neocon 2013 – DesignApplause

Harbor work lounge and designer nicolai czumj-bront. Neocon 2013.

Nov 8, 2013

[DesignApplause] We’re are with Haworth designer Nicolai Czumaj-Bront. Nicolai, congratulations, a Best of Neocon Silver. Please tell us about your Harbor Work Lounge collection.
[Nicolai Czumaj-Bront] Thank you, very proud about the award. We are introducing this collection for Haworth. Technology today allows us to work anywhere and how we want to. Because of that, we bring a lot of stuff with us. Bag, notebook, iPpod, tablet, computer, laptop or your drink. Whatever you need to feel comfortable to work the way you want. Now you can work in a private space, collaborative space, hotel lobby / rooms, at home even…

The Work Lounge is meant to allow you to work where you want, how you want to work and have the things with you that let you do the work you want to do. It has a sliding tablet that slides away from and toward you to give you room to work. It has the wing, where you can put your other items next to your phone or tablet. Even a cup-holder to provide a place for you to put your drink. The ottoman even has a cup-holder as well in it. It also has high adjustability. This way, if more people come into a space, you can have someone sit in the ottoman and get more function out of it. There is a lot of variability in the options. You can do a partial upholstered, an exposed version…you can do veneer or laminate.

[DA] What is the exposed version?
[N] The exposed is the plywood form that you would see visually. You would also have a pad and a seating area as well as a little sway pad next to you. The exposed version would be fully exposed plywood. You can really dress it up or down. It has kind of a unique look to it, but also a lot of variability in terms of application, usability and aesthetics. It changes the way we look at lounges these days and how we work at them. How we can deal with different types of spaces, but also has something that is re-adaptable.

[DA] Yes, these are beautiful and lean. They almost look like they are wanting to fly.
[N] Yes. I think in airports they would go over quite well. Then also, you see the suede on the wing, which has a dual purpose. With a wool covered wing you would have slippery gadgets falling off if you twisted or moved around. But the suede keeps things where they need to be. It’s also water resistant so if you spill, it won’t stain the fabric.

The lounge and ottoman is really a nice composition of the aesthetics, the function of it. The heights and the posture are really a hybrid between task seating and lounge seating. You can be upright in this. A little bit more than a lounge, but not so much as a task chair. Everything between the function and the ergonomics of it are balancing between those two worlds of work and home.

[DA] What’s your relationship with Haworth?
[N] I’m an internal designer with Haworth. We have a program at Haworth where we explore 3-5-10 years out. If things make sense at the time, we move them forward. We look at how people are going to be working and how things work. It made sense to introduce the ensemble now as technology has evolved to allow us to work in many places. I had this concept about 2 years ago and have been working through it. We went 100% in January to bring it to NeoCon for the show. It’s been a fairly quick pace for the program.

[DA] Being in-house, is this thing built on things that are really Haworth-natural or are there new physical properties that bring innovation?
[N] Very Haworth-natural and easy to create as we are familiar with the materials and pieces. For example, you can do left or right handed. The nice thing about this is that it’s one piece of plywood. So inside the molded foam is plywood. But then they can either cut the left or right side out. Using the manufacturing capability to allow for the variability in application or function. Even the tablet is actually a larger piece of plywood they can cut from left or right hand. It’s simple tooling that’s been around for ages, but it’s about rethinking it and how we can do it differently to provide designers more variability in the aesthetics.

[DA] What did you learn while working on this project?
[N] Things can be beautiful and still elegant and pass all of the hundreds of thousands of BIFMA standards.

That’s always the goal. Everyone always wants it lighter, elegant and beautiful, but it still has to pass all of the standards that get greater and greater every year. In some ways, it was a reward for myself and the team that we were able to take the original sketch to the computer program while maintaining the aesthetics without sacrificing anything to pass the requirements.

[DA] The solution is so clean and light. You should do a sofa. How did you create the thin profile?
[N] Right now we’re talking about maybe doing a beam for this piece. You can imagine an airport having these two wings on the outside and a middle piece in between. We’re quite far along with all the pieces we need. A few more, we might be able to do this. After that, I think we’ll see a lot more evolution in home office products. With technology now, we’ll see how things go. We have some ideas in the works. It just depends on the market and if they are ready for it.

[DA] What’s really exciting and cool right now in the world of design?
[N] I’m really curious to see what will happen with 3D printing and how it will lend itself more to some of the big manufacturers. Imagine doing a chair that doesn’t have aluminum or steel tooling. Imagine making that one-off chair so each person could have a task chair that fits them more comfortably. What would it mean for more mass production? I’m really curious to see how that evolves as we go forth. There’s a lot of opportunity there to realize the ability to make things adjustable per the user.

[DA] Creative minds are really going to do things with it.
[N] The other thing is just sharing with technology. Just the evolution we’re doing internally at Haworth and what that will mean in terms of the workplace. Working wherever you want to. The beach, the park, a museum. I’m curious what will happen with technology both in terms of digital but also in terms of production. What that will mean for all industries in general. What it means for the flexibility of people. They can be more transient and work where they want to work while having more of a lifestyle. Merging those worlds.

[DA] Have you been with Haworth for a long time? Do you do other things besides furniture?
[N] I primarily do furniture and live in Chicago. I’m from here originally. I worked for a small consultant agency for a few years. I’ve been at Haworth almost 8 years. I’ve worked on everything from tables to task seating to more high-end things such as Haworth collection pieces. But mostly doing furniture.

I also do personal stuff such as work with reclaimed wood. I’ll take it and bind it together. All the old wood that has been weathered or rained on gets C&C cut it to reveal all these new colors and textures. The idea here is balancing how much control do I really have. I’m putting the wood together, but in the end, it’s the colors and grains that allows the wood to be what it is. It’s kind of imperfection, but that’s the beauty of it.

[DA] Are these winding up as sculptures?
[N] They are more stools and tables. But I’d like to do more sculptural pieces. Working with the wood the way I do, it’s wonderful how it evolves and how the materiality shines through when you let it be its own material and not try to control it so much. In that mindset I’m kind of working with this raw material with a very high-end manufacturing process which is very precise.

[DA] Like ‘I really want to make a grasshopper, but the grain turned it into a kangaroo.’
[N] Right, kind of just let it be what it is.

nicolai czumj-bront | haworth design studio

[ haworth ]

Interview with designer toan nguyen. Neocon 2013.

Oct 10, 2013

Laguntas was debuted at Salone 2013 but we wanted to the the designer of this interesting hybrid sofa/lounge, Toan Nguyen. We find him at Neocon 2013
[DesignApplause] Toan, tell us about the big idea within this product.
[Toan Nguyen] The Coalesse current tagline is ‘Work and Home’ and our concept maybe brings a little of the home into the office, a little office into the home. The home is more private, typically, than in the office, and a screen concept is incorporated early and the sofa can now function as a divider. An when we’re in a more expansive environment such as common space within and office or public space such as the lobby of a hotel, an aisle in an airport, we can feel more private with this concept.

Once we address the space issue we ask how to possibly add a little more versatility which we achieve with two operative sitting positions. And maybe you need to write and you don’t have any tables and we can add a table accessory. We also offer both high and low options and the low behaves as a sectional sofa. We just have a range from a lounging to an architectural product. Once the applications are met we realize we’ve created an all-in-one tool with applications that range from lounging to an architectural product. Laguntas is really a tool.

[DA] You’ve described shape and application. Tell us about the technology, the engineering.
[TN] At first glance this is a low-tech item, i.e, not made for gadgets. But the engineering of the product itself embraces technology. This collection is completely engineered, not a craft project but a complete industrial production product. We experimented with plastic: recycling, separation processes and injected several plastic pieces where metal was used before. Plastic today is really strong and light. Another innovation is a three-dimensional mesh on the panels. The metal frame under the bench is an innovation with a very thin and strong profile. A very durable fabric. The back cushion is innovative in shape and works as a complete upright back cushion or turn it around and it supports only your lower back. Two ergonomic options. The cushion surprisingly was a very long process because it’s difficult to create soft things. And no levers, knobs, motors to achieve this new shape. Simple.

[DA] I sat in the lounge and the cushion concept is unique. The down position of the cushion gives great support for the lower back.
[TN] Yes, you get lower back support with minimum materials and structure and all the support that you need.

[DA] Toan, what did you learn?
[TN] Many of the processes to engineer the sofa were new to me. I’ve mostly worked with Italian and German companies and this was my first project with an American brand and Coalesse has a very detailed process. It was interesting how all the challenges were addressed and overcome considering the numerous options offered in this collection. I also wanted to keep the look very clean and simple, with no visible fasteners and effortless adjustments.

[DA] We have a couple of Eames Sofa Compact’s at home, and you see springs and screws, everything, in this 1954 product.
[TN] The evolution of the chair began before ’54. But the sofa’s evolution is very recent and still going on. A lot of innovation is happening right now. I feel fortunate to be designing a sofa in this period. It’s challenging and rewarding.

[DA] I’ve talked to several designers about the construction of your frame. It’s very thin and light but strong.
[TN] We refer to the frame as a table. There are no springs but there is softness. And the cushions are independent. If more than one person is sitting and one moves the movement is contained with that person. Which is more important at the office than at home. The contract demands are greater as the user is quite diverse. We wanted a sofa that fits your needs but at the same time the main goal was application.

[DA] What do you see today that excites you?
[TN] I enjoy working with a good team, a creative team. And the team is the design firm as well as the client. You need to find the people who really want to step forward to create a product with the right edginess. A recipe with stimulating ingredients but with a common vision. That’s exciting.

[DA] How were you brought into this project?
[TN] It was very simple. I had common friend with the director of photography for Coalesse. And we met over dinner, which is the best place, to share a discussion. And from this meeting we were asked to work on a small project. Then asked again for a slightly larger project. And then we were asked to develop Laguntas. Finally.

[DA] What’s next?
[TN] I usually prefer not to speak until I can touch it. There are some things going on for sure, but you will see later.

[DA] How do you reach the conclusion of a project?
[TN] The first process is generating ideas and then translating ideas through sketches. Then to computer renderings which refine the shape. Next, and what I really like anyway, is the prototyping. That’s when we start to touch and I like to touch, to feel, to see. The drawings and small models only take you so far. We need to taste and touch it. Prototyping consists of making parts, stitching fabrics, testing, putting all the pieces together. Everything is a question of making.

[DA] Who’s doing the prototyping: Coalesse, you, both?
[TN] We jumped directly to 1:1 scale prototyping at Coalesse. Each part was arrived at through detailed drawings. After trial and error with this part or that we arrive at 90% of the final.

[DA] A two-year process?
[TN] Even more.

[DA] Is there anything that we didn’t talk about?
[TN] Now that we’ve presented this product, I’m very curious about how will it be received, how will it be applied. It’s not a sofa confined to the living room where tradition gives us insight on the life of a living room sofa. That alone makes me wonder if I will try it and how that plays out. There’s the feeling that I’m not controlling things now and I’ve now passed Lagunitas along.

[DA] For me, when I’ve done something and it’s over, I’m a little sad. I grew comfortable with the process and the relationship and it’s like saying goodbye.
[TN] I’m quite happy. Because I can get back in the mix. There’s so many ideas, so many projects and so few good products. You know, we both about the sadness and the happiness but I feel we’re both about the drama and the passion.

[ toan nguyen ] was born in Paris in 1969 and graduated in Industrial Design at ENSCI-Les Ateliers in Paris, in 1995. After experiences in several design studios in Paris, Barcelona and Milan and notably ten years of collaboration with Antonio Citterio as design director and design partner, signing products for many brands such as Axor-Hansgrohe, B&B Italia, Flos, Fusital, Guzzini, Iittala, Kartell, Metalco, Skantherm, Technogym or Vitra, Toan Nguyen founded his own design studio based in Milan in 2008.

Toan Nguyen Studio is a multidisciplinary Atelier focused on design development in many different design fields, from furniture to technological products, in partnership with leading international companies based in Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and USA such as Accademia, Coalesse, Dedon, Fendi Casa, Gruppo Busnelli, Laufen, Lema, Moroso, Urmet Group, Varaschin, Viccarbe and Walter Knoll.

The Bellows Collection designed for Walter Knoll has won a Red Dot Design Award in 2010, Antero, designed for Laufen, has obtained the Red Dot Design Award 2012 and Lagunitas, designed for Coalesse, has won the Best of Neocon award 2013.

[ coalesse ]

Talking to designtex president susan lyons. Neocon 2013.

Sep 26, 2013

susan lyons

We’re talking to Susan Lyons, new president of Designtex.
[DesignApplause] Where was Designtex maybe a year ago, and where were you a year ago? And where are we today?
[Susan Lyons] We’re a 50-year old company. Started by two gentlemen who came together to develop products. Their first product was Verel, a flame retardent woven drapery fabric for the glass wall buildings being erected 50 years ago. This new architecture precipitated objections, mostly from the architects, who wanted a monolithic visual surface. You see, when people move in, there’s a lot of visual chaos in the windows.

That first drapery product, satisfying a need, I think, really started the company down a path towards always looking at ways to combine aesthetic problem solving and performance-based solutions.

Back to your question. A year ago, Designtex was in this showroom space here at Neocon. They had just purchased a large format digital imaging company. This acquisition could propel us into mass customization just-in-time manufacturing, and was one of the things that drew me back to the company. It seemed like a wonderful additional toolkit that we could offer to our clients.

I think one of the things that we’ve always been about and will be about going forward is offering architects and designers a plethora of tools to use to manifest their creative visions for their clients. The large format imaging opportunity was very, very exciting.

A year ago as the imaging thing was picking up speed, we found ourselves focusing less on developing a broader range of textiles. So we’re really trying to bring that back. A year ago, where was I? I was the Creative Director for Materials for Herman Miller. And I loved it, and I love them. But this opportunity presented itself.

[DA] How long were you with Herman Miller?
[SL] I started working with Herman Miller in 2007 and was with them for six years, as a consultant. Before that I was at Designtex from 1989 to 2002, leaving as their creative director to start my own business.

[DA] You’re a creative director in textiles. Are you a textile expert or a designer?
[SL] I never had formal training, but had opportunities to learn on the job. When I was a senior in college I started a tee-shirt printing company. The idea was done as an independent study that was called ‘The Alliance of Art and Culture in Contemporary Life.’ You know, one of those titles you put together to get your advisor to sign off on. I asked two partners to come in and the business went from printing 10 shirts at a time to printing a thousand. Three years later, another partner, a retired stockbroker who eventually bought the entire business.

Then I had an opportunity to go to India and work with a family who owned textile mills in Ahmedabad, India, where Ghandi was from. And I lived with them, worked with them for six months. They were interested in preserving the traditional methods of textile manufacturing, even though they were owners of large industrial factories.

[DA] What year was this?
[SL] 1980. Though they owned these large factories, they were interested in making sure that the villages doing block printing and silk screening and sari and quilt making would still have those opportunities. I was brought in to develop a product that could be exported to the West, to develop a distribution channel.

I worked with all the local artisans. Together we designed a 100 new wood blocks that were more contemporary but used traditional methods. And we developed textiles and quilts and pillows, products that ended up being sold through Habitat in the UK, now The Conran Shop.

That was a great experience for me, I learned a lot about the resources that were available in India including the hand weavers. I came back to the States, showing anybody and everybody all the stuff that I had with me. One women said, ‘Oh, you’re a textile designer,’ and sent me to owner Robin Roberts of Clarence House, a very high-end textile company.

I looked them up in Interior Design Magazine, pre-Internet you know. They made eighteenth century chintz and my work is very minimal, like no way. But this very interesting man said, “I don’t know what to do with you, but this is cool. Why don’t you come and work with us?” So I learned about print design, with him.

Then an opportunity to work at Boris Kroll Fabrics, a company that combined advanced weaving technology with an original and enduring color sensibility. I was made the director of product development and with no weaving experience found myself working on the looms, really hands-on experience, and something I’m quite proud of. I was there for 4 years and Mr. Kroll was still alive, and he was a great teacher and he tought me.

Ironically I ended up at Designtex the first time. And then left. That’s the story. A checkered past.

[DA] Very checkered, but you know what, it also isn’t. It’s pretty focused.
[SL] Yes, I think so. It’s just one of those things where having opportunities to actually get your hands on the making part of it. I love factories, and I love to see how things are made. So to have the opportunity where I had the chance to work for companies that were manufacturers and were makers, is great.

[DA] So you’re now the president. Have you given up your loom and acquired a suit?
[SL] No suit, no suit. You know, when this position came up I had this interesting thought: I’ve designed products and thought, ‘I wonder if I can design a company?’ What would the company look like and how would I do it?

I do see this as a design project. How do you design operations? How do you design product development? The thinking evolved to how do you use design thinking to actually change an organization? How can you design a culture? How could you design an ethos for a company? How could you design its operations?

We have great people internally, fantastic teams. We’re going through a process now that we’re calling ‘simplexity,’ where all of the departments are basically taking themselves apart to then put themselves back together. It’s using those things you know as a designer but applying them to a different set of problems.

[DA] What’s the relationship with Steelcase?
[SL] We’re an independent brand. We’re an independent subsidiary, so we operate independently. We are part of them, we partner with them when it makes sense.

[DA] What’s Designtex’s mission?
[SL] Our role and our mission is really to help the indie community realize their creative vision. So we work with them, and if they decide they want to work over here, we go there with them. Steelcase is a great company to be partnered with, but we also work with, more or less anybody.(laughing.)

[DA] Is Designtex worldwide?
[SL] We are semi-worldwide, I would say. One of our goals for this year is to build a solid international distribution model. We’re very strong in North America, Canada, Mexico, via NAFTA, We have representation in Asia and Australia,

[DA] Were you on Heimtextil? What other shows?
[SL] We’re not a big fan of trade shows. We invest in face-to-face relationships with our sales reps to our clients. We’re at Neocon but I’m not sure where we’re going to show next year. We’ve done various shows over the years, but our big investment is the product, our people and let them work their magic.

[DA] What have you learned since you got this new hat?
[SL] I’ve learned a lot. And I’m learning everyday. We have a good team and I learn from them. I learn from our vendors, we have fabulous mills and suppliers that we work with. Our organization has about 220 people, so I’m learning how you do that. It’s learning how to communicate more effectively. How to can keep everyone motivated. How to crowdsource ideas with your people. My job is fascinating has been an interesting learning curve for me.

[DA] What are Designtex’s services and who’s your customer?
[SL] We already talked about the indie companies. We do a lot of custom work. In the hospitality market, particularly. We have a really strong technical services department so if somebody needs a particular performance product problem to solve, we’re good at that. We now are adept with the digital imaging, and that’s all custom at the moment.

We have a factory up in Portland, Maine, that is peopled by, and run by artists. This factory’s focus is on artistic problem solving. Many of them are very accomplished photographers and painters. They take their skills used in their own work and bring it to our factory, and help our clients develop exciting solutions for their projects.

color wheel collection | “all colors are friends of their neighbors and lovers of their opposites.” —marc chagall

Color is the foundation of a designer’s tool kit, so Designtex has created a color system. The Color Wheel Collection consists of seven textures offered in an expansive range of 250 hues built using Pantone color references. This program allows designers to easily build palettes of primary, secondary, and tertiary colors that are complementary or analogous across the color spectrum.

We’re starting to create standard products as well, but what’s exciting is on-demand manufacturing. For example, we just finished a fantastic project with Rolls-Royce where they wanted panels that could be changed out very easily. We have a magnetic wall system with an image on top of a flexible ferrous material that can just be peeled off, so it looks very architectural, built-in. ‘Swap out’ is very easy and inexpensive. And a very good environmental story too, because you’re not having to rip the things down and replace them with new material.

[DA] Do you do furnishings?
[SL] No, we don’t do furnishings. We do surfacing materials. From upholstery to wall coverings to space division materials.

[DA] Do you make smart fabrics? Fabrics that clean themselves or can change color?
[SL] We’re looking at it. Nothing to talk about yet. But Designtex always had a really strong R&D presence. We brought Carol Derby from our environmental research department and promoted her to vice president of R&D. We’ve always liked combining science and art. Looking at ways to use less material and make materials smarter.

DA] What’s really exciting right now?
[SL] A big answer question. A lot of the answers right now are in 3-D printing. I’m also excited about what the large format for digital imaging can be. I think up until now it’s been used in a prosaic way: The big flowers or photographic scenes on wall panels. There’s room for more creativity. Not to just make art but to make meaningful products. We’re just starting to explore what it can be.

We’ve always been interested in collaborating with other people. Twenty years ago we were working with people within the built environment but weren’t textile designers, per se. Projects with Aldo Rossi and Bob Venturi and Denise Scott Brown, Richard Meier and Chillida. We did quite a few explorations with Pratt Institute. We had a division called One Plus One, now we’re calling it Designtex Plus. So we’re going to begin to see a series of collaborations under that name.

charley harper

The first one we’re doing is called Designtex Plus Charley Harper. I’ve always loved Charley’s work, and I was talking to Todd Oldham, who’s the steward of the archive, and said, “You know, wouldn’t it be great to use Charley’s imagery for a collection, a collection around wellness?” Just because for me, his stuff just makes you feel good. We thought it would be fun to explore how we could take Charley’s work into a healthcare environment. As we’ve been working on it I’m feeling it’s really going to be more about well-being, a much broader interpretation.

Another big focus, of course, we’ve always had a strong interest in environmental product development, trying to move our materials, constantly optimize our materials, and make them better and more sustainable. An example is a new upholstery line called the ‘Gold Standard Collection’ and we like to say it’s so green it’s Gold—NSF/ANSI 336 Gold. The Gold Standard Collection is the first upholstery fabric ensemble to attain this third-party verified certification at the Gold level, demonstrating a commitment to both the environment and the well-being of the end user.

gold standard collection

This is a fun story. A lot of our product is done in post-consumer recycled polyester, and as you probably know, that comes from, a lot from bottle chip. What’s happening in this market, finally, a lot of the beverage companies want their bottles back. They’re taking custody of their materials back, and it’s getting harder and harder to harvest the polyester yarn from just the bottles.

So we thought, we need to start harvesting other waste streams for material. For white yarn we stick to the method just described: we use the bottle chip which becomes resin pellets which leads to post-consumer white yarn.

loop to loop

For color we go one step further. We take all waste from the Steelcase panel plant in Athens, Georgia, which becomes resin which leads to a gray solution-dyed yarn. Solution dyeing is a yarn coloration process in which pigment (all the multiple colors of the waste) is added to the polymer melt before the fiber is extruded into yarn. The color, therefore, is an inherent part of the yarn itself. We can now over-dye this fabric into any color that want. And this product is also recyclable. Well more than that even: It’s the first upholstery made from recycling already recycled textile waste.We call it Loop to Loop because it achieves a closed loop process for products within its supply chain.

[DA] So recyclable on steroids.
[SL] Exactly. This is a platform we’re going to continue to develop.

Designtex is a design and product development firm that celebrates inquiry and collaboration. A Steelcase company, the Designtex offering includes upholstery, wallcovering, panel fabrics, drapery, architectural panels, and digitally-printed surfaces. Designtex maintains showrooms, offices and sales locations in 110 global locations.

[ designtex ] [ steelcase ]

An interview with mike & maaike about windowseat. Neocon 2013.

Sep 24, 2013

San Francisco designers Mike & Maaike have designed Windowseat utilizing an interesting juxtaposition of furniture and architectural elements. The chair is being introduce at Neocon 2013 by Haworth.
[DesignApplause] Mike and Maaike, what brings you here?
[Mike Simonian] We’re debuting the Windowseat chair we’ve been collaborating with Hayworth for the past two years. It’s a lounge chair designed to provide an escape from the open office environment and give you a bit of personal space and break from the noise and hustle and bustle of a busy office, lobby or airport.

[DA] The ‘escape’ and concept is trending now and maybe you are the trendsetters. Did Haworth seek you out with this concept?
[Mike] The original concept was actually many years ago that we developed independently. About 2007. It was at that time more of an experiment. Not really intended for production. I think maybe it was ahead of the acceptability level at the time. Now, technology has changed and people are working a lot more on hand-held devices than ever expected. Now these furniture pieces are a core part of work. Anyway, we presented it to Haworth and they decided they wanted to include it in their line. Haworth is very excited about solutions of this type and they thought it would be a great fit.
[Maaike Evers] It’s a combination of that liberation of not having to be at a desk anymore. But also, the fact that this new generation of young people are going to come in the workplace. The workplace is going to be more dense and open and collaborative so that movement requires the counter balance to happen at the same time. Where are people going to have time to reflect or think?

[DA] 2007! You’re the genesis of what’s going on right now. If you’re a thinker and you wish to get away, the Windowseat lyrically opens a window. Have you seen the Massaud chair he’s done for Coalesse? He would love your chair.
[Mike] Yes, we’ve seen each others chairs. That chair is really interesting because it creates a complete cocoon in a way so you’re completely in a private space. The Windowseat is more about controlling your perspective yet still connected to the outside.

[DA] I sat ‘in’ Windowseat Thursday night and it’s an interesting experience, much more of an enclosure sitting in it than I expected. I liked the way swivel seat centers itself when you get up, ready for the next person.
[Mike] We wanted to create this room within a room. To make furniture do what normally architecture would have to do, providing the wall and the ceiling. In this case, furniture can do that as well. By letting it do some of that work, you’re able to deploy this private space anywhere in an your environment. We wanted to cut away at the enclosure as much as we could so it doesn’t feel like you’re hiding. We cut most of the back off so it’s open all the way down.

[DA] What’s the fabric? It looks and feels like felt.
[Maaike] It is a wool felt, but it’s a woven wool felt called Divina. This is the fabric we really like on this piece because it acoustically absorbs sound even more. From a sound perspective, it somehow creates a private bubble.

[DA] It’s interesting how this chair plays a space trick with your mind. It also plays acoustic tricks with the material and wrap-around but also presents a lot of air space.
[Mike] Yes, no one can sneak up behind you. Yes. When you’re sitting here, you notice you’re in enclosed space, but you don’t pick up on the fact that the space is not really there. People acknowledge that a person is there and that they want some privacy.
[Maaike] Yes. When we started thinking about this concept, we talked about playing in boxes as kids. The experience was both fun and good to have your own little vista with the flaps and doors you would use. Our concept started very rectilinear but we massaged it to be comfortably looking.

[DA] Did you present a prototype?
[Mike] Yes. It’s pretty innovative from the manufacturing and materials perspective and we worked very hard with them to achieve a good price point.

[DA] How did you model your concept?
[Maaike] We built the concepts all in 3D CAD to perform what we were after in ergonomic terms in order to understand the size of space. Pretty quickly we created cross section prints and hot gluing laser-cut cardboard to create a structure to see how it felt to sit in it.

[DA] The chair is visually interesting because of the angle of the enclosure. It looks like it’s just balancing on its legs.
[Mike] Part of the reason for the angle is that it’s inviting. And functional as you don’t bump your head when you’re sitting down or getting up.

[DA] Is this your first piece of furniture? Wait, you did a very nice table, Divis?
[Mike] Divis, yes. Though furniture is not our core business, we really enjoy exploring that space. We worked with Watson Furniture in Washington as well as Council in San Francisco. Chairs, room dividers. It’s nice to jump around.
[Maaike] Actually when we started working together, we came from the tech industry in the Bay area, we deliberately decided to break from tech and explore furniture and jewelry. It was a way of working where each space plays off the other. The range of materials and manufacturing is a source of inspiration and keeps our work fresh.

[DA] What drives your process?
[Mike] The CAD is part of the execution but everything starts with a concept for us. It’s usually an abstract concept or question. In this case, the concept was furniture and architecture: where can they blend? Where does one stop and begin?
[Maaike] That’s what happens when you’re a couple and you work together. You have to agree before you start working with each other. It usually has a very strong concept or else we don’t pick up the project.

[DA] How long have you been working together?
[Mike] 18 years. Almost our whole career.

[DA] That’s a wonderful story. In the design world, what’s really hot right now?
[Maaike] I am stunned to see how much soft more texture is coming into the workplace and how that makes for much more casual work environments. Much more inviting. More sense of color, texture. It’s fantastic.
[Mike] Along that line, these pieces by Patricia (Uriquiola) are amazing and to see that in a space that is normally filled with hard office furniture is really showing the office’s evolution.

[ mike&maaike ] [ haworth ]

Interview with designer jean-marie massaud. Neocon 2013.

Sep 16, 2013

[DesignApplause] Jean-Marie, tell us a little bit about the project you’re working on for Coalesse.
[Jean-Marie Massaud] We are working with Coalesse on a liberal amount of products. which are not just products. Today, companies realize that work is being rephrased, today it’s about work and life. You see, the space and timeframe for working has changed, and Coalesse is trying to provide solutions that’s linked with this new way of living and working.

Some of us either have to work or if lucky, choose to work. My life today is to work on vacation and it took 15-years to accomplish this. I have been working this way for two years. I live near Saint Paul De Vence, in the city of La Colle-Sur-Loup. Part of my team is in Paris, part of my team is in Brittany.

[DA] How big is your team?
[JM] We have 15 people, not so much, but involved in big projects in architecture and the car industry. And these are few projects, not so many. I live alone with my family and I don’t have any people that are working with me in La Colle-Sur-Loup. And I work with my graphic tablet, receiving and sending drawings. I’m linked everyday, but I live on vacation.

I’ve proposed that my team also work on vacation. A lot of them want to stay in Paris, in Brittany. And they are not students, which was another kind of life scenario. They are efficient professionals, not obliged to be a prisoner of an office tower at work.

And so we tried to develop with Coalesse this idea, because it’s natural for them. It’s can be said, it’s a philosophy in which they believe. And when they came to visit me, I told them my dream is to be able to work and also be able to enjoy simple dalliances. So after I drop off my kids to school, I have a coffee. I’m looking at the sea, looking at the mountains. There is the snow.

During the coffee, I discuss with the waiter – he knows me – “Voila! What are you doing?” “I don’t know.” And: chat, chat, chat, chat. After half an hour, it’s done. And then I have to communicate. So I come back to the Wacom tablet, usually, to sketch. Or, when I have a very good connection with the iPad a video conference is possible.

And once I send the sketch to my office I’m free! And because I’m free I might do some sailing. And in this space my brain, packed full of many things suffers little constraint but just thinking about what’s next. I am always writing notes. While lying on the bed when I’m at the hotel or after I go do a run like I did this morning, I write more notes. And the work of the day is done.

[DA] So you write many many notes. You draw with a tablet, you have an Ipad, do you write digital notes or on paper?
[JM] I have – what do you say – a love for notes? My office manager tells that I have too many papers. My system works for me though I’m still waiting for an iPad with a graphic sensitivity.

[DA] There are applications and pressure sensitive styluses for the iPAd.
[JM] Not quite, yet. What I would love, let’s say, during a video conference, sketches could be sent, corrections made on the tablet and then sent back. It would eliminate the need to refine the sketch on paper and scan it. I could correct the exact curve, or exact section… I had this same conversation with Jonathan Ives three years ago. There’s a market. My freedom is linked to this product!

[DA] You want to do everything while on that boat!
[JM] That would be fantastic!

[DA] Tell us what your doing with Coalesse.
[JM] Our first attempt was to put the task into perspective. Coalesse creates classic furniture that’s relevant for the work space or home. I told them the best lounge chair in thw world is the Eames chair from Herman Miller. There’s no other product so smart and competent. If we are to do something – another one great one – maybe it’s not about the architecture, maybe it’s about the integration of your way of living, the sensitivity of the finishes. And so the final customer or the architect specifying the project, makes this product their own because of the link to life, to work. All of this made possible, not with a high-tech solution but with a lounge chair with an ottoman.

The chair is kind of an evolution. It now has a movable work surface in which to place an iPad, to…

[DA] Take notes. Jean-Marie, this chair is designed for you!
[JM] Yes yes, quite possibly. There’s a light in the canopy. A hands-free clip-on device holder. We can video conference in this lounge. A further evolution is maybe the need of intimacy, because if I am in a hotel, a creative agency, there is need for quiet space with little visual disturbances so we pull over the canopy.

If we reconsider the space of walking in an office or a dorm, the space has to be thoughtless. It only has to look like your private place, because more and more people want to feel- how do you say- to feel love more than efficiency. (laughing) So we developed these kinds of ideas.

And the ottoman is more than that (removing the cushion), it is storage space.

And the hood is very light. And there’s no need for electrical wire because of bluetooth, a wi-fi area. The beauty of the hood is how minimal and simple, a really elegant small space.

[DA] The acoustics under the hood is really good. Very little outside noise and we are in a very noisy showroom. You know it looks very twenty-second century.
[JM] Yes, but at the same time, the space is neither the mechanical expression where you feel it’s an office, and yet it’s the office of the familiar, something very natural.

[DA] Jean-Marie, what did you learn from this project?
[JM] Many things, but of interest to me, firstly, I learned to work with American companies. Yes. Working with Coalesse and the collection involving many pieces and several design destinations. No offense here but my experience working with European and an American company, the cultural differences became apparent first hand.

First of all, for me with this experience there were many more people involved on this project. In general, European meetings tend to be smaller, maybe two or three. But this collection, at times maybe 15 people in a meeting and I learned to be more clear in the detail of the message I have to give, because we are doing a lot of meetings. And everybody is very good at method, a very strong method in order to be sure that everybody (15 brains with their own culture and knowledge) shares the same content.

And it was interesting how to fertilize ideas together, with different cultures with the same vision, the same stakes. The vision was simplicity, to create some evolution, and not for the day after tomorrow. To be elegant, but in a sensitive way, not just to be efficient or just to be smart. Just to be elegant. And a merger of all things in today’s world, the work, the play, a way of living. Very cool and I love this feeling of being cool. Really.

[DA] Tell us a little about your philosophy, how materials seem to drive your solutions. The Toyota Me.We is a good example. Do the materials come into play with a project like this?

[JM] Material is just one part of the puzzle we need to accomplish a vision or project. Design adds value in this respect because design is about creative synthesis, and there are a lot of stakes we wish to unite. There is of course, the quality of the service we want to provide. There is usually an economical scenario we need to factor in. So we have to do things which are smart, we can share and to create value.

There is, the technical means and the technical states about lightness, about doing better with less, about the world’s soul which speaks to sustainability. So materials are super important.

For example, the hood on the lounge is made of synthetic felt. It’s made of reclaimed materials, and we see it mostly in a car, the ceiling, the doors. Actually the construction of the canopy, is very much like the ceiling of a car. The synthetic felt is easy to work with and do not forget, our brain is programmed to associate felt with acoustics, noise dampening. The cover on the lounge not only has good acoustics but it persuades your brain too. When you see it, you’ll understand. It will be quiet inside.

[DA] Tell us about the Massaud Collection.
[JM] I think the chairs are quite unique. And there are so many office chairs! For me it wasn’t a question of good taste or bad taste, I wanted to provide some sort of affordable solution of – a chair being a chair. The solution has to be elegant, but it’s about doing business. It’s using the same shell, the same little wire frame for all options.

And we do a lot of things with this principle. The collection doesn’t look plug-n-play, but it is. It’s a flexible collection which gives you, the person, many options to choose your condition, choose your identity. And these options both mix and match, there are low solutions and high solutions. The same with the armrest. And far from the very technical office chair.

The low chair is very low and the armrest disappears to make it more – could be like the shoulder bag for a girl. This chair for the female, it’s my favorite.

[DA] Yes, I like the armrest. Very stylish. Very efficient.
[JM] Efficient but not too arrogant.

[DA] Can you tell us a little about the Toyota Me.We concept car?
[JM] For me, this is an urban car concept which implies what you might expect. First, your eyes tell you it’s not about arrogance or sharpness of the shape- it’s friendly. It’s for the guy walking the street and seeing the car, it catches his eye. It’s for the user who isn’t scared anymore about the scratch or the maintenance of the scalp. Your eyes tell you don’t worry.

[DA] So the anti-crisis car.
[JM] Yes! There are dozens of materials or processes that are smart and we have to choose. The car appeals to many because we have many options to choose from. It has an aluminum frame and renewable bamboo floor and also recylable polypropylene panels with not only color options but texture options. After enough scratches and maybe dents simple replace a panel. The material here was a big part of this vision. You have to crystallize this vision in matter. Material is very important.

1/2> lounge with hood
3/4/5> lounge
6> height adjustable, swivel tablet | cord pass through at base for charging devices
7> ottoman storage
8> low-back executive
9/10> mid-back executive
11/12> high-back executive

Jean-Marie Massaud is a French architect, inventor and designer. He was born in Toulouse, France in 1966. Massuad graduated from the École Nationale Supérieur de Création Industrielle – Les Ateliers, Paris in 1990 and began working with Marc Berthier. In 2000, he co-founded the Studio Massaud with Daniel Pouzet and expanded his interests in the fields of architecture. [ massaud ] [ coalesse ]

Valcucine makes a case for the artisan in the kitchen. Milan 2013.

Jul 19, 2013

>click > enlarge

The artisan appears in 1993 when the ‘Fabula‘ model was launched, the first kitchen with colored wood and doors inlaid with pictograms. For the designer Gabriele Centazzo, it represented the Mediterranean dream. In 2009 Valcucine presented ‘Invitrum‘, the first 100% recyclable base unit in glass and aluminum. In 2013, both art and tech reappear together as Valcucine’s Milan showroom creatively presents their master craftsmen who set up real workshops showing how they create inlays, mosaics and carvings. We also see the reappearance of Centazzo designing SineTempore (without time), a kitchen conceived to express the values of tradition through the recovery of various ancient handicraft techniques.

With Invitrum, the production process of recycled aluminium has the advantage of consuming only one-twentieth of the energy needed to obtain primary aluminium. Traditional kitchens usually supply base units that are installed side-by-side which means that the chipboard side panel is doubled; Valcucine’s structure has simply a single carcass side in glass. The new glass system is designed to be easily disassembled using only mechanical joints instead of glues.

In the showroom product technicians shared the tests, here Diego Skerlic, a quality official, uses an eyedropper of various stain producing ingredients such as coffee and red wine, as he helps develop fully resistant long-lasting materials.

Laura Carraro and Lisa Battistutta were introduced to Valcucine as mosaic art students and the two continue to collaborate and create for them.

above and below, kitchen program SineTemporare | 2013

Wood sculpture Padovan Giovanni carves away.

Most recently, after three years of research, Valcucine has developed a technique to make inlaid art on glass. The highly technological process is rooted in handmade craft and makes it possible to personalize a kitchen with ideas offered by artists, architects and designer or even by the home owner.

artematica vitrum arte programme

And even more recently Chicago graphic designer Rick Valicenti and John Pobojewski of (thirst) alerts us to the very same process used for the Valcucine Chicago showroom for NeoCon 2013. The installation of The Elizabeth Project (formally named E) consist of ribbons of colored vinyl cut by hand and infused in glass. ‘Elizabeth’ is the daughter of Chicago architect Gordon Gill: the collaboration done in 2009 when Elizabeth was nine. thirst used motion capture technology and custom software to sample Elizabeth’s energy as she danced in place. [ details ]

e | thirst | 2009

[ valcucine ]

My nose my stekkerdoos: studio job for lensvelt. Milan 2013.

Jun 25, 2013

We were quite looking forward to talk to Job Smeets and Nynke Tynagel of Studio Job, whose creations can stress art as the counterpoint to design, can be wildly fun, unpredictable and we anticipated an equally lively chat. A healthy body of work affirms modernism though their sculptural translations also resemble sophisticated contraptionisms of time-traveling with Jules Verne. Tonight, Studio Job is presenting their new ‘Job Office’ collection for Lensvelt. The collection consists of a buffet cabinet, a desk, and an LED lamp and is an extension of the Job Cabinet launched by Studio Job in Milan 2011 – a metal cabinet with a single door that also comes with a gold-colored key. The venue, the refectory within the monastery within the Museum of Science and Technology. The walls and ceilings covered with beautiful 18th-century Sala del Cenacolo frescoes. ‘The Wall’ is our background music.

click > enlarge

>

[DA] The chosen space is extremely surreal. And the installation’s teaser promotion is of famous people with golden noses. Job, please explain this concept for us.
[JOB] Do you know what stekkerdoos means?

[DA] Please tell us.
[JOB] The concept is ‘stekkerdoos’ translated from Dutch means multiple socket, in this case, my nose, my socket. And you know, I have a strange nose. In high school I was told my nose looked like a socket. But on the other hand, the nose is also a handle to open a drawer in an office desk.

[DA] This is a story about turning a negative into a positive.
[JOB] I think so. Yes feel the handle, feel the nostrils. Finally you can open a drawer by putting your fingers in the nostrils and you don’t have to worry about your mother saying you can’t do that. After all these years.

[DA] An ultimate revenge.
[JOB] Yes, exactly.

[DA] When did you think of this concept.
[JOB] I knew it when I was 15. It just took 25 years to make it happen.

[DA] Tell us about the ‘Job Office’ collection.
[JOB] Lensvelt makes office furniture and people today are working more and more in their home. So we are trying to personalize this experience. These pieces are very modernistic, in a modern style, like this lamp that goes back to the 50s and we also merged a sculptural presence to the pieces. A merger of the right industrial product with the gilded sculpture.

[DA] The nose is a very organic statement and the gilded button is huge.
[JOB] Yes, regarding the nose I was looking for a handle and maybe we were looking for a human statement. An the most iconic thing about the lamp is this big on/off button. And there are 100 lamps in this installation celebrating 100 years of Lensvelt. Like a big KGB office with all these lights for interrogation.

[DA] This space, this installation. Reminds me of the crazy offices in the movie ‘Brazil’.
[JOB] Exactly. This reminds me of the Pink Floyd movie ‘The Wall’ where you could see all the hammers. That’s the reason for ‘The Wall’ background music.

[DA] How does humor play into your design concepts.
[JOB] Humor is quite important. Human beings are already too serious, especially taking themselves too serious.

[DA] Several designers we talked to mention noise and chaos and they are providing ‘peace’ and ‘natural’.
[JOB] Peace and natural is not new in design. All of us are just mirrors. I feel our design is reflecting what we are up to and our environment isn’t that peaceful. And our environment is very surreal, it’s never what you think it is.

[DA] What expression are we looking for here. Something good looking?
[JOB] No. We must all admit that we are like those sparrows who try to steal the bling. We are all attracted to stuff that shines. And of course we are attracted to beautiful things and I like to play with that a little bit. But I’m not interested in aesthetics at all. I’m interested in how humanity functions, in the seducing quality of the bling bling. The sculptural aspect can be seen in our work: We have created a lot of huge gold sculptures. And the office is all about function and we about are looking for a fresh a personal look for office furniture.

[DA] Is there a sustainable aspect of the office collection.
[JOB] Sustainable is important but the term is a marketing term. What we do is make unique pieces that are well made, and some of the pieces cost quite a bit. These pieces will be handed down from generation to generation, never thrown away. Some are museum quality and they will last a long time. It could be that 100 years from now there will be more Studio Job products around than Ikea and they are so much bigger.

job and nynke in the studio | photo: t. wolzak

[DA] What is your office environment like?
[JOB] Nynke and I work in a concrete environment, like a bunker. We are surrounded by modern design from the 50s and 60s. I like the period a lot, the post war reconstruction period. If I had lived in the 50s our work would reflect that period. I’m sure if Pierre Jeanneret or Jean Prouvé lived today their work would look so different. That’s what I mean about reflecting time, the work is really a diary. It’s such a tragic thing to be a designer when the only thing we can do is dematerialize. But this can be inspiring, if you can be as less a designer as possible and maybe make art. The conflict of design and art is quite interesting.

[DA] Everything here tonight for Lensvelt are production pieces. Though your body of work includes a great deal of collectables.
[JOB] Studio Job is in the collections of maybe 40 museums. And we have many solos exhibitions around the world. So we enjoy and thrive on limited edition sculptural pieces but we are also invited by producers to create production objects.

[DA] Is the function different with limited vs production.
[JOB] It can be. It really has to do with the working with the brands and their objectives. But our mindset is to push the solutions as far as we can. I see this philosophy in fashion, in haute couture, which has a strong sculptural aspect to it. And haute couture inspires the creation and production of products which still possess the sculptural quality but becomes more reachable to the larger audience.

[ Dutch Profiles ] are short documentaries about architects, graphic, product and fashion designers in the Netherlands. The series debuted in 2009 and there are currently 85 videos plus 10 in production to date.

[design miami basel 2013 ] 10/12> chartres | carpenters workshop gallery | 2013
13/15> black cat | carpenters workshop gallery | 2013

[ neocon 2013 ] 16/17> aftermath | maharam | 2013
18> bavaria | maharam | 2013

[ studio job ] [lensvelt ] [ salone internazionale del mobile ]

several themes surface at neocon 2013.

Jun 22, 2013

Neocon 2013 in its entirety represented an incremental slightly better statement overall than previous iterations. Nothing breakthrough, though not of no consequence as there were several trends worth mentioning.

[ trends ]
1> Less playful, more formal….but not too formal. Patricia Urquiola‘s couch – conference seating with high backs for semi-privacy. The lines, and surfaces are shifting towards the more organic, while colors remain subdued with lots of white.

patricia urquiola | haworth | 2014

2> Fusion of office and home. Some showrooms used the word ‘crossover’ future but I like ‘indie’ as in “independence’ where the worker has a great deal more freedom to choose their working environment. Toan Nguyen‘s Lagunitas Lounge system looks like a living room sofa when in a home environment. Is the contract business model aiming at the residential environment for growth? I think so…

lagunitas lounge and table | toan nguyen | coalesse | 2013

3> More personal space. Ties in with “indie” where at Steelcase there were pod-like rooms which could be customized by each visitor, or private phone and video conference space, chairs with extra high backs and sides, some even enclosed.

mood pod provides personal ambiance control | steelcase | 2013

[ brands ]
Coalesse > working with established ‘design’ designers on the way to become the “Moroso” of the contract business. note: more details via interviews with Massaud and Nguyen coming soon.

toan nguyen in his lagunitas lounge chair with table | coalesse

jean-marie massaud on ottoman of massaud collection work lounge | coalesse

Designtex > creative repurposing of materials. Loop to Loop is the first (and greenest at this moment) upholstery made from recycling already recycled textile waste. note: more details via interview with ceo Susan Lyons coming soon.

loop to loop | designtex | 2013

Haworth > The new break-thru BlueScape communication concept offering 1,000 sq/ft of screen real estate, in real-time, worldwide.

bluescape | haworth & obscura digital | 2013

Knoll > A focus on the big boys with Rem Koolhaas “piece de resistance” (04 counter) that may be the first DesignART piece of the contract market

Steelcase > Their focus on technology vs furniture. The v.i.a. (vertical intelligent architecture) is extremely technical and analytical.

about nicolae halmaghi

Better together and being connected. Izzy+ at neocon 2013.

May 29, 2013

Dog sledding. Hanging out at the Oslo Opera House. Eating, drinking and sharing stories around a giant fire in a teepee. For a group of izzy+ sales representatives, it’s just another day at the office.

izzy+, the people-centric Michigan furniture design group that lives by the ethos “Better Together,” formed an alliance with Norwegian company HAG back in 2004. Ever since, izzy+’s staff have been making regular trips across the pond to HAG’s HQ in Oslo and main plant in the village of Roros to learn about Scandinavian culture.

HAG’s design philosophy, which reflects some of the central principles of Norwegian life, is focused on the importance of balance, movement, and a deep respect for the environment. izzy+ employees say being able to visit their sister company at its headquarters provided a unique perspective on their design process. “At HAG they have a very holistic approach to everything—the environment, corporate responsibility, ergonomics, design—it’s all there in every chair,” says Laura Connell, whose based in the Chicago izzy+ showroom. “It was great to see it all in action, both in how they work and how they live.”

Rune Akselberg, Vice President of Sales and Market Development and a Norway native, says the juxtaposition of the working environment with the natural beauty of the Norwegian landscape makes a huge impact. “When you see the elk and the reindeer drinking from the stream right outside the HAG plant, you understand that everything is connected,” he said.

an izzy+ / HAG collaboration: HAG Capisco Puls seating, pictured with Dewey 6-Top tables

[ izzy+ ]

<a href="about carrie neill

Gesture chair. Steelcase.

May 4, 2013

Revolutions in office technology produce revolutions in office furniture design. The typing pool gave way to the cube farm which in turn gave way to open “team” table. The Aeron chair famously became the symbol of Silicon Valley in the dot com boom.

Now the rise of mobile phones and pads as dominant work tools has inspired Steelcase to reinvent the office chair. Based on what Steelcase design chief James Ludwig said were surveys of the habits of 2000 people in eleven countries around the world, the company will offer the Gesture chair beginning this fall. It will be shown at Neocon in June.

Steelcase looked at what Ludwig called the new environment of the office, where people work and sit more casually. The researchers talking to workers defined nine distinct new postures, such as the “swipe.” These postures conditioned the design of the new chair, with such innovations as arms that move up and down easily. The back and seat move more flexibly together; the chair, Steelcase says, encourages people to move around every so often.

[ steelcase ]

<a href="about phil patton