Hasta La Ideas

In this game of chess created by designer Florian Hauswirth of Switzerland, pieces that are taken can be stacked to create new pieces with combined abilities.

Called Democratic Chess, the maple set can be used either as a traditional chess set or played according to Hauswirth’s rules.

The design was presented at Ventura Lambrate in Milan last month as part of a presentation entitled Trattoria Utopia by design collective Postfossil.

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Here are some more details from Hauswirth:

Democratic Chess – Postfossil Trattoria Utopia Collection 2011

The game of chess as model for a utopian society

The scenario described by a traditional chess set consists of a monarchy with entourage including a castle/city, soldiers/knights and pawns/people. It is a game of strategy, whereby planning for the next move is essential.

Chess – ‘The Royal Game’ – has been played since time immemorial in the most varied cultures from India to Persia, Russia, to the Vikings. Nowadays, computers are increasingly playing alongside chess masters.

Democratic Chess is a new interpretation of the traditional chess game. Not only the form, but also the function of the figures has been re-interpreted, which means that the flow and content of the game can change. Democratic Chess increases the unpredictability of the game, creating totally new and surprising situations.

New ways of playing are made possible by the shape of the figures. Pieces taken are not eliminated but stacked, thus creating new figures, which have more abilities. For example, a knight or even a second queen can be made from several pawns etc.

Democratic Chess can be played in one of three ways:

• normal chess (monarchy) with the traditional rules
• the new, democratic chess, with flexible values and play scenarios
• A constructive children’s game

Material: maple wood, in coloured varnish

POSTFOSSIL sets up its exhibition ‘Trattoria Utopia’ during the Milan Furniture Fair (12 -17 April 2011) in Ventura Lambrate.

The objects exhibited in the exhibition ‘Trattoria Utopia’ provoke discussion, encourage questions and allow new utopias to arise. The interaction in the space is central, as is the exchange between visitors and designers. Trattoria Utopia ventures a peek at the future, suggests possible scenarios and combines these with impossible ones. Visions are presented, but developed together with visitors. Trattoria Utopia is a meeting place that invites one to spend time, make discoveries and to contemplate.

The collection ranges from cutlery, crockery, seating to toys: Objects that can be found in a trattoria, but which also deal with the postfossil vision. The objects are arranged and displayed on and around a large board. Removed from their pure function as exhibits, they can be tried out and tested by the visitors.

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FHNY Collection by Florian Hauswirth	Postfossil at Milan 2010	Doublefacette by Postfossil

Icelandic biodiversity in the work of four jewelry designers

Even if you’ve never been to Iceland, you’ve probably seen images of its otherworldly landscape that hint at what a central role nature plays in shaping visual culture there. The following Icelandic designers have taken the idea to heart with jewelry that incorporates organic forms and patterns, or in one case, a living plant itself. We found these four standouts from the ever-growing world of natural design at Iceland’s DesignMarch earlier this year.

Maria Kristin’s gorgeous drop-shaped necklace won her first prize in the recent Hendrikka Waage jewelry competition. While the pattern cutout could easily be interpreted as based on a honeycomb, crystal or Moroccan tile, the polished metal form takes inspiration from a mother’s womb, as Kristin herself had just become a mother briefly before the design process. The design also symbolizes mankind’s innate responsibility to protect nature even while living in our artificial world.

Crossing the line between manmade and nature’s design, HAF byHafstein Juliusson‘s Growing Jewelry is just that, growing. The concept, which first debuted in 2008, has yet to be interpreted more elegantly than this living plant embedded in metal casing. Geared for the increasing numbers residing in the great metropolises of the world, the experimental design offers a slice of nature to remind us of the beauty that lies beyond the concrete. Available through HAF’s online store, each piece sells for between €150-180.

Hring Eftir Hring takes a traditional source of inspiration, but deconstructs floral forms into sculpted petals arranged in asymmetrical configurations. The resulting rings, pendants, and earrings, available in 17 colors, look like the kind of playfully elegant accessories that might be worn by futuristic sea creatures. Hring Eftir Hring sells in numerous stores throughout Iceland, Denmark and Norway and online Epal for 5,950 ISK.

The rough-hewn designs of Helga Mogensen combine organic materials with precious metals to create necklaces, earrings and tie clips unlike any other. Inspired by Iceland’s rich natural landscape, Mogensen uses materials like silver, driftwood, and fish skin—often in raw, clunky forms—to create beautifully-intriguing statement pieces. Select designs are available online through All Icelandic design shop for around 15,000 ISK ($135 USD).

Brooklyn naval history in a furniture line upcycled from local materials

After launching a furniture series made out of wood reclaimed from Coney Island’s boardwalk in 2010, Brooklyn design studio Uhuru takes up the concept again with their second “local materials” collection, this time using deck wood from the USS North Carolina—the most decorated U.S. battleship of WWII. Like the whimsical lines of the amusement park-inspired line, the War Craft Collection takes its design cues from its source material with clean, industrial lines and a nod to history.

Originally built during the ’30s in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the boat was the first new battleship to arrive in the Pacific and participated in every major naval offensive in that theater. The design of the table directly addresses the “inherently violent nature of modern warcraft,” modeled as it is after the 16-inch guns on the ship, a significantly larger barrel hole which represents an increase in response to concerns about Japan’s caliber limit.

The five other pieces in the “War Craft Collection” (each each limited to a run of ten due to the limited quantity of wood) will be on view 13-16 May 2011 at Noho Design District’s pop up in The American Design Building at Great Jones Lumber (45 Great Jones Street, New York, NY 10012).

Switzerland’s newest design trio debuts their dead simple chair designed for taking it easy

A simple concept with an equally simple name, “Chair” has an extended backrest, designed so you can easily throw your arm over it and relax. Easily stackable and with a straightforward geometric form, on first take Chair looks like it might be one of Ikea’s more high-quality products. But, the brainchild of Arnault Weber, Camille Blin and Emmanuel Mbesse—the industrious trio behind the newly-formed A C E studio—the chair is actually produced by local artisans in Vaud, Switzerland with the designers overseeing every step. Nothing short of fully considered design, the sensible seat is the cornerstone of their Collection 1, a six-piece series of furniture made from Swiss ash that includes shelves, tables and lighting.

Weber explains the Lausanne-based project has its roots in a shared desire to “change the Swiss design scene. We really want to work together with designers from our generation and edit their work and also work with more famous designers.” A C E serves as both design studio and a platform for collaborators to sell their works.

The price for Chair is around €500, and can be ordered through the A C E website.

Milan 2011: UK designer Benjamin Hubert presented this ash chair for Italian brand Casamania at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan last week.

The chair, called Maritime, is constructed from ash plywood with the curves following the grain of the timber.

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The following is from Casamania:

Benjamin Hubert x Casamania

Maritime
Inspired by traditional wooden shipbuilding techniques maritime is a solid wood range of chairs that are skinned internally with a formed plywood shell.

The construction technique where the supports are visible on the outside allows for a distinctive design language that is in harmony with the material and production. The ribs allow for a structurally robust chair with minimum use of material.

Maritime is comprised from solid and laminate ash and offered as an upholstered option. To enhance the construction details the range is also offered in translucent dyed colourways.

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Patch by Benjamin Hubert	Roofer by Benjamin Hubert	Pebble by Benjamin Hubert