Our Visit to Vitra in Switzerland with Be Original Americas

Now that summer is officially over, I can officially declare that the best part about this past season was my visit to Vitra with Be Original Americas, an organization we’ve shared before whose mission is dedicated to educating and promoting the importance of original design. (You might have caught the whole trip on Instagram Story if you’re following us over on @designmilk!) Vitra is a tremendous supporter of the program so I got to tag along with the 2017 Be Original Americas Fellows, Tom Groom and Irene Lee, to learn firsthand from Vitra about what it means to be an original design and how do fakes and copies measure up to the originals (spoiler alert: they don’t and never will).

It was hard narrowing down my 700+ photos but read on to see a small snapshot of what we saw, where we visited, and what we learned…

View of the Rhine River in Basel, Germany

There’s a corner in Switzerland where, in 10 miles in each direction, you can be in France, Germany or Switzerland. During our trip, we visited the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein, Germany and the Vitra headquarters in Birsfelden, Switzerland.

If you didn’t already know, the Vitra Campus is home to some of most incredible architecture and design: the VitraHaus designed by Herzod & de Meuron, the Vitra Design Museum designed by Frank Gehry, the Fire Station designed by Zaha Hadid, and so much more. An interesting take away I got from the trip is that Vitra is not just as a brand but a continuing project, like that of Apple or Google, in that it is constantly looking for new, innovative ways to spotlight good design, discover emerging talent, celebrate design with the community, and create conversation about the significance of originality.

Project Vitra installation

Inside Project Vitra

Inside the Fire Station designed by Zaha Hadid

Architecture tour with Be Original Americas Fellow, Irene Lee and Tom Groom

Inside the Conference Pavilion designed by Tadao Ando

Like Be Original Americas, Vitra holds steadfast to the belief that good design can only be celebrated through the original, which is why counterfeits can never stand up next the originals. Counterfeits lack the story and soul behind the design and while they may be cheaper, it’s because they lack the quality materials and innovative production techniques that make the originals superior for decades. An imitation is, and always will be, a stolen idea and that is something that’s not worth displaying in your home.

The Vitra Schaudepot designed by Herzog & de Meuron

Inside the Schaudepot

“Every Vitra product is an original, and every original has a story.” Vitra is committed to telling those stories because it gives us a tangible reason why the originals are important. The reason why classic designs like the Eames Lounge Chair or the Panton Chair are still revered is because they broke new ground at the time of their creation. Years later, these designs are able to sustain their allure because their revolutionary ideas and techniques still influence design today, more than 60 years later. I learned that over the years, Vitra worked (and still works) closely with original designers or their descendants to enhance these original designs (for example, to incorporate new color schemes or modify dimensions because people have gotten taller since the 1950s).

Eames through the years

Inside the Factory Building designed by Nicholas Grimshaw

L-R: Irene and Tom with Vitra’s Head of Marketing, Adrian Parra, and Chief Design Officer, Eckart Maise, at Vitra headquarters

Office of Vitra’s CEO Nora Fehlbaum

Design at every corner (and corner office)

Slide Tower designed by Carsten Höller

Inside the VitraHaus

India Mahdavi’s Alice in Wonderland installation inside the VitraHaus

The visit to Vitra reignited my appreciation for good design because it gave me a deeper understanding of the creative thinking, process, innovative production, manufacturing, and stories that are instilled in each Vitra product. If you ever find yourself in this part of Germany, I highly recommend a visit to the Vitra Campus and clear your entire day (or even weekend!) for it.

If you’re interested in applying to be the next Be Original Americas fellows, be sure to follow Be Original Americas on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram to find out when the next round of application opens. You can also get a recap of the 2017 program through Tom and Irene’s own words on the Be Original Americas website or Tom’s website.

All photos by Vy Yang.

from Design MilkDesign Milk http://design-milk.com/visit-vitra-switzerland-original-americas/

The New Work Project by The New Design Project

We’ve seen a lot of co-working spaces pop up in the last few years. While some are designed solely for getting work done and are equipped with the bare essentials (desks, chairs, wifi), others like The New Work Project in Brooklyn, New York are more design-led, with an interior design approach that its creative members would appreciate.

Designed by Brooklyn-based interior design studio, The New Design Project, The New Work Project is a members-only workspace for those in the creative industries including: advertising, PR, marketing, architecture and design, TV, film and media, fashion, and publishing. Husband and wife duo James Davison and Fanny Abbes wanted to create a place where its members can live, work and play. The result for The New Work Project is a black and white interior design (as in, black and white chairs, wallpaper, wall art, and books). This classic theme is accented by brass fixtures, marble counters, woven textures, and pops of foliage. The furniture is all custom designed by The New Design Project, as well as other local Brooklyn designers such as J.M. Szymanski and Eskayel.

from Design MilkDesign Milk http://design-milk.com/new-work-project-new-design-project/

LDF17: designjunction2017 Expands to Five Sites

2017 saw designjunction return to King’s Cross with five locations: Cubitt House and Cubitt Park, the Canopy, Granary Square and The Crossing. 200 furniture, lighting, accessory, material, and technology brands exhibited alongside pop-up shops, installations, and interactive features. These are a few of our favorite finds – first up, Ham’s mural on the side of the Canopy featuring newly launched designs from the brand, whose founder we interviewed back in August.

Grace Souky’s Domestic Collectables is a series of 12 tableware objects that explore the connections between users and everyday objects, the different ways people interact with things around the ritual of food. “Each element fits in more than one place and serves more than one purpose,” says Grace, “resulting in a fun and playful experience that seeks to engage while exploring all possible combinations.”

Inspired by a Thomas Hardy poem entitled Old Furniture, David Irwin’s oak and ash collection for Another Country references 19th-century British classics such as the Windsor chair with the intention of creating pieces that will last for decades and be handed down for generations.

Ted Jefferis, the craftsman behind TedWood, hand makes bespoke furniture to order. The son of a classic boat builder, he studied furniture design and continues to explore the relationship between furniture and its surrounding interior space.

Victoria is a marble tea set – teapot, a milk jug, sugar bowl, cake stand, teacup and saucer and dessert plate – designed by Bethan Grey for Editions Milano. The collection’s relief pattern is hand-carved from Arrabescato marble by Italian craftsmen and paired with brushed brass.

The latest addition to David Irwin’s Working Girl collection for Deadgood is the Lounge Chair and Sofa, which, according to Deadgood, “adhere to the honest construction methods used throughout this collection and feature a soft seat and back pads supported by exposed webbing over a durable powder coated steel frame.”

Textiles designer Eleanor Pritchard worked with Matt Cockrem to solve the dilemma of how to display fabrics on a trade show stand with this elegant construction. “We were playing with ideas of perception, depth, and composition; with simple fabric shapes suspended in a series of steel frames,” she says. “From the sweet spot, marked with an X the viewer could ‘catch’ a perfect 1 x 1 meter square ‘flat’ composition – then as soon as their viewpoint changed the whole composition splintered into layered disparate geometric shapes. It was great fun to make and wonderful to see how it caught the imagination.”

Granby Workshop’s experiments in homeware continue with the launch of Splatware – born out of a desire to mass-produce one-offs. By combining colored clay sprayed with ceramic oxides, and pressing it into an industrial RAM Press, the designers are able to create consistent forms with unique patterns.

London-based Hampson Woods design and make wooden products made from local trees, often from arborists in and around London who specialize in clearing the fallen trees that would otherwise be chipped.

Loved by stylists the world over, Japanese brand MT Masking Tape made their designjunction debut, with a stand that made it very clear what they were selling.

And last but not least, this stunning installation by Adam Nathaniel Furman was made in collaboration with Turkishceramics. “Ceramics have always been, and continue to be, both the most historic, resonant and traditional, as well as the most fresh, perpetually surprising, delightful and exciting of architectural materials,” says Furman. “There is no other architectural treatment that has remained as fresh and relevant and cool as ceramics has from a thousand years BC, right through into the 21st Century.”

from Design MilkDesign Milk http://design-milk.com/ldf17-designjunction-expands-five-sites/

Practice Practice Practice: Graphic 3D Ceramic Tiles by Zaven

Zaven, a multidisciplinary studio located in Venice, Italy, ventured into ceramic as a medium after discovering the work of Italian artist Nino Caruso a few years ago. In this project, entitled Practice Practice Practice, the pair gives nod to Caruso’s work by exploring scale and repetition in three-dimensional tiles that aim to “animate interiors”.

Using clay, Zaven was able to bring a bold, graphic element to a product that’s often got a flat exterior. The tiles play with positive and negative space through the mix of concave and convex surfaces. The result is three different modules that can be installed in different variations for a curated look.

Zaven debuted the Practice Practice Practice tiles at the London Design Fair as part of Brompton Design District.

Process photos:

Ceramics realized by Stylnove.

from Design MilkDesign Milk http://design-milk.com/practice-practice-practice-graphic-3d-ceramic-tiles-by-zaven/

SLIM Chair by Christophe de Sousa

Showing alongside Gencork in Associative Design’s Best of Portugal stand at the London Design Fair, French–Portuguese designer Christophe de Sousa exhibited the SLIM Chair, a seat he created out of veneered MDF. His intention was to design a simple chair that was also pleasing to the eye, while at the same time being easy to produce.

SLIM has a sleek silhouette appearing to be made of two molded components, one that makes up the legs, sides, and back of the chair, and the other that forms the seat. The smooth contours result in a minimalist and sculptural look. The chair comes in natural or painted wood veneered MDF and is available in an upholstered version.

from Design MilkDesign Milk http://design-milk.com/slim-chair-by-christophe-de-sousa/

Friday Five with Giulia Molteni

Molteni&C is a family-run design house founded over 80 years ago by Angelo Molteni, which also now includes Unifor (office furniture), Dada (kitchens), and Citterio (partition walls and office furniture), all under the Gruppo Molteni umbrella. Granddaughter Giulia Molteni graduated in 2003 with a degree in Economics and Business from Bocconi University and later on acquired a Marketing certificate from NYU in 2006. She spent four years in New York at Loro Piana before joining the family business in 2007 as Retail Manager of the global their flagship stores. The Como-born Giulia is now the Marketing and Communications Director of Molteni&C and Dada and has been on the Board of Directors of Aidaf, the Italian Association of Family Businesses since 2016. This week’s Friday Five takes a look at five sources of inspiration for the busy married mom of two.

Photo by Giulia Molteni

1. New York City energy
Where I used to leave for 4 years after university more than 10 years ago, Soho is my favourite neighbour. I love the adrenaline, the mix of people and cultures, the sky, often in a special blue colour because of the ocean wind. Something I miss now in Europe.

Photo by Giulia Molteni

2. Portofino
The small town near Genova, it is one of the most cosy place in the world where I used to go with my parents by boat, an old riva acquarama, from when I was a baby. Now it is the perfect place for an aperitivo with my kids during the summer weekend. A poetic view of the sea life.

Photo © designboom

3. Milan design week
The most popular design fair from 1961, Salone del Mobile, has changed Milan’s overview and prospectives. It is seven days of events, installations, from all over the world, a mix of furniture, fashion and trends. You can’t miss it if we talk about contemporary life.

Photo by Giulia Molteni

4. Tokyo and the Japanese culture
A place very inspirational for many designers, like Jasper Morrison or Patricia Urquiola, Tokyo architecture and design approach is very expressive. Graphic design is also always very innovative.
The Japanese tradition for sophisticated and detail oriented design is distinctive if you think about their attention to the small and with an attention to the human scale.
When you visit Tokyo you are immediately struck by the scale, size and intimacy of the things around you.

Gio Ponti – Villa Planchart, 1955 Caracas credite: © Gio Ponti Archives

5. Gio Ponti’s Villa Planchart, Caracas
My favourite Milanese based architect and designer, is one of the big fathers of Italian design. The Planchart collectors’ villa in Caracas (1953-57) was one of the projects dearest to Gio Ponti. As he wrote in Domus in 1955, “I dedicated myself heart and soul to designing Villa Planchart, and in it I was at liberty to express my own approach to architecture, both outside and inside”. The architecture reflected the ideas he had gathered during his trips to Latin American in 1952-53. it is a complete work of art, a synthesis of art, decoration and design. It is “dedicated to Anala and Armando Planchart”, great collectors of art.

from Design MilkDesign Milk http://design-milk.com/friday-five-with-giulia-molteni/

The Househunter: Room by Room

Ready for this? Let’s go. There’s quite a lot to say about this one so we’re going to have a good old look round and hopefully get some ideas. It’s on with The Modern House for £3.85m (say it fast it might hurt less) and is a five bedroom house in North London. It has been…

The post The Househunter: Room by Room appeared first on Mad About The House.

from Mad About The House http://www.madaboutthehouse.com/househunter-room-room-31/

What’s Your Personality Type in the Bedroom

Winter is fast approaching and with it an overwhelming desire to make the home more cosy. I get it. The winter duvet is going to come out of summer hibernation and extra blankets will be piled on just to make us all feel better about the darker months ahead. It’s a good time too, to re-stock the linen cupboard with new bedding. I don’t know about you but sometimes just small changes around the house makes it feel more homely for me, and new darker bedding comes out as soon as September has passed. But before you rush out and buy the first autumnal bedding set you see, it might be a good idea to just check what your bedroom personality is.

The Traditionally Romantic Type

You like good old fashioned romance. And anything with a sense of history. So your bedroom style takes it’s cue from old floral oil paintings and the colours of a midnight garden. You are happiest when surrounded by things you have hunted down in second-hand shops, and your biggest treat is fresh flowers. Especially if someone else has bought them for you.

Terrarium candle holder, Small £30, Large £40. Winona Vase £30. Sapphire vase £38. Textured glass pendant £75. Iris double bed £1,279. Lydia floral print double duvet set £59. Seurat print cushion £15. Midnight print cushion £15. Floral watercolour cushion £15. Charcoal knitted throw £49. Grey moss knit throw £80.

The ‘My Heart’s in the Country’ Type

You are happiest away from crowds and surrounded by nature. You love muted colours that remind you of heather, and plain cotton sheets. If you must have pattern it’s usually a plaid or check and furnishings veer towards the rustic.

Dash mug £5. Holland Vase £22. Arlie check double duvet set £49. Harold check double duvet set £49. Grey graphic weave throw £35. Stone knitted throw £49. Sincerity double duvet set £59. Sheepskin rug in almond £45.

The Bohemian at Heart Type

You have problems sticking to one type of style but whatever you do, it just seems to work. You’re a nomad who loves to travel and collect. Magpie-like. Your tastes are eclectic and you love to layer your treasures. Anything with an ethnic twist will appeal to you. Even more so if it has tassels, pompoms or a sheen of tarnished gold.

Palm side table £250. 5” x 7” frame £22. Hand-painted petal vase £45. Oscar ceiling light £100. Iris double bed £1,279. Sadie double duvet set £59. Marianna flannel double duvet cover £59, pillowcase pair £24. Jacinta embroidery double duvet cover £59, pillowcase pair £24. Carolina embroidery double duvet cover £59, pillowcase £24. Ethnic embroidered cushion £28. Velvet tapestry cushion £25. Blue floral linen cushion £20. Mala velvet embroidered cushion £25. Patchwork blue bedspread £150. Pom-pom bedspread £150.

The Simply Scandinavian Type

Adornment isn’t for you. You like your bedroom ordered and almost spartan-like. That’s not to say that it’s not comfortable. Hygge is your second name. Colours are calm and serene and you know how to layer for maximum warmth.

Rattan weave pendant £65. Marcelle column vase, Small £25, Large £28. Luxury scented votive candle (set of 3) £40. Charcoal stripe mug £7. Lela print double duvet cover £59, pillowcase pair £24. Halston Linen double duvet cover £110, pillowcase pair £36. Colden ticking stripe double duvet cover £59, pillowcase pair £24. Grey chunky knit cushion £25. Watercolour stripe cushion £25. Leafy organic print cushion £25. Stonewashed waffle bedspread £64. Grey rib throw £95.

The Crafty and Homespun Type

You like anything that is handmade and folksy patterns are your favourites. Knitting, crochet and handcrafting are all talents that you appreciate and you love the homely feel that they convey. You prefer simple country furniture and will treasure family hand-me-downs above all else. 

Wood 5” x 7” frame £15. Gertie textured vase £20. Tulip print flannel double duvet cover £59, pillowcase pair £24. Erin print double duvet cover £59, pillowcase pair £24. Hetty folk print double duvet cover £59, pillowcase pair £24. Pippa leaf print cushion £18. Embroidered flower cushion £28. Emily leaf embroidered bedspread £150. Lottie knit throw £75. Axis bench £189. Grey graphic weave throw £35. Stone knitted throw £49.

All products are from House of Fraser.

The above link is an affiliate link. If you decide to buy anything you won’t pay any more, but Dear Designer’s will receive a small commission to help keep this blog up and running.

 

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The post What’s Your Personality Type in the Bedroom appeared first on Dear Designer.

from Dear Designer http://deardesigner.co.uk/whats-your-personality-type-in-the-bedroom/

A Period Home in Melbourne with a New Modern Addition

Zen Architects were hired to design a rear addition to a home in Melbourne’s West Brunswick. The period home, named the Nest House, was extended to include an open living space and mezzanine, along with a partially covered outdoor space. Per the client’s request, the new kitchen was to be the focus with the surrounding areas branching off from it.

To meet the client’s needs, they designed a mezzanine studio that hovers above the living room area and rests underneath the dramatically sloped roof. The roof angle helps passive solar energy in both the addition and the older part of the house.

Light peeks through the floor boards from the mezzanine helping to keep the interior filled with light.

Polished concrete floors meet up with the warm wood floors in the kitchen for visual contrast.

Photos by Emma Cross.

from Design MilkDesign Milk http://design-milk.com/a-period-home-in-melbourne-with-a-new-modern-addition/