AZURE

we asked…

Beyond what’s covered in this issue, have any Northern projects caught your eye?ELIZABETH PAGLIACOLOAzure’s executive editorSPINN Arkitekter’s cabin for hikers in Hammerfest, Norway reminds me of a primitive organic carapace – a turtle’s shell – but its faceted Kebony wood structure and Subarctic weather–withstanding shape were actually devised with drone mapping and photogrammetry software. All of this just to provide a refuge from the cold and a warm perch from which to marvel at the northern lights.Which region’s architecture appeals to you most?SUSAN NERBERGWriter, “In the Round” (page 64)I grew up in Sweden, with a Finnish mother and a Norwegian father, so unfussy Nordic vernacular has always been with me. I’m still drawn to unpretentious design that makes our lives easier while following a “good design is for all” ethos.…

decimal lighting

After years of working on the technical and business sides of the lighting industry, Alejandro Barrero and Omar Reul had both developed an appreciation not only for good lighting design, but for good light sources. Too often, they explain, you see beautiful lamps undermined by the kind of low-quality bulb you can pick up at the neighbourhood hardware store.The young entrepreneurs, who are both originally from Mexico but met as exchange students in Vancouver, decided to combine their industry knowledge to launch a lighting brand that would base its designs around a high-quality LED source of their company’s own devising. Launched in 2017, Decimal’s collection comprises a series of 3D-printed pendant lamps designed by creatives from around the world – each of which simply twists onto the same proprietary LED…

rocking the house

In the mountainous, highly seismic region of Friuli in northeast Italy, stone has symbolic – as well as physical – weight. Architecturally, it’s both an emblem of the local geography and a nod to building traditions that have survived for centuries in small Italian towns.San Quirino is one such town. In its historic centre now stands a contemporary concrete coach house, completed last year as part of the redevelopment of a residential area. Although the project was designed to address the structural demands of the earthquake-prone territory, the real curveball for its architects, Turin firm ElasticoSPA, was a local building code regulation that mandates the decorative use of stone, in traditional forms – an attempt to preserve the region’s architectural character.ElasticoSPA founder Stefano Pujatti didn’t ultimately see that as an…

the new black

Since Pantone revealed Living Coral as 2019’s Colour of the Year, orangey hues – from tangerine to rust – have been turning up everywhere, including in numerous exhibits at the Interior Design Show and DesignTO. Whether seen in the colour palette of a furniture piece (such as Tom Chung’s felt-panelled Plank cabinets for EQ3) or simply as a backdrop for a booth or installation, these pops of orange added a sunset touch of warmth to the January events.BARCELONA RUGUrban Fabric’s three-dimensional city-grid rug collection is already a favourite of Azure’s; the brand won an AZ Award of Merit for the collection in 2016. The latest design in the line of handmade New Zealand wool pieces is Barcelona, sold in a vibrant hue that feels appropriately Mediterranean. Making its North American…

balancing act

The Tonbo coat stand for Living DivaniJunpei and Iori Tamaki launched the Yuragi table with Ligne Roset at IMM Cologne 2019.and Flicker sideboard for MUNK Collective were released last year.Throughout the hundreds of showrooms and booths at the 2019 edition of IMM Cologne this past January, one thing was abundantly clear: Comfort and coziness continue to define furniture design. A reaction, perhaps, to global uncertainty, this need to create safe havens at home was a driving force for many exhibitors, with earthy tones and pastel hues dominating palettes and organic influences shaping many pieces. There was also an undercurrent of minimalism sweeping through the show, creating an air of tension between indulgence and cutting out the clutter.Relative newcomers on the scene, Junpei and Iori Tamaki were among those who tapped…

salt & paper

Paper Tiles by Alice GuidiTo develop a ceramic wall tile that also performs as acoustic insulation, Design Academy Eindhoven graduate Alice Guidi began where the paper recycling process typically ends. After being recycled six or seven times, paper fibres become too short to be successfully transformed into another product, and the resultant pulp typically ends up in the landfill. Seeing opportunity where others might see end-of-life, Guidi considered how she could squeeze one last gasp out of the messy byproduct.“I like to research a material’s possibilities and then stretch its limits,” says Guidi, who mixes the pulp into porcelain powder, sodium silicate and water (without a binder). Adding natural pigments to enhance the material, Guidi hand-forms the resultant ceramic foam into square and rectangular wall tiles before air-drying and firing…