, the wall thickness is just five millimetres.
The designer sketched several options for the height and diameter of the two parts and produced prototypes of the shape on a lathe that were used to create a plaster mould.
The vase was presented at the Maison&Objet design fair in Paris last month by Danish design brand, Menu, and is currently on show at the Stockholm Furniture Fair.
This vase by London designer Lambert Rainville supports flowers in a free-standing arrangement by holding their stems halfway up.
The prototype Crown Vase comprises a clear plastic ring of triangular funnels that sits halfway up the stems of flowers with sturdy stalks.
Each stem sits at an angle, balanced out by those leaning the other way on the opposite side of the circle.
“The flowers are treated as part of the vase and not just the content,” said Lambert Rainville. “Making the most of the structural capabilities of the stems reveals the complete beauty of flowers.”
The arrangement can be placed on a dish of water for fresh cut flowers or straight onto a table top for dried flowers.
Rainville was born in Montreal and lives in London, where he is studying for an MA in Design Products at the Royal College of Art.
This lapel pin by Israeli designer Omer Polak incorporates a miniature vase to hold tiny blooms (+ slideshow).
Polak‘s Boutonnière, French for buttonhole, the design allows the wearer to attach a real flower to their clothing with enough water to keep it looking fresh all day.
Each blown-glass vessel has a curved bottom and is attached with a simple brass pin and the user can choose their own combination of flowers or herbs, for visual appeal but also in order to wear a particular scent.
The accessory is a continuation of Polak’s graduation project called S-sense, which was based on the story of a person who has never experienced the sense of smell before.
“Smell is vital in our everyday lives,” said the designer. “It is a major component in our sense of taste and it has a wonderful ability to create memories and bring them to the forefront of our consciousness.”
Here’s a movie about that project:
Here is some more information from the designer:
Lapel pin for flower which is a side effect of my Graduation project S-sense – a project that combines designing and neuroscience. The project introduces a research on the sense of smell and its uses. Many case studies in this field were gathered into a story of anosmic character, who’s never experienced the sense of smell before.
First, she learns to smell with an odour-learning device that operates as biofeedback. Subsequently, she combines smells in her own world and amplifies them by designated jewelries in order to influence social situations. Moreover, she studies her past by restoration of her memories through smells.
Since the beginning of mankind, flowers were used for various purposes including decoration and camouflage. Many flowers and their scents have gained recognition and appreciation and were attributed to different qualities. A decorative flower in a breast pocket is a cultural characteristic that traveled to the early twentieth century as a manly decoration symbolising wealth and male fertility.
Boutonnière – a lapel pin for flower made out of glass and brass – contains water to keep the flower fresh all day long. Apart from being pleasing to the eye, the flower also spreads its smell while being worn. It’s suitable for a wedding, prom or any special event. By choosing the flowers you can give your own interpretation and you can use different variations of colours and odours in the flowers’ arrangement. It’s also nice and unique to use some herbs for decoration and perfumes.
Six limited-edition vases were created by Milan designers Studiopepe for a window installation in central London based on the work of postmodern designer Ettore Sottass (+ slideshow).
The vases with asymmetric handles were specially customised in a range of hand-painted graphic patterns and bright monotone colours.
So Sottsass featured a number of works by contemporary designers that referenced forms and patterns used in Ettore Sottsass’ work during the mid twentieth century.
Darkroom is a design accessories shop curated by Rhonda Drakeford and Lulu Roper-Caldbeck.
Here is more information from Darkroom:
This is Sottsass with a twist, so expect a sculptural array of hand-painted laminate-style patterns, colour palettes that clash cute with crazy, and juxtaposed materials that push the boundaries between furniture and fashion, plus jewellery that double as objets d’art, and textiles, cushions, stationery and bags.
Visionary and contrary, throughout his life Sottsass worked across many disciplines, and his influence can be found everywhere from high fashion to office furniture in the second half of the 20th century.
From the iconic Valentine typewriter for Olivetti, to the subversively kitschy furniture of the Memphis group, Sottsass enlivened the functionality of ordinary objects, while pushing the boundaries of current tastes and creating new paradigms for future design.
For our So Sottsass season, Darkroom will be drawing on the designer’s bright and playful palette from his time with the legendary Memphis Group, and we’ll also be finding inspiration from the rough-edged modernism of his early ceramics.
London Design Festival 2013:Mexican designer Liliana Ovalle is presenting a series of clay vessels based on the geological phenomenon of sinkholes as part of a group show at Gallery Libby Sellers in London.
Ovalle based the irregular shapes of the vessels on the idea of sinkholes forming below ground, creating voids that the ground suddenly disappears into.
“The black vessels stand as a representation of the geological phenomena of sinkholes, a portrayal of those voids that emerge abruptly from the ground, dissolving their surroundings into an irretrievable space,” said Ovalle.
Individually made oak frames that represent a cross section of the ground support the vessels, whose open ends interrupt the flat surfaces on top of the frames.
To produce the clay pieces, Ovalle worked with Colectivo 1050º, a group of artists, designers and makers in Oaxaca, Mexico, that supports artisanal skills currently facing the threat of extinction.
“By making reference to different process of extinction, the Sinkhole project aims to reflect and extend the permanence of what seems to be inevitably falling into a void,” explained Ovalle.
The vases are shaped by hand using tools such as corn cobs and pieces of leather and the blackened finish is achieved by exposing the fired clay to an open flame.
The project is being exhibited as part of a group show called Grandmateria III at Gallery Libby Sellers during the London Design Festival, and will continue to be shown until 5 October 2013.
Foam models were documented and sent to the ceramists in Tlapazola, Oaxaca.
The Sinkhole project is the result of a collaboration between Liliana Ovalle and Colectivo 1050º.
The black vessels stand as a representation of the geological phenomena of sinkholes, a portrayal of those voids that emerge abruptly from the ground, dissolving their surroundings into an irretrievable space.
Bi-dimensional drawings were translated with the aid of measured wooden sticks.
Each vessel is suspended in a wooden frame, alluding to a cross section of the ground that reveals the hidden topographies.
Alberta and Dorotea mold the the vessels using the ¨cone” tecnique. The clay is molded on plates balanced on rocks and then spun by hand.
The clay shapes, based in local archetypes for utilitarian pottery, are crafted by ceramists from Tlapazola, Oaxaca using ancestral techniques and skills that are struggling to find a place in the contemporary global landscape.
Once the pieces were dried and fired for a first time, a second “open” fire was made to blacken out the vessels.
By making reference to different process of extinction, the Sinkhole project aims to reflect and extend the permanence of what seems to be inevitably falling into a void.
The tones and gradients of each vessel were controlled by exposing them directly to the flame or the burning ashes. The “blackening” process lasts approximately one hour.
Sinkhole Vessels will be showcased at the exhibition Grandmateria III, at Gallery Libby Sellers, during the London Design Festival.
Final fitting of the ceramic pieces into the oak frames.
Velčovský produced the Snow Vases by moulding snow into vase forms and then casting them in plaster – a technique he describes as “lost-snow casting”.
The vases were created over three winters, from 2010 to 2012, using different types of snow collected at different locations.
Velčovský, founder of Prague design studio Qubus, describes making vases out of snow as “a casting of water that we perpetually try to close into containers”.
“I took snow and modelled the vases,” Velčovský explained to Dezeen. “Then you pour plaster on the snow. Plaster gets warm when hardening, so the snow melts and you get the mould. Into the mould I poured porcelain slip, so by slip casting I got the shape of the snow.”
“This technique can be called ‘lost-snow casting’,” he adds. “It is limited edition as the mould breaks after several casts.”
Velčovský made one vase each winter and produced a limited edition of fifteen vases from each mould.
The vases, created for Prague gallery Křehký, will be shown at west London design store Mint from today until 30 September as part of the London Design Festival.
Here’s some more info about the vases from Velčovský:
Snow Vase for Křehký Gallery
Maxim Velčovský molded vases from snow and casted their shape in plaster for three consecutive years (2010, 2011, 2012). Thus, various types of snow from various locations gave birth to a unique collection of vases.
Their molds are imprinted with time, plus solidification and melting processes that often counteracted. Designed exclusively for the Křehký gallery, the Snow Vase limited edition of 15 pieces has just been presented there.
“I am more and more interested in the moment of ephemerality. I thought that frozen water would be an ideal material for exploring that moment,” says Maxim Velčovský. “You wait for the material to fall down from the sky and then model a shape. You are cold, your hands are freezing, and then the vase melts and vanishes or you manage to capture it in a different form of water combined with plaster. The entire process and all its aspects are very fascinating.
“For instance, the fact that you can mold a vase from snow only in a specific moment and in a specific part of the planet, or water circulation that is ever-present in the process even after the process is over and the vase becomes a water container. Initially, I only wanted to make an abstract object, but then I thought it would be more interesting to make an object in the context of design that would, in essence, be a casting of water that we perpetually try to close into containers.”
Milan 2013: Japanese design studio Nendo has unveiled a collection of glass vases inspired by patchwork quilts at the Dilmos Gallery in Milan this week.
Nendo created the vases by reheating a variety of glass objects decorated with traditional cut glass patterns, slicing them open and then rearranging the pieces. “As a manner of making, the process was like sewing together animal hides, or piecing together small fragments of cloth to create a great patchwork quilt,” say the designers.
Patchwork Glass Vases, for Czech glassware brand Lasvit, are on show at the Dilmos Gallery, Piazza San Marco 1 until 14 April.
The Patchwork Glass collection also includes a pendant lamp, made using the same production technique, which is on show at Lasvit’s exhibition at Via Stendhal 35.
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