isaloni 2012 – DesignApplause

Tokyobikes hit the streets of london. Milan 2012

May 15, 2012

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It’s been difficult for tokyobike fans not living in Japan to get ahold of one of the company’s well respected city bikes, but on May 17th their London shop will officially open. To celebrate Dezeen is giving away a single-speed tokyobike worth $840. To enter, just show up to the opening party in Shoreditch this Thursday night. The winner will get to ride home on the bike that evening, and five runners up with get Gropes leather handlebar grips worth $40 apiece.

If you’re unfamiliar with tokyobike, it’s a small, independent bicycle manufacturer founded in 2002 in Yanaka, a suburb of Tokyo. The name references the bike’s purpose. “In the same way the mountain bike was designed for the mountains, so tokyobike was designed for Tokyo.”

So what makes a bike suited to zipping around the streets of a congested city like Tokyo? “Smaller 650mm wheels and slim, compact, steel frames make the bikes easy to handle and light to ride. More about slow than fast, tokyobike is as much about discovering your city and enjoying the ride as it is about the destination.” It might not be best choice for a bike messenger, but it will do quite nicely for the rest of us.

Before setting up shop in London, tokyobikes hit the streets of Milan for Salone del Mobile – watch a cute video of design week goers biking to events.

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Swell, by earnest studio. Milan 2012

May 9, 2012

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Even after Salone Del Mobile is over, I’m still thinking about The Front Room’s presentation at Ca’Laghetto, Via Laghetto, which featured a number of remarkable designers, including the Rotterdam-based Earnest Studio headed by Rachel Griffin. For Milan this year she presented Swell, a series of stools and benches that put an emphasis on the production process by cutting costs at every stage.

“Upholstered furniture typically uses foam created in massive block molds and cuts it into smaller pieces that are added to a separate frame. Swell integrates these production elements by using the frame and fabric as the mold for the foam. This also allows the foam to acts as a binding agent, eliminating costly handwork.”

Griffin goes on to explain that Swell simplifies the production process. Instead of molding massive blocks of foam, cutting them down to size, gluing them to a wooden frame and then sewing the fabric on top, “Swell uses the fabric and frame as the original mold for the foam.” The result cuts down on production time and materials and, because the foam fills the fabric, “no material is wasted as cut-offs.” Furthermore, the foam acts as a binding agent between the fabric and frame so there’s no glue, extra adhesive or sewing necessary. And since the foam expands in the fabric in a slightly different way each time, every piece is unique.

Swell Stool and Bench are available from The Front Room’s online shop for $393 and $542, respectively.

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MIA by jean nouvel. Milan 2012.

May 8, 2012

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You probably know Jean Nouvel first and foremost as an architect. His work has won him some of the top prizes in his field, including the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, the Pritzker Prize and the Wolf Prize in Arts. But if you were in Milan for Salone Del Mobile you might have seen that his latest endeavor is MIA, a stacking chair he designed for the RBC Design Centre’s restaurant, also named MIA. The backrest, arms and legs are made of flat metal bars of varying widths. The chairs, which come in white, red, black and grey, are weighted so that they can be hooked over the edge of the dining tables to clean the floors. Usually chairs have to be lifted and flipped over the edge of a table, but Nouvel designed MIA so that all that’s required is a simple lift.

The MIA series also includes stacking armchairs, benches, tables and high stools. The line is being produced by EMU, the Italian furniture company, who notes that the collection “is a crystal-clear example of the spirit EMU brings to placing technological development at the top of its priority list, in an atmosphere buzzing with productive creativity. The whole concept stems from the RBC Design Centre in Montpellier, where three important elements were brought together: design, production and distribution.”

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Authentic icons. Cassina in Milan 2012.

May 3, 2012

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the overall quality of creativity and presentations in milan was astounding. for example, there weren’t many companies we visited that did not create a classic icon. cassina interestingly built their 2012 theme around — “authentic by design.” in cassina’s words:

The gesture of the designer, their hand, a sketch, an idea. The authenticity of a project is an ever innovative process of thought, insight and research, which Cassina identifies and values starting from the original creative heart, combining its qualitative excellence with its consolidated workmanship experience.

Cassina deliberately seeks authenticity in every project. This perspective is the starting point for the 2012 collection: a series of projects that express a way of thinking and living authentic design, where each element is always substantive and consistent.

Interview with designer cecilie manz at milan 2012. Preview.

May 1, 2012

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we meet danish designer cecilie manz at the friz hansen open house. this occasion is the introduction of ceclie’s new furniture series “minuscule” which she describes as a chair that could be used as a formal chair for informal meetings. a display deconstructs her concept and highlights the elements that comprise minuscule.

cecilie tells us that three stones she found on the beach inspired her concept. “i am fascinated by the variations that you can find in nature. the stones, all three are grey and seemingly identical. but they are all completely different shades of grey.”

cecilie’s interview and more examples of her work will soon be appearing in DesignApplause. [ cecilie manz ] [ fritz hansen ]

Lasvit liquidkristal by ross lovegrove. Milan 2012.

Apr 28, 2012

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Lasvit, the visionary Czech Republic glass manufacturer, unveiled Lasvit Liquidkristal by Ross Lovegrove at Milan’s Triennale Design Museum during Salone del Mobile. Liquidkristal, a new product offering from Lasvit’s Glass Architecture Division, was on view in an installation conceived for the Triennale’s Salone d’Onore. The exhibition featured a pavilion comprised of three forms, each measuring 180 feet in diameter and 46 feet in length. Each wall surface was composed of 24 freestanding crystal panels, measuring a total of 860 feet.

Leon Jakimic, founder and CEO of Lasvit, says, “Lasvit Liquidkristal designed by Ross Lovegrove is a milestone in Lasvit´s product development. Lasvit LiquidKristal is our company’s bridge to the world of architecture, useful as a crystal partition or screen and as insulated glass units for exterior facades.”

Liquidkristal is the result of an innovative process that the designer defines as “high precision heat transfer.” Lovegrove worked with Lasvit for more than a year to create the mobile, changing surfaces, inspired by the fluid, organic forms found in nature. The company deployed its most advanced technology to produce the transparent, undulating crystal panels, which appear dynamic, changing, capable of transmuting their shapes in a futuristic kaleidoscope. Working with mathematical models, the behavior of glass was simulated under controlled thermo induction. This produced a highly informed line code, which serves as the blueprint for the production process, where highly precise temperature control imbues the glass surface with the beauty of optical effects seen in water. Working with Lovegrove, Lasvit’s research facilities, led by Tomá Kamenec, developed a special flexible mold system to capture this effect. The finished product is highly customizable, allowing large-scale pattern aggregations over multiple sheets. At the Triennale these panels formed a spatial experience where the ceiling is used for projections and reveals the digital beauty of natural observation. [ ross lovegrove ] [ lasvit ]

Designer andrea morgante interview. Preview.

Apr 27, 2012

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designer andrea morgante was interviewed in alessi’s milan showroom at isalone de mobile 2012. here’s a preview and a peek at andrea sitting in his uk office.

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the grow watch for alessi inspired by “organic engineering, that is, the influence of shapes found in nature”. the watch will be available in june 2012 and will come in a range of colors. suggested price is $125 USD.
[ shiro studio ] [ alessi ]

Best of milan 2012: park life, by jasper morrison for kettal.

Apr 25, 2012

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It took designer Jasper Morrison four and a half years to perfect his new line of outdoor furniture for Kettal. The stackable tables, chairs, a sofa and lounger were made especially lightweight to make moving them into winter storage as easy as possible. The collection was shown as part of Kettal’s display at Salone del Mobile in Milan, along with pieces by their other designers, like Patricia Urquila.

Apparently, it took Morrison almost five years to design the collection because he spent much of the time researching outdoor furniture products, analyzing standard codes and testing materials for durability. I like his clean, streamlined collection because it reminds me of the simple, well-made, modern patio furniture my grandparents had in their backyard. Like Park Life, those pieces were built to last. In fact, many of those pieces currently furnish the pool area at my cousin’s home. That kind of generational lifespan is one of Kettal’s biggest selling points – along with considered design, of course. Morrison took ergonomics seriously in his approach to make leisurely summer afternoons as comfortable as they ought to be.

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Best of milan: const lamp by thinkk studio.

Apr 24, 2012

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The CONST Lamp by Thailand-based Thinkk Studio first struck me with its odd mix of materials and shapes. An octagonal base is anchored only by the weight of a hunk of marble with a stepped-out, ridged design for holding pens and pencils. I’ll admit that at first I wasn’t sure what to make of it. I like that it incorporates elements of play – not just the call back to handmade wooden toys but the motion of adjusting the lamp feels a bit like playtime. And now, after coming back to it every day for the past few days, I have to say it really delights me. I love that it’s technically a marble lamp that’s the complete opposite of everything else a marble lamp has ever connoted. Moreover, it’s so different from every other desk lamp I’ve seen lately. It’s not sleek. In fact, it’s clunky, and this is probably the first time – for me, anyhow – that clunky isn’t a bad thing at all.

If you’re in Milan you can see it for yourself at At Spazio Rossana Orlandi. From the designers:

“The main idea behind the desk lamp CONST are three basic components; base, body and shade. Keeping in mind these simple elements and their role, The design playfully combines expression with function. The marble base keeps the octagon-shaped wood body balanced and at the same time, one can adjust the angle of the shade by rotating it. Reminiscent of playing with block toys, CONST gives one the ability to have fun with functionality.”

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Flos 50 birthday press kit. Milan 2012.

Apr 24, 2012

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it’s safe to say the press kit without peer this year is flos’s 50th birthday effort. the innovative usb flash drive is also jam-packed with 50 years of information and images. the kit includes historical archives, over 250 images, info on a special ipad app named flos 50, love letters, and much more. happy birthday flos!

a graphic window display announces a retrospective of 50 years of flos history. this passageway leads to the “professional space” showroom and archive exhibition.

rather than a commerative book it was decided to create an ipad app, flos 50, an exclusive virtual tour of the fifty-year history of flos.

the flos 50 app design team. details at the bottom of this post.

there are two limited edition anniversary lamps for the occasion: above> “the light photon” limited edition
o-led table lamp designed by philippe starck; also the new “arco led” floor lamp, its best-known lamp by achille castiglioni.

within the press kit are images of 150 products. above> ‘luminator” by achille and pier giacomo castiglioni.

within the press kit are “love letters” from designers. above> achille castiglioni.

[ flos 50 app credits ]
project and art direction: ramak fazel
graphic design: neil donnely
flos 50 history: stefano casciani
product photography: piero fasanotto
illustrations: nico k. tucci
chief archivist: cicci pezzolo
development: mobile dream studio
additional support: flos historical archives
special thanks: piera pezzolo gandini

[ flos timeline ]
1962 – Flos is founded in Merano, 28 September. First board meeting appoints advisors Achille Castiglioni, Arturo Eisenkeil, Sergio Biliotti, Dino Gavina and Cesare Cassina
1964 – Sergio Gandini joins board of directors and is elected Chairman
1964 – company moves offices and factory to Nave (near Brescia)
1968 – Milan Corso Monforte 9 store opens. Design by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni
1970 – first Flos catalogue published. Graphic design by Max Huber
1971 – Rome Via del Babuino 85 showroom opens
1971 – first European subsidiary starts operations in Germany
1972 – Turin Galleria Subalpina store opens. Design by Achille Castiglioni
1974 – acquisition of Arteluce, a lighting company established in 1939 by Gino Sarfatti
1975 – Flos is a first time exhibitor in the lighting section at Milan’s Salone del Mobile. Stand designed by Achille Castiglioni
1976 – factory moves from Nave to Bovezzo (Brescia)
1979 – Parentesi lamp by Achille Castiglioni and Pio Manzù awarded Compasso d’Oro
1980 – new Milan Corso Monforte 7 offices open. Design by Achille Castiglioni, floor design by Max Huber
1988 – collaboration with Philippe Starck begins
1994 – Drop lamp by Marc Sadler awarded Compasso d’Oro
1995 – Flos receives Compasso d’Oro lifetime achievement award
1996 – Piero Gandini, Sergio’s son, becomes Managing Director of Flos SpA
1996 – Light Contract division set up, to develop turnkey projects

[ edited official press release ]
Milan, 18 April 2012 – On the occasion of Salone del Mobile 2012, Piero Gandini, Chairman and Managing Director of international lighting leader FLOS SpA, gets the celebrations under way to mark the company’s fiftieth anniversary, with a special event in Milan and the launch of a remarkable iPad application. Looking ahead to its next fifty years, Flos also announces some important novelties on the technology front with an exclusive agreement to use revolutionary bio-polymers, and the production of a special Limited Edition O-LED lamp.

Established in Merano on 28 September 1962 by far-sighted visionaries Dino Gavina, Arturo Eiseinkeil and Cesare Cassina, in 1964 Flos – which in Latin means ‘flower’ – moved to the Brescia area under the guidance of Sergio Gandini, the ‘illuminated’ entrepreneur who drew on the creative skills of an image committee formed of legendary talents such as Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, and Tobia Scarpa. So began a remarkable story of passion and devotion to hard work, research and innovation. But first and foremost there has always been, at the centre of the Flos story, deep respect for values like talent, art and culture, all of which can now been looked at in more detail with the help of the Flos Historical Archive, curated by Piera Pezzolo Gandini, Sergio’s wife, Piero’s mother and the worthy winner of a Compasso d’Oro in 2011 for her remarkable career. With the help of a team of professionals and friends, for the last six years Piera Pezzolo has undertaken meticulous research, restoration and classification work to bring together prototypes, designs, original drawings, packaging, graphics, advertising, photographs, film clips, books, catalogues, awards and appearances at trade fairs, exhibitions and museums. The archive takes various forms: multimedia, paper and collections of products and objects.

[ the flos 50 app ] Driven by the desire to grant the public access to this treasure trove of information assembled by his mother, Piero Gandini engaged Ramak Fazel, a photographer and artist of Persian origin, for the creative direction of a tool that could convey not only the sensory appeal of these historical objects, but also the emotions and passions they recalled.

The various “chapters” about the history of the company – more than 40 in all – are represented graphically in the app as archive binders. The first one users encounter is an in-depth social and cultural analysis edited by writer, journalist and historian Stefano Casciani, which covers the period from the years immediately preceding the foundation of the company to the present day. Nineteen binders are devoted to the designers who have worked with the company: Barber & Osgerby, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Antonio Citterio, Paul Cocksedge, Tim Derhaag, Rodolfo Dordoni, Thierry Dreyfus, Ron Gilad, Konstantin Grcic, Johanna Grawunder, Joris Laarman, Piero Lissoni, Jasper Morrison, Marc Newson, Tobia Scarpa, Philippe Starck, Patricia Urquiola and Marcel Wanders. They each sent Flos a very personal ‘love letter’, which is presented to users in the form of the original document, expressing emotions, memories, gratitude and best wishes for the past fifty years and those to come.

Developed by Mobile Dream Studio in Paris, the application has an innovative interface featuring dynamic images, animations, original video content and surprising interactions. From a 360 degree panoramic view of the archive room – the actual historical archive located in Piera Pezzolo Gandini’s family home in Brescia – users can open two doors to enter the secret, intimate worlds of two key figures in the company’s formation and development: Achille Castiglioni, the designer of more iconic lamps in the Flos catalogue than anyone else and a beacon for the company until his death in 2002, and Philippe Starck, who began working with Flos in 1988, introducing revolutionary concepts to the Italian industrial design. These two legendary figures are celebrated by two specially made videos. The first, by Andrea Caccia, documents a very intimate visit to Achille Castiglioni’s studio in Piazza Castello, Milan. It’s a poetic and nostalgic film, but one which also conjures up the joy and vitality that Castiglioni conveyed naturally by the way he lived. In the second, produced by Urubu Film, Starck and Piero Gandini tour Paris at dawn on a motorcycle, revealing the depth of their mutual esteem and friendship, and talking about light, which for both of them, at an unconscious level, symbolises life.

Other sections in the app include a touching tribute by Piero Gandini to his father Sergio, who continues to be the company’s spiritual guide even after his death in 1999; the graphical history of the Flos logo, from the original design by Heinz Waibl to subsequent versions by Max Huber, Pino Tovaglia and Bruno Le Moult; the Corso Monforte store window in Milan, an impactful brand’s communication machine, with past displays designed by Achille Castiglioni and subsequently by other great collaborators, including Italo Lupi and Bruno Le Moult. Here can be also seen the covers of all the company’s catalogues over the years; financial information and interesting facts and figures from the company’s fifty-year history; and Flos showrooms and single-brand stores throughout the world – represented by a Glo-ball lamp. Also documented here is the lucky encounter with Federico Martinez and Spanish company Antares, leading to the creation of Flos Architectural Lighting.

[ three themes for the future ]
New Tasks – The first task that Flos intends to accomplish is to introduce increasingly environment-friendly industrial production techniques. An important agreement with bio-on to reissue lamps manufactured until now in plastic material, like Miss Sissi by Philippe Starck or Piani by brothers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, using the new PHAs bio-polymer, which is 100% naturally biodegradable in water, makes Flos very proud to bring a total revolution in the relationship between mass production and environment.
New Technologies – The perfection of O-LED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) technology, a carbon and hydrogen source formed of ultra-thin sheets which are 100% recyclable like glass, opens up amazing possibilities for transforming light in new ways. Flos sets an example with the Light Photon lamp by Philippe Starck, which is being produced for the company’s anniversary celebrations in a limited edition of 500.
New Talents – Our real future is vested in the next generation, which will produce the new talents of tomorrow. Now more than ever, learning the lessons taught by its past, Flos undertakes to support and encourage the most promising young designers.

Available for download free of charge from the App Store starting late in April, FLOS 50 will establish an ongoing conversation with its public through frequent, original updates, news items, materials, games and entertainment ideas. [ flos ] [ o-led ] [ bio-on ]