AZURE

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Editor Danny Sinopoli Art Director Cristian Ordóñez Executive Editor Elizabeth Pagliacolo Managing Editor Kendra Jackson Associate Editor Evan Pavka Associate Art Director Vicky Lee Assistant Art Director Kari Silver Copy Editor David Dick-Agnew Contributors Veronika Aquila, Conrad Brown, Edvinas Bruzas, Dmitry Chebanenko, Tim Crocker, Gianluca Di Ioia, Christian Flatscher, Matthew Hague, Sheila Kim, Allison Kuhl, Zeno Legner, Simon Lewsen, Chris Miele, Eric Mutrie, Susan Nerberg, Ema Peter, Amrit Phull, Carolyn Pioro, Joann Plockova, Rosemary Poole, Corinna Reeves, Alison Sinkewicz, Rhiannon Slatter, Gian Maria Socci, Jaclyn Tersigni, Cedric Verhelst, Drew Zeiba Editorial Director/Chief Content Officer Nelda Rodger Director of Operations Jacqueline LaRonde Senior Account Managers Jeffrey Bakazias (416) 203-9674 x238 jeffrey@azureonline.com Mitch Gilroy (416) 203-9674 x239 mitch@azureonline.com Neil Young (416) 203-9674 x230 neil@azureonline.com Director Integrated Production Alessandro Cancian Digital Development Manager Francesco Sgaramella Web Editor Stefan Novakovic Web Assistant Daniella Viggiani Director Marketing & Partnerships Mahasti Eslahjou Audience Marketing Manager Amanda Beattie AZ Awards Development Manager Stephanie Galt Sales…

product (re)placement

This is a time of existential re-examination for the purveyors of design magazines. On the one hand, it is our mandate and great pleasure to seek out and showcase the very best in product design, which is the focus of this edition, our annual Product Issue. On the other, there is also way too much stuff in the world, a lot of it superfluous and unsustainably made, the weight of it all threatening to tax our planet — perhaps beyond recovery — through excessive waste, rampant carbon emissions and insidious new forms of pollution (think microplastics in our oceans). Fortunately, many designers and manufacturers are also confronting this duality, balancing the imperative to create and innovate with the need to do so responsibly. It is these types of players that…

we asked…

What emerging product designer has impressed you the most? ERIC MUTRIE Writer, “Telling (New) Stories” (page 64) Last year, Vancouver’s Henry Norris (who designs as New Format) introduced Plano, a handcrafted bar cabinet with incredibly hand-some brass, blackened steel and ink-blue leather details. The whole design adds such a sense of ceremony to retrieving a bottle. What is the most interesting product you’ve seen recently? SHEILA KIM Writer, “Manhattan Transfer” (page 74) Though Form Us With Love launched its Baux acoustic wall tiles several years ago, they’re still captivating today. The eye-catching modules are composed of a utilitarian local material, Träullit, made simply with wood wool, cement and water. What was the most memorable part of your assignment? CHRISTIAN FLATSCHER Photographer, “Point of View” (page 84) Danish architect Sigurd Larsen managed to subtly merge his Mountain House in the Austrian Alps…

natural selection

Can technology feel natural? While innovations in digital fabrication are rapidly expanding the aesthetic possibilities for designers and manufacturers, many of the best commercial interiors are defined by a soothing, natural colour palette. The drive to create human-centric spaces is at the heart of Formica Group’s new SurfaceSet 2020 collection, which pairs cutting-edge engineering with a design philosophy that emphasizes connection to nature. Featuring an impressive range of new woodgrains, solids and patterned Formica laminates (a selection of finishes is shown above), SurfaceSet 2020 gives interior designers a diverse portfolio to create beautiful and functional commercial and contract spaces. The collection is grouped into three broad palettes — No Boundaries, Engineered Design and Fluidity — each of which encompasses a multitude of design solutions. A celebration of natural materials, No Boundaries is…

shadows of things we wished we had

Inspired by the art of still-life painting, in which symbolic everyday items are arranged across a canvas, Jimenez Lai of Los Angeles–based studio Bureau Spectacular crafted a series of limited-edition furnishings to adorn the exhibition “Shadows of Things We Wished We Had,” held at Chicago’s Volume Gallery in November. Produced by Urban Fabric Rugs, the show’s eponymous three-metre-wide circular pink carpet encapsulates this driving concept with a pattern of blush, hand-tufted shapes and their cobalt shadows, which, upon closer inspection, are representations of selected pieces from the line. As its moniker suggests, the rug doesn’t depict any real objects; instead, it’s replete with silhouettes cast by additional planar forms. From a water tank–like trace emerging from behind a circle to a tilted square revealing a stepped projection, they compose a 21st-century…

5 things we learned from sascha lobe

Thanks to his experience working with such leading architects as Daniel Libeskind and David Chipperfield, graphic designer Sascha Lobe’s practice is deeply connected to the built world. Following almost 20 years at the helm of Stuttgart-based studio L2M3 (which he also founded), the German creative relocated to London to become a partner at renowned agency Pentagram. Shortly afterward, he led the development of the extensive environmental graphics for Chipperfield’s Amorepacific Headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, using the surrounding urban and natural landscape as cues to orient visitors within the structure. On the heels of the scheme being named one of the Beazley Designs of the Year, Azure caught up with the designer —who is currently working on a signage system for London’s Architectural Association — to learn what defines effective…