miami design district – DesignApplause

louis vuitton objets nomades miami design district showroom. design miami 2018.

Dec 4, 2018

since louis vuitton stepped into the furniture scene six years ago with its objets nomades collection, the design and fashion communities have eagerly awaited each release. louis vuitton will be presenting new pieces alongside its limited edition series at design miami/ and it is sure to create a buzz.

a byredo pop-up in miami design district. design miami 2018.

Dec 3, 2018

above > photo courtesy matthew sperzel

the fashion crowd flocks to a byredo’s pop-up the miami design district, which was designed in a chic wooden structure and features an exhibition of his own photographs.

byredo was founded in 2006 by ben gorham. ben began to be intrigued by scent and memory after traveling to his mother’s hometown in india, where he was stirred by the aromas of spices and incense. inspired by this trip, byredo’s scented candles and perfumes have been developed with an understated approach, using simple composition of the highest quality raw materials.

(red) presents the (red) auction with theaster gates and sir david adjaye. design miami 2018.

Dec 1, 2018

[red] presents the [red] auction with theaster gates and sir david adjaye two of the world’s art and architecture stars, theaster gates and sir david adjaye, have collaborated with musician and activist bono to curate the third (red) auction to support the fight against aids. artists donating works to the auction include jeff koons, ai weiwei, wangechi mutu, sir jony ive and marc newson, christo, sean scully, marilyn minter, frank gehry, guillermo kuitca, and teresita fernández, among others. in addition, gates and adjaye have created unique pieces for sale.

centered on the theme of light and the color red, this collection of contemporary art and design will be auctioned by sotheby’s on december 5, 2018, and will include global bidding available live online and by phone. the auction is preceded by a public exhibition presented by gagosian at the famed moore building in the miami design district that opens on december 1, world aids day.

this event follows two previous (red) auctions conducted by sotheby’s that together raised $68 million. the first, organized by bono and damien hirst in february 2008, featured works donated by hirst, banksy, anish kapoor, marc quinn, georg baselitz, and howard hodgkin, among others, and established seventeen new auction records. the second, curated by jony ive and marc newson in 2013, offered important twentieth and twenty-first-century design, and attracted matching funds from the bill and melinda gates foundation.

to date (red) has generated more than $500 million for the global fund to support lifesaving hiv/aids programs in africa. proceeds from this year’s auction will continue to support community-based programs in africa through the global fund to fight aids, while also aiding the rebuild foundation, chicago, an organization championed by gates.

2014 design miami preview 3.

Nov 29, 2014

steam 22 | bae se wwa | gallery seomi | 2013

[ gallery seomi ] based out of pierre koenig’s historic case study house #21 in the hollywood hills of los angeles, gallery seomi goes beyond the realms of traditional design to present a new concept that encompasses boundaries of art, design, and architecture.

various objects | jang jin | gallery seomi |

spider | louise bourgeois | galerie karsten greve | 1994

[ galerie karsten greve ] is located in cologne, paris and st. moritz. artist include, cy twombly, jannis kounellis, john chamberlain, louise bourgeois, and others, provided the basis for his program’s quality, which is defined by international avant-garde art after 1945. apart from twombly, kounellis, chamberlain, and bourgeois, this includes artists like joseph cornell, jean dubuffet, willem de kooning, pablo picasso, louis soutter, and wols.

untitled | fausto melotti | galerie karsten greve | 1979

sensa fine | massimo uberti | 2006

italian conceptual artist massimo uberti collaborates with bentley and lights things up in their debut [ bentley elements ]

inspired by bentley’s vehicle audit bays (those neon-lit inspection areas where all cars are carefully inspected prior to delivery), the brescia-born and milan-based uberti, whose portfolio comprises sculptural light installations with striking geometric structures suggesting gravity- and reality-defying 3d forms such as senza fine (pictured below), is understood to have created a piece with similar qualities for bentley. installation revealed on 1 dec in the miami design district.

dream machine | untitled international art fair | ocean drive and 12th st

[ dream machine by wer2 ] inspired by richard hamilton’s iconic 1956 photo-collage just what is it that makes today’s home so different, so appealing? an outpost of wer2— a collaboration between architect and designer suchi reddy and former gallerist sara meltzer—the dream machine, as it is called, will house sundry objects and accessories made in collaboration with modern and contemporary artists. part-exhibition space and part-travel trailer, everything from the exterior surface and interior design to the products within have been created or curated by wer2. view a new calico wallpaper designed made exclusively for dream machine.

dream machine | untitled international art fair | ocean drive and 12th st

t a 1 sculpture | alois kronschlaeger | cristin tierney gallery | untitled international art fair | ocean drive and 12th st

[ cristin tierney gallery ] is committed to the development and support of both established and emerging artists. the international exhibition program emphasizes critical theory and art history, with an attendant interest in under-recognized artists and art movements of the twentieth and twenty-first century. booth a10

siamese twins | justine mahoney | southern guild | 2014

lala’ cabinets | studio doktor & misses | southern guild | 2013

[ southern guild ] is recognized as the most significant forum for high-end contemporary design in south africa. devoted, since 2008, to provoking the local design industry and to pushing designers and artists to explore and produce more challenging and important work, southern guild has become an internationally recognized brand representing excellence and authenticity. booth g21

public commission | demisch danant

[ demisch danant ] is presenting public commission, an exhibition dedicated to works created in the 1960s and 1970s for key public spaces in france by designers and artists who defined the era. on view in the gallery’s booth (g10) at design/miami, the exhibition features rare and unique objects conceived by french designers joseph andré motte, pierre paulin, french artist pierre sabatier, and paris-based american artist sheila hicks.

[ 2014 exhibitors ]
ammann gallery – cologne
antonella villanova – florence
caroline van hoek – brussels
carpenters workshop gallery – london & paris
carwan gallery – beirut
casati gallery -chicago
cristina grajales gallery – new york
demisch danant – new york
edward cella art + architecture – los angeles
erastudio & apartment-gallery – milan
galerie jacques lacoste – paris
galerie kreo – paris
galerie maria wettergren – paris
galerie pascal cuisinier – paris
galerie patrick seguin – paris
galerie vivid – rotterdam
galleria o. – rome
gallery diet – miami
gallery seomi – seoul & los angeles
hostler burrows – new york
jason jacques inc. – new york johnson trading gallery – new york
jousse entreprise – paris
laffanour – galerie downtown – paris
louisa guinness gallery – london
magen h gallery – new york
moderne gallery – philadelphia
nilufar gallery – milan
ornamentum – hudson
pierre marie giraud – brussels
priveekollektie contemporary art + design – heusden aan de maas
r & company – new york
southern guild – cape town
victor hunt design art dealer – brussels
volume gallery – chicago

[ special exhibitions ]
of the 35 galleries at design miami/ 2014 11 are among those that participated in the first year of the fair in 2005. several of these founding galleries present special exhibitions that celebrate the growth of the collectible design market over the past decade. these include a display dedicated to public commissions in france from the 1960s and 70s from demisch danant; an exhibition on the functional, durable furniture created for universities by charlotte perriand, jean prouvé and le corbusier from galerie patrick seguin; a monograph on rick kauffman’s new york art et industrie gallery and the creative crossover surrounding it from magen h gallery, and newly commissioned works debuting at the fair with cristina grajales gallery, galerie kreo, r & company and nilufar.

[ special commissions ]
design miami/ 2014 features a significant number of special commissions, including works in glass, stone and acrylic. ammann//gallery presents the sakala vase by satyendra pakhalé, his first work in blown murano glass; galerie vivid presents commissioned works by finnish-born designer janne kyttanen, which take the designer’s 3d printed aluminum sedona bench as their point of departure; max lamb creates a granite lamp for johnson trading gallery made over six days using stitch drilling, and jeweler ted noten unveils a table – his first foray into furniture – at ornamentum.

[ a bronze age ]
it may have associations with the earliest days of human craft, but bronze is very much the material of the moment at design miami/. from artist jewelry to monumental decorative works, via furniture and lighting, the cast metal is deployed across multiple formats at this year’s fair. casati gallery introduces the work of chicago-based designer steven haulenbeek with a collection of bronze mirrors, furniture, lights and objects all distinguished by the ‘chaotic texture’ produced by casting in ice. carwan gallery debuts furniture pieces combining bronze, onyx, mother of pearl, resins, fine inlaid wood and silver-plated brass by italian architect vincenzo de cotiis. carpenters workshop gallery shows a new collection of iconoclastic architectural-themed bronzes from studio job; and new furniture pieces and jewelry by claude lalanne are exhibited by louisa guinness gallery.

[ cabinets of curiosity ]
spanning the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, design curio/ presents four immersive environments of objects, textures, artifacts and ideas that truly challenge and contextualize familiar design narratives. this first edition, in celebration of the fair’s 10th anniversary, emphasizes surprising installations of scientific research alongside handcraft and creative production. these include oceanic art and design endeavor coral morphologic’s blue room, offering a coral-eye view of miami’s aquatic waterscapes; beijing’s gallery all presenting naihan li’s latest installation from her i am a monument series, recreating beijing’s cityscape to a scale of 1:100 with billowing smog rising amongst buildings reimagined as furniture pieces. koenig & clinton and joe sheftel gallery partner to present a collection of sottsass objects interacting with works by the memphis group in a jewel-box space; patrick parrish gallery invites visitors to experience the vertiginous grid-based exhibition: surfaces on which your setting and sitting will be uncertain, displaying a group of sculptural furniture objects by ro/lu with matching clothing designs by various projects.

event> design miami/ 2014 @designmiami #designmiami
dates> 3 – 7 december 2014
venue> meridian & 19th street miami beach, usa
december 3-4/ 10am-8pm
december 5/ 11am-8pm
december 6/ 12-8pm
december 7/ 12-6pm

>about veronica kovachi

design miami 2014 preview #2.

Nov 27, 2014

[ perrier-jouët ] exclusive champagne sponsor of design miami/, continues bringing to life its art nouveau heritage with its new design partnership with the vienna based duo mischer’traxler. the project, perrier-jouët presents small discoveries by mischer’traxler, will be revealed at design miami/ 2 – 6 december 2014 with ephemerā, mischer’traxler’s master work of small discoveries, marking the starting point of a year-long artistic residency.

studio job | chartres | carpenters workshop gallery< |2009 -2012 | limited edition of 5 + 2 ap

[ carpenters workshop gallery ] presents studio job revisiting the world’s most beautiful monuments. the tour begins with big ben aftermath- a functional sculpture incorporating mechanical clockwork. we are then transported to historical france with inspiration from the famous chartres cathedral, then a quick stop to paris with eiffel tower lamp, which although made of hand-painted bronze appears to bend like rubber. finally, the journey becomes more far-flung and takes us to india with taj mahal table.

franz west| divan | unique | carpenters workshop gallery< | 2003

additionally, the gallery will show furniture pieces by franz west.

trapèze table | jean prouvé | laffanour – galerie downtown | 1954

[ laffanour – galerie downtown ] / paris presents an exceptional lineup of rare work by french masters. the highlights include pieces by jean prouvé, charlotte perriand, serge mouille, and jean royère. the gallery’s display is reflective of its commitment to promoting architects’ furniture designs and its vision rooted in the rapprochement between different art forms and shared by artists and designers of the 1950s.

bibliothèque bookcase | charlotte perriand | laffanour – galerie downtown | 1957

catch ceiling lamp – 10 glasses | lindsey adelman | customizable | nilufar gallery

[ nilufar gallery ] is pleased to invite you at the 10th edition of design miami to discover its selection of important pieces by lindsey adelman, fulvio bianconi for venini, lina bo bardi and carlo pagani, maas-fjetterstrom and barbro nilsson, martino gamper, nicholas hughes, vibeke klint, massimiliano locatelli, xavier lust, gio ponti, roberto giulio rida, sergio rodrigues, paavo tynell, nanda vigo.

bisazza wears emilio pucci

luxury italian mosaic company bisazza and legendary fashion house emilio pucci will showcase for the first time in north america bisazza wears emilio pucci, a new collection of bisazza mosaics inspired by historic emilio pucci prints, including new never-before-seen designs, into large-scale bisazza mosaics. the collection will be on view in miami at the bisazza (3740 ne 2nd avenue), and emilio pucci (155 ne 40th street) showrooms, both located in the design district.

[ welcome to the future ] an installation by new york-based artist daniel arsham explores this interplay between technology and the passing of time. he’s created a fictional archaeological site filled with 20th-century media devices—nintendo controllers, boom boxes, electric guitars, slr cameras, blackberry phones, vhs tapes, walkman players, film projectors, portable televisions, radios—all rendered in ancient geological materials, like volcanic ash, crystal, and obsidian. to create the site, arsham dug an excavation trench 25 feet in diameter into the concrete floor of the gallery and filled it with his new-old sculptures. [ kickstarter ]

>locust projects | 3852 north miami avenue miami design district

design miami 2014. preview.

Nov 17, 2014

above> peter marino: design miami/ 2014 design visionary award winner

above> zaha hadid’s site-specific installation at design.05 miami / recent photo of the moore building

ten years ago, a small fair for collectible design named design.05 miami launched concurrently with art basel miami beach. located in the moore building in the miami design district, it offered a selection of fifteen invited exhibitors, with the stated aim of bringing museum-quality galleries together with the best collectors, connoisseurs, and designers from around the world in one of the premier destinations for art and design.

fast forward 10 years. rodman primack, executive director of design miami/ stated, “the fair grew out of the need for a consolidated marketplace that would act as a platform to showcase the range and strength of what was then a fledgling market.” adding, “since then, the collectible design market has really changed in scale; it’s internationalized and diversified, and this is reflected very clearly in the fair. design miami/ has changed the way galleries engage with their audiences. i am excited to see this ecosystem bringing so many distinct viewpoints and aesthetics together.”

above> a rare photo (designapplause can never get him to pose) of muecke with a model of the pavilion concept

[ pavilion commission ]
minneapolis-based designer jonathan muecke has been commissioned to create the pavilion for the tenth anniversary of design miami/.

the design miami/ pavilion commission has become an important feature of the fair. an ephemeral extension of the fair space itself, the pavilion is at once an exhibit and a piece of functional temporary architecture. while the commission is traditionally given to an early career architect or studio, for its tenth anniversary design miami/ has selected a designer whose practice reflects the multifaceted nature of the fair itself.

alexandra cunningham cameron, creative director at design miami/ commented, “for our tenth anniversary, we wanted to pay homage to the type of young designer that design miami/ wishes to champion – one who experiments with materials, form and scale; who is as much a theorist as a maker; and who challenges us to consider how we relate to the world built around us.”

muecke studied architecture at iowa state, interning at the architectural office of herzog & de meuron in basel, switzerland before studying design at the cranbrook academy of art. muecke has evolved a design practice that resists standard divisions between design, art and architecture, instead focusing on refined forms that investigate notions of positive and negative space that relate to humanscale.

centered around a double-layered circular structure with apertures at both poles, muecke’s design miami pavilion (dmp) is designed on a human scale, rejecting monumentality in favor of lightness and variability.

above> in a not so rare photo of peter marino in leather on metal on leather. a leather vest pricked all over with metal studs, leather wrist guards with metal spikes, a leather hat with a metal skull, a strand of leather hanging from his neck which holds some metal knives, leather belt, metal belt buckle, metal knuckles with skulls, leather pants, leather boots. all the leather is always black.

[ new initiatives ]
design miami/ is launching two new forward-looking initiatives this year: the exhibition strand design curio, and the design visionary award.

conceived as contemporary ‘cabinets of curiosity’, the four independently curated design curio booths scattered throughout the fair will take the widest possible view of design practice. they will go beyond the scope of collectibledesign to embrace diverse fields from science and technology, to handcraft,and from unrealized prototypes to esoteric collections.

[ design visionary ]
the inaugural design visionary award recognizes peter marino. with this award, design miami/ recognizes marino for his achievements as an architect, for his knowledge and status as a collector of design, art and the decorative arts, and for the impact he has had as an advisor on contemporary and twentieth century design to his numerous clients.

commenting on the first edition of this award, primack stated, “this award is about recognizing the figures that have really propelled the world of design in the broader sense. peter is a great talent, and is also an amazing patron of others’ talents. his knowledge of furniture, his ability to create collections in design and his work with leading brands to help them understand the importance of bringing design voices into their world have substantially impacted the market and the language of design”.

marino founded his eponymous architecture, planning and design studio in new york in 1978 having trained with i. m. pei and george nelson. early clients included andy warhol, yves saint laurent and pierre bergé, and gianni and marella agnelli.

Design miami 2012. Looking back #1.

Dec 11, 2012

snarkitecture’s ‘drift pavilion’ greets you at the entrance of design miami pavilion | click > enlarge

forthcoming interview w/ alex mustonen + daniel arsham | snarkitecture

fendi invited belgian designer maarten de ceulaer to interpret modernist-inspired pequin pattern in the design performance ‘transformations’

we chat with asif. “this exercise is a bit different in that we attempt, and succeed, to reproduce a natural phenomenom.”

main sponsor [ swarovski crystal palace ] commissions london designer asif khan to explore the relationship between crystal, light, nature and architecture using 1.3 million swarovski crystals to create ‘parhelia’

[ demisch danant ] For Design Miami 2012, the gallery presented the first show focused entirely on the works of French designer Pierre Guariche (1926–1995). Displayed in two sections, this exhibition presents rare and significant works of 1950–1955 and 1958–1962, to highlight two distinct periods of the designer’s illustrious career.

[ galerie kreo ] is dedicated to artistic exploration in design, and has exclusive international rights to remarkable limited edition pieces by such luminaries as ronan & erwan bouroullec, pierre charpin, hella jongerius, konstantin grcic, jasper morrison, and martin szekely. galerie kreo founder, didier krzentowski, is instrumental in creating the design gallery concept for design miami.

charlotte perriand and jean prouvé | galerie downtown

london/paris-based [ carpenters workshop gallery ] is here to show sebastian brajkovic, vincent dubourg, lonneke grodjijn & ralph nauta, mathieu lehanneur, nendo, pablo reinoso, frederik molenschot, robert stadler, studio job and johanna grawunder.

forthcoming ‘crack of dawn’ interview at satai with johanna grawunder

italy’s [ galleria nilufar ] seems always novel and unexpected. michelangelo pistoletto and juan e. sandoval and using existing laleggera chairs designed by riccardo blumer for alias conceive ‘i mediterranei – love difference’. the 45 seats exclusive for design miami reproduce the profile of the carribean sea. the effort supports ‘love difference’ a non-profit promoting cultural differences in the mediterranean.

forthcoming ‘mid-crack of dawn’ interview at satai with henry munoz

Henry R. Muñoz III, a San Antonio-based designer and social activist creates Mestizo City, a 6,700 square-foot site-specific installation. A playful interactive public space, created to represent the vibrant and varied Latino culture and its growing influence in the United States. Created for the Miami Design District during Art Basel Miami Beach 2012, Mestizo City will be on view and open to the public.

‘lost time’ by tim simpson and sarah van gameren of glithero for perrier-jouët

The construction is made with weighted, beaded strings that hang to form curves. The technique used is an ode to Spanish Art Nouveau architect Antoni Gaudi in designing his Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona. The concept embodies five characteristics of Art Nouveau: The Perfect Curve, Reflection, Timelessness, Organic forms and Craftsmanship. [ perrier-jouët ] is a first-time exhibitor and exclusive champagne partner.

the ‘architecture for dogs’ installation offers an interesting opportunity to explore architecture in a different way. the audi ‘r18 ultra chair’ project offers an ultra interesting opportunity to explore chairs in a ultra different way. audi uses technology from their le mans winning r18 racecar, 25 iterations of computer and cardboard models, public beta testing at milan 2012 (we tested it), a borrowed industrial robot from their production line, and incorporates folded sheet aluminum with the latest carbon composite materials used directly from the r18 racecar to make an ultra light and extremely durable [ r18 ultra chair ]. both examples remind us that innovation from concept thru execution can be so different yet so similar and mutually inspirational.

official (edited) release just in > The eighth edition of Design Miami/ saw record attendance and robust sales throughout its six-day run in Miami from December 4-9, 2012. Thirty-six of the world’s leading galleries presented contemporary and historic design, which sold well among the 31,000 design collectors and enthusiasts who attended the fair.

There was a notable increase in the number of collectors, personalities and designers visiting the fair, including Peter Brant, Delfina Delettrez Fendi, Maxine and Stuart Frankel, Pharrell Williams, Wendi Murdoch, Will Farrell, Todd Eberle, Patrick McMullan, Leonard and Jane Abess, Kanye West, Don Soffer, Silvia Fendi, Donna Karan, Lady Victoria Harvey, Fernando and Humberto Campana, Joshua Rechnitz, George Lindemann, Terry Richardson, Joseph Altuzarra, Ricardo Tisci, Wendell Castle, Martha Stewart, David Adjaye, Cecilia Dean, Juan Montoya, Kelly Wearstler, Jamie Drake, Waldo Fernandez, Steven Volpe, Alex Gorlin and George Yabu.

Museum representatives attended from the Metropolitain Museum of Art, the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, the Victoria+Albert, the MAK Vienna, the Vitra Design Museum, MCA Denver, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, the Walker Art Center, the Carnegie Museum and the Guggenheim among many others.

Design Miami/ welcomed thirteen new galleries to the fair this year including, Galerie BSL and Galerie Jacques Lacoste from Paris, Jason Jacques from New York, Galerie Rossella Colombari from Milan, Gabrielle Ammann // Gallery from Cologne and Moderne from Philadelphia.

“Design Miami/ 2012 has been our most important fair in Miami to date in terms of program, exposure and attendance,” says Marianne Goebl, director of Design Miami/. “With a 25% increase in the number of participating galleries, exceptional site-specific design collaborations and a strong educational program of talks, tours and online presence, we continue to expand our cross-disciplinary approach to design at the intersection of culture and commerce.”

This year, visitors to Design Miami/ were welcomed by Drift, a pavilion created by New Yorkbased collaborative studio Snarkitecture at the entrance to the fair tent located next to the Miami Convention Center. A floating environment comprised of massive inflatable tubes was visible from a distance of several blocks.

Once again, Design Miami’ partners actively contributed to the fair by commissioning sitespecific design installations from emerging design talents: Audi presented the “R18 Ultra Chair” designed by Clemens Weisshaar and Reed Kram. Asif Khan designed “Parhelia” for Swarovski Crystal Palace, the Design Performance “Transformations” by Maarten de Ceulaer was supported by Fendi, and the installation “Lost Time” by Glithero was commissioned by Perrier-Jouët.

The Miami Design District played host to several of the Design Miami/ Design Satellites, unique exhibitions with strong curatorial and educational perspectives, including Architecture for Dogs, curated by Kenya Hara, and an exhibition by Acconci Studio, Design Miami’s Designer of the Year 2012.

The fair enhanced its educational offering with an engaging Design Talks series featuring the Design Pioneers Diane von Furstenberg, Vito Acconci and Wendell Castle. The BE OPEN Forum series of profile talks featured conversations with designers practicing outside the boundaries of traditional product design, utilizing food, scent, biochemistry and haptic technology to make research accessible to the global community and showcasing design through sensory exploration.

Design Miami/ enjoyed its strongest online presence to date with record social media activation. Thousands of people followed the show unfold on Design Log, Design Miami’s blog while Art.sy, the digital partner of the fair, created for the first time a digital experience to discover the work from the participating galleries online. Design Miami/ 2012 on Art.sy will be on view for the next week for those who missed attending the fair.

Tours by the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, an ARTBOOK – Cooper Hewitt shop featuring collectible books and objects related to the exhibition program of Design Miami/, a bespoke scent by 12.29 New York I Paris, the Collectors Lounge hosted by Regalia and designed by Cassina and a Pop-Up Café by Michael’s Genuine Food and Drink rounded out
this year’s visitor experience.

[ main gallery program ]
Caroline Van Hoek/ Brussels
Carpenters Workshop Gallery/ London & Paris
Cristina Grajales Gallery/ New York
Demisch Danant/ New York
Didier Ltd / London
Gabrielle Ammann // Gallery/ Cologne
Galerie BSL / Paris
Galerie Downtown-François Laffanour / Paris
Galerie Jacques Lacoste/ Paris
Galerie kreo / Paris
Galerie Patrick Seguin / Paris
Galerie VIVID / Rotterdam
Galleria Rossella Colombari / Milan
Gallery SEOMI / Seoul
Hostler Burrows / New York
Industry Gallery / Washington DC & Los Angeles
Jason Jacques Inc. / New York
Johnson Trading Gallery / New York
Jousse Entreprise / Paris
Magen H Gallery / New York
Moderne Gallery / Philadelphia
Mark McDonald / Hudson
Nilufar Gallery / Milan
Ornamentum / Hudson
Pierre Marie Giraud / Brussels
Priveekollektie Contemporary Art|Design / Heusden
R 20th Century / New York
Venice Projects / Venice

[ design on/site ]
Antonella Villnova / Florence presenting Delfina Delettrez
Booo / Eindhoven presenting Front
Carwan Gallery / Beirut presenting India Mahdavi
Design Space / Tel Aviv presenting Michal Cederbaum and Noam Dover
Erastudio Apartment- Gallery / Milan presenting
Victor Hunt Designart Dealer / Brussels presenting Slyvain Willenz + CIRVA
Volume Gallery / Chicago presenting Snarkitecture

[ schedule of events ]
public show | 5 > 9 december 2012
preview day | 4 december | collectors preview 12 > 6p | vernissage 6 > 9p
Design Miami’s cultural programme, including Design Talks, Design Performances, and Design Satellites, as well as the 2012 Designer of the Year, will be announced in the coming weeks.

[ about design miami/ ]
Design Miami/ is the global forum for design. Each fair brings together the most influential collectors, gallerists, designers, curators and critics from around the world in celebration of design culture and commerce. Occurring alongside the Art Basel fairs in Miami, USA each December and Basel, Switzerland each June, Design Miami/ has become the premier venue for collecting, exhibiting, discussing and creating collectible design. [ design miami/ ] [ design log ]

DIY architecture for dogs. Designmiami 2012.

Dec 10, 2012

click > enlarge

There is so much to see at DesignMiami and Art Basel it’s hard to see everything. So you ask, “See anything interesting?” This year ‘Architecture for Dogs’ caught most everyone’s interest. This is an exhibit in the Design District, about 10 minutes from the Design pavilion and Art Basel. Kenya Hara, the art director for Muji assembles 13 notable architects and designers to do what they do best: conceptualize. Each concept comes with a free downloadable blueprint as well as instructions and videos demonstrating customization. You can pick by dog, degree of difficulty or simply your favorite. The end products are so cute you don’t even need to own a dog. Hara sees the project as an opportunity to explore architecture in a different way. And that’s what’s really so interesting along with the DIY concept.

beagle house / interactive dog house | mvrdv
The curved shape invites the dog to enter the house, stimulates play and offers a comfortable and quiet space. Every time the dog enters or exits, the house answers with a subtle motion. The rounded bottom touches the ground gently with little friction. The rope attached to the house makes it easy to move for both dog and owner, and humans can easily carry its wedge shape. The interaction with humans is made more obvious since the curved lines reach human eye level. The firm and active Beagle has inspired us to design a simple, strong and playful object.

papier papillon | shigeru ban
With just two wires, the paper tube found inside the ubiquitous cylinder of plastic wrap changes shape, making a space for dogs. You can make a bed, a swing, a maze-like environment, even a chair or table for yourself.

architecture for the bichon frise | kazuo sejima
The fur of the bichon frise is distinct. Extremely white, soft and fluffy, it’s like cotton candy, or a whisp of cloud. This architecture resembles the bichon frise–with its fascinating fur, but one size larger. Our goal was to create a shape that would be completed by the reclining bichon frise. Dog and architecture would become one.

no dog, no life! / boston terrier | sou fujimoto
This is the house where the dog lives, inside the house where the people who own the dog live. This architecture is a living space for the dog, as well as furniture for the people, a garden within the house, as well as a gentle boundary between the people and the dog. Humans artificially turned dogs into pets. Dogs, as pets, therefore lose their animal understanding. NO DOG, NO LIFE! is a new architectural space meant to act as a framework within which humans and dogs can, as they live together, interact proactively.

dachshund smooth / architecture for long-bodied-short-legged dod | atelier bow-wow
Because of their short legs, it’s hard for dachshunds to meet their masters’ eyes. Also because of their short legs, it’s hard for them to get up on chairs. Is there no good way to get closer to the eyes? Stairs? Let’s make it long enough so a person can lie down too. Sunbathing with your dachshund on the veranda is good. If you connect several, they can go anywhere, and form any shape. Multiple stacks in an atrium space make a ramp for the dogs to go upstairs.

mobile home for shiba | toyo ito
Whether it rains all day, or the asphalt is hot, whether the dog has aged and its legs and loins are sore, dogs want to go out for a walk with their owners everyday. I attached tires to a well-ventilated wooden basket. The crate floor is designed to be as close to the ground as possible so that the dog could board and disembark by itself. In addition, because it can act as a bed that fits in the entryway or inside the house, it is even more of a mobile doghouse.

mount pug | kengo kuma
Mount Pug is a mesh-shaped “mountain,” assembly of thin and long 600mm (plywood) pieces as “branches.” By combining the unevenness of each branch to form in hexagon and triangle, the “branches” begin to support each other as if the cells of living creatures. The “mountain” can gain enough strength from it without nails or a bond. Pug is clever and mischievous. It makes full use of the mesh as its nest and plaything. Toys and snacks can also be hung on the mesh.

dog cooler / spitz | hiroshi naito
My beloved dog, Pepe, who the year before last passed away at the ripe age of sixteen, and who spent with me the busiest years of my life, was a dear friend. Summer in Japan, hot and humid as it is, is the worst climate—for people and dogs. His favorite summer spot was the ofuro-ba, or bathing area, where he would lower his body temperature by lying on the tile floor. By inserting a plastic bag filled with ice into the highly thermally conductive aluminum pipe, you can expect quite the cooling effect. I decided to tuck wood slats in between the metal tubes, to allow the dog’s claws to get a firm hold. Connecting the metal to the wood with rubber hose allows the dog to feel comfortable and relaxed on this cooling contraption, which can be adapted to the layout of your room. This piece is my tribute to Pepe.

pointed t / japanese terrier | hara design institute / haruka misawa
Take one large sheet of heavy paper. Cut a part off and fold it. Hang it from the ceiling and you have a territory for your dog in the room. You don’t need nails or any construction tools. A house without walls, whose roof just floats, is completely different from traditional doghouses, creating an ambiguous space for the dog. When a Japanese terrier is in the house, his head is completely hidden, but you can see his skinny legs through the gaps, prancing along, and it looks exactly like he’s wearing a big pointy hat. For the dog, it’s a house, but for humans, it’s a unique dog object.

wanmock / jack russell terrier | torafu architects
Observing the favorite place of this dog, whose qualities make him a good partner for people, we found that he’s happiest on his master’s clothes. The smell and the feeling of the fabric set the dog at ease. So we devised a piece of furniture for the dog to inhabit that would incorporate the master’s clothes. For summer, a material that lets the air through; in winter something thicker; the clothing can be changed with the seasons. We came up with two building methods and frame materials, plywood or decking, the choice of which can be determined by the user’s DIY skills. In Japanese, a dog says, “wan”. The name “Wan-mock” combines the woof and the piece’s signature “hammock” style.

paramount for toy poodle | konstantin grcic
I have recently come across an article about the so-called “Mirror Test”, which is used by neurologists to examine the self-awareness of animals based on whether or not they can recognize themselves in a mirror. Among the ‘lesser’ creatures the great apes, dolphins, elephants, and rats are the only ones confirmed to recognize the image in the mirror as themselves. Humans, out of interest, are only able to accomplish the test after they’re 18 months to 2 years old. Dogs have been ruled complete failures at self-awareness which can be explained by the simple fact that they are relying primarily on senses other than sight. Having said this, there is a group of poodle owners who are gathering in respective internet forums to debate their fervid disagreement with this assumption. They claim that their poodles are reacting positively to mirrors and displaying unmistakable signs of self-awareness.

d-tunnel / teacup poodle | kenya hara
I thought up a device/installation that equalizes human scale and dog scale, or in other words, a scale modifier. For instance, each step of a stairway is 15cm high, around the world. This came to be naturally because of the height of humans and the length of their feet. The same goes for the existence and size of doors, in fact, the size of houses and cities are predicated on the human body. Accordingly, dogs, who spend their lives at the side of humans, must accept human scale. This architecture is an apparatus for the purpose of naturally bringing dogs and humans eye to eye. As for those super-small dogs, who spend all their time looking up, definitely let them try it out!

chihuahua cloud | reiser + umemoto
The Cloud is architecture that travels with the dog, a second skin that communicates the uniqueness of any given Chihuahua’s body and temperament. Designed to suit the specific needs of this feisty breed, the Cloud creates a climatic buffer to shield the dog from cold, and provides protection for the general weakness of the dog’s bones—including the soft spots around the skull (moleras) and the sensitive area near the eyes. In the Cloud the dog is warm, protected, and secure. Furthermore, the Cloud serves as a veil that neutralizes preconceptions about the size of Chihuahuas. The illusion of larger mass is befitting of the Chihuahua’s big personality. For the DIY enthusiast, the intricate process of crafting the Cloud creates an opportunity for the owner to make something special for their pet, thereby strengthening their relationship.

[ architecture for dogs ] [ hara design institute ] [ muji ] [ designmiami ]

Luminaire presents salvatori to miami.

Feb 3, 2012

click > enlarge
event: luminaire presents salvatori
date: thursday, 9 february | 6 > 8p

venue: luminaire lab | 3901 ne 2nd avenue | miami design destrict
[ details ] [ rsvp ]

Architect luis pons designs “chapel.”

Dec 9, 2011

“Chapel” an organically shaped, meditation chamber designed by architect Luis Pons is part of Inventory 02: Soul Does Matter, an exhibition showcasing the work of a provocative group of designers who embrace the concept of limited production manufacturing. The exhibition, which attracted a lot of attention during Art Basel Miami Beach, will be on view in the Buena Vista Building, 189 NE 39 Street #120, in the Miami Design District through 19 December 2011.

“Chapel” offers a relaxed interior for one to four people and is pre-programmed by the facilitator to support the users’ individual needs during daily sessions. Upon entry users experience a period of meditation, during which the chapel’s integrated lighting, sound, and aroma therapeutic scent systems are set to create a calming atmosphere. Meditation is followed by activation of the video-conferencing mode, during which users engage in a two-way communication with an energy expert via the Chapel’s Internet connected state-of-the-art video conferencing system. Sessions close with the Chapel returning once again to a meditation atmosphere for a period of time. When users leave the Chapel low-level lighting gently illuminates the interior until the next session begins.

“In the Chapel we leave the distractions and chatter of the everyday world behind. Here we are able to embrace and enhance our ability to reconnect to the energy source that is within ourselves and always available in the universe,” says Pons. “The chapel’s organic shape is a symbol of life itself. Like a cocoon, it is a source of, and protective space for, birth, rebirth, renewal, and growth.”

The 18’ x 12’ x 9’ structure is fabricated from 69 elliptical panels crafted from translucent white fabric that was custom designed, creating a soft oval interior space. This interior space sits on an oval platform made of acrylic light cast cotton. A custom designed sofa bench offering seating for up to four people inside the Chapel is oriented toward a 42” audio/video LED display with integrated speakers. The audio/visual system includes an Apple Mac mini control processor and computer, an HD web camera with a microphone, and an iPod Touch. A high-performance LED lighting system can be programmed to bathe the interior in various lighting schemes.

[ about the exhibition ]
Curated by Thais Fontenelle, Soul Does Matter is the second exhibition from Inventory and features an array of design objects in a range of mediums and disciplines. The show is presented with the intent to explore themes centered on the interplay between the material and the intangible personality of design objects. The highly disparate limited edition pieces that comprise the show reflect the unique visions and worldviews of their respective designers yet unify around the shared theme.