german industrial designer richard sapper died on new year’s eve, 2015. he was 83. his iconic design solutions make him one of the most influential industrial designers of his generation. sapper’s creative gift was a distinctive style of formal simplicity and at times humor. from simple housewares to cars and boats many of his pieces reside in museum collections worldwide including 15 designs represented at moma in new york and london’s victoria & albert and design museum. his clients included alessi, artemide, b&b italia, fiat, heuer, knoll and magis.
rearview mirror | 1956 | for mercedes 300 sl roadster, sapper’s first design gone into production
doney | | 1962 | brionvega | with marco zanuso, wins prize compasso d’oro 1962 and included in the permanent design collection at the museum of modern art in new york
tizio | 1972 | artemide | prize grand prix triennale xv 1974 | features a transformer located in the base that powers a halogen lamp through rods and press button joints, which carry electrical current without the need for cables. most recent lamp offers led illumination
bus designed to store bicycles | fiat | 1976 | competition entry study for city traffic in milan
telephone booth | 1986 | for german post office | the first telephone booth built entirely of injection-molded plastic, consisting of four identical panels plus one for the roof
argo | 1988 artemide-litech | a low-voltage spotlight track-lighting system
9091 | 1983 | alessi | features a brass melodic whistle with two pipes tuned to the notes “mi” and “ti”
la cintura di orione | 1986 | alessi | developed in consultation with renowned cuisine chefs alain chapel, raymond thuilier, pierre and michel troisgros, roger verge, gualtiero marchesi and angelo paracucchi, and under the coordination of gastronomical expert alberto gozzi
from 9 to 5 | 1986 | castelli | prize compasso d’oro 1987 | part of an extensive office furniture system. adjustable desk surface heights
aida | 1998 | magis | stacking chair
zoombike | 2000 | elettromontaggi | an aluminum 3-speed folding metro bike. the design draws on aircraft technology rather than traditional bicycle mechanics
tosca | 2007 |magis | stacking chair
aida table | 2001 | magis
according to a phaidon statement, in june, phaidon publishes richard sapper, an in depth study packed with images from sapper’s own archive and featuring specially commissioned candid photography by ramak fazel that shines light on sapper’s personal life.
5 december 2013 | 6 > 9p [ rsvp ]
Luminaire’s continued commitment to promoting good design and education culminate with the third installment of Design+World, a comprehensive exhibition exploring how today’s designers are interpreting materials, technologies and production methods to create work which is expanding the traditional boundaries of design. Luminaire Lab, a beacon of design excellence in Miami’s Design District, will be transformed into a design laboratory where the public can interact and explore new concepts in design. Highlighting the work of longtime friends and collaborators like Tokujin Yoshioka and Patricia Urquiola, the exhibition will also showcase Luminaire’s continued interest in glass. With Fabrica’s Drawing Glass, Nao Tamura‘s poetic glass lighting and a selection of limited edition glass pieces from our own collection, the exhibit examines the limitless possibilities and expert craft of the ancient material. Additionally, we will welcome Phaidon books to the showroom, bringing a preeminent voice in art and design to the design district.
element | tokujin yoshioka | desalto | 2013
One of the most influential creative minds living in the world today, Japanese designer Tokujin Yoshioka transformed the way we experience the world around us. For the past several years, he has been inspired by the random harmony of crystals, creating sculptural pieces that investigate the dependency that exists between human memories and natural phenomena. Luminaire will present the Elements Collection, launched during the Salone del Mobile 2013 and hatched from extensive research he conducted for the Crystalized Project. According to Yoshioka, the project “raises the question of how we connect our lives to the future by being exposed to the serendipitous beauty born of nature.”
chasen | patricia uriquiola | flos | 2008
On December 5th Luminaire is proud to host the incomparable Patricia Urquiola as she unveils her newest project – a book. This is Urquiola’s first monograph on her works aptly titled “Time to Make a Book.” Her eclectic approach to product design and architecture has established her as one of the key figures in contemporary design, working with great international design houses, including Moroso, De Padova, B&B Italia, Bisazza, Alessi, Driade, and Flos. This inspiring book captures the fervid energy of Urquiola’s life and work, in an unprecedented and striking design object as innovative and intimate as her body of work.
flow(t) | nao tamura | wonderglass | 2013
>moments square blue | anna torfs
utsuwa – drawing glass | ryu yamamoto | fabrica | 2013
Italian design research center Fabrica also explores a provocative balance between concept and function, translating rhapsodic ideas in three-dimension. In the U.S. debut of Drawing Glass, quick, gestural drawings from a range of designers become an ethereal series of glass objects interpreted by master glass blower Massimo Lunardon. Each artwork features the fourteen original sketches by Studio Formafantasma, Fabrica Head of Design Sam Baron along with five Fabrica designers alongside each original glass piece.
Luminaire is also proud to announce a partnership with Phaidon, the world’s premier publisher of books on the visual arts. The partnership is a meeting of the equal belief that we must celebrate the creative, and democratize access to design and design education.
[ Luminaire ] would like to extend an invitation to the public as we host a reception to celebrate good design around the world on 4 December from 6 > 9p at our Miami Design District location, Luminaire Lab. [ rsvp ]
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Earlier this week it was announced that the Design Museum, currently located in east London, would relocate in 2014 to a site at the Commonwealth Institute. Chances are you’ve caught a whiff of the buzz already. Here’s how the renovation adds up:
Number of years the site stood vacant: 12
Interior design: John Pawson
Why you should know him: Recently he’s done stage design for major ballets and operas as well as a temporary exhibition in the Geometric Staircase of St. Paul’s Cathedral. See all his work.
Number of floors: 5
Square-meters: 10,000 (about 33 square-feet)
Height of peaked roof: 16 meters (about 55 feet)
Estimated annual visitors: 500,000 (double the previous amount)
Estimated cost: £80 million (about $126 million)
“It’s a true icon and example of post war modernism,” Pawson said. “The challenge was working inside the skin of an existing building. For me it’s about retuning the existing architecture so it still feels fresh. The palette we’ll use is quite quiet and simple…and will retain and enhance the extraordinary special qualities of the building.”
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about perrin drumm
