Indice dei contenuti per March - April 2022 in Frame

Every Monday, a message pops up on my smartphone and laptop: last week your screen time averaged x hours per day (on average y% more/less than last week). I’m often surprised by how much time I apparently spend in front of a screen. That can’t be right, 6 hours per day!? And do I really pick up my phone 144 times a day!? Too much screen time isn’t healthy. The culprit is the blue light emitted by screens, which suppresses the production of the ‘sleep hormone’ melatonin and causes the quality of our sleep to deteriorate. It’s not just time spent using phones, laptops and other screens that messes with our sleep, though. Exposure to a lot of artificial light in general is harmful to our health. It disrupts our…

Tell us about your background. How did a passion for solar cell technology emerge from your initial interest in material experimentation? MARJAN VAN AUBEL: I developed a fascination for materials during my studies, which centred heavily on coming up with bespoke processes. At the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam, I engineered a foaming porcelain process and used it to create large cabinets. I brought this experience with me when pursuing a master’s degree at the Royal College of Art in London, where I began applying this technique to wood shavings and bio-resin. Based on this exploration, I developed the Well Proven Chair with James Shaw. What I realized during school was that design isn’t just about exploring how various materials behave or working towards set end results, but also about…

All signs are pointing to the fact that light can pose a very real risk to our health – and to the healthcare system. With exposure to excessive artificial light during night-time hours linked to numerous health issues – from increased risk of obesity to sleep issues and mental health disorders – healthcare spaces such as hospitals, general practices, mental health facilities and even therapists’ offices are good places to start implementing human-centric lighting (HCL) concepts. ‘I would strongly advise you that one of the critical components of health is light,’ explained Kurt Ward, senior design director at Philips Healthcare, at Frame’s October 2021 think-tank The Next Space. He went on to explain that Philips has been able to reduce the recovery time for patients in intensive care units (ICUs)…

It’s when roaming around Valencia’s Mercat Central that I become aware of the enduring importance of ceramics for the city’s design identity. Sure, as an editor covering the spatial design scene, I’m familiar with the region’s longstanding ceramic (tile) industry and have visited the Cevisama trade fair. But it’s being here that truly allows me to experience the significance of the craft for both the city’s historical and modern-day (interior) architecture – and the creatives behind it. It’s the second time I’ve visited the city, which was designated World Design Capital 2022, but the first time I’m looking at it through an architectural lens that bridges past and present. I have Guiding Architects (GA), a company that offers specialized tours hosted by knowledgeable local architects, to thank for that. The…

‘A new office reality is up for discussion and design’ SONYA SIMMONDS: Spotify is in a period of hypergrowth, and has been for some years. Back in 2019, we started to assess how our real estate aligned with our growth and realized that something didn’t feel right. We were constantly running out of space, a story common to many growing companies. But if we looked out across our open office spaces with dedicated desking, we saw empty workstations. How could we need more real estate when our office floors felt and appeared empty? The first step towards a solution was gathering utilization data on our biggest offices in Stockholm, New York and London. The apparent emptiness of our spaces was due to a variety of reasons. Like many companies, we…

At a certain point during one of the many lockdowns in the Netherlands, dog owners walking their pets were among the only people allowed on the streets after a certain hour, prompting jokes of investing in animals for the added freedom. Jest aside, pet ownership boomed in 2020. As Nick Paumgarten wrote in a piece for The New Yorker: ‘Pandemic life has shrunk our horizons, narrowed our focus. For many, the cat was the only companion, and the dog walk, if you even bothered, became the only trip outside, the rare encounter with strangers.’ He goes on to call people’s newfound fixation on their pets – the natural result of being home alone for extended periods with their animals – ‘helicopter petting’. What all this means is more pets in…

LEARNING FROM CHINA A New Era of Retail Design As e-commerce uproots the norms and conventions of physical retail, Chinese retailers are showing the way forward. What can designers, architects and industry leaders learn from this melting pot of innovation? A curated selection of 50 case studies, this book provides a window into the future of the industry. €49 A recipient of this year’s AIGA’s 50 Books | 50 Covers competition, ARCHITECTURE IS A SOCIAL ACT: Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects [LOHA] addresses how the discipline can be used as a tool to engage in politics, economics, aesthetics and smart growth by promoting social equity, human interaction and cultural evolution. €39 MOMENT Redefining the Brand Experience Tokyo-based design firm MOMENT’s book of the same name highlights a versatile and skillful visual approach,…

The pandemic raised the stakes for employee wellbeing, and these expectations have only continued: ‘Wellbeing is no longer merely a perk, a benefit or a program to keep healthcare costs low,’ writes Ryan Pendell, workplace science writer at Gallup. ‘Caring for employees is a basic expectation for employees to show up to work.’ The great pause of the last few years has been a time of contemplation for workplaces and their designers alike, leading them to question what types of environments would draw people back to the office. The prospect of improved wellbeing offers real benefits for those willing to brave long commutes and busy coffee stations. As places that are more commonly associated with stress and burnout than with flourishing – even with the last decade’s introduction of such…

Valentine Maurice fights blue light-induced insomnia with a human-centric timekeeping piece You’ve looked at the relationship between modern technologies and sleep. Why? VALENTINE MAURICE: Our use of – and relationship with – new technologies, especially those radiating artificial (blue) light, has a real impact on our sleep. Smartphones, for example, can have similar effects on our mood as psychotropic drugs, potentially leading to things like destructive disillusion, oppressive thoughts and dissatisfaction, as well as insomnia and impaired time management. What target group did you keep in mind when working on this Challenge? I’ve looked at the increasing cases of screen-related insomnia popping up among Gen Z. About 20 per cent of the young population in European countries suffers from insomnia. This generation grew up with the smartphone, an object…

IRIS CERAMICA GROUP PALAZZO DELLE POSTE With antibacterial, antiviral, anti-pollution, anti-odour and self-cleaning properties, Iris Ceramica Group’s Active Surfaces collection was essential to the renovation of the private roof terrace and pool area on the fourth floor of Palermo’s Palazzo delle Poste building, originally built in 1922. The ceramic material from the Loft series by Porcelaingres, an Iris Ceramica Group brand, closely resembles opulent stone, and was selected for the outdoor area in the shade Snow, creating a relaxing ambience. active-surfaces.com MASSPRODUCTIONS 4PM ‘A chaise longue is not really a piece of furniture you will ever need, but if you can afford it, it can gild everyday life,’ says Chris Martin of Massproductions of the studio’s 4PM chaise longue, available in laminated Douglas fir or cherry wood. Wanting to make…

Last March, a private citizen in Reykjavík launched a project to help local businesses install wheelchair ramps to improve access for people with disabilities. His name is Haraldur Thorleifsson and he’s the founder of design company Ueno, which was purchased by Twitter last year. He also uses a wheelchair. After moving back to the Icelandic capital from San Francisco, he found himself on numerous occasions unable to enter several central city shops and restaurants as they did not have wheelchair ramps. He felt something needed to be done, and Ramp Up Reykjavík was born. Icelanders are known for their can-do attitude, but it should not fall on the shoulders of a private citizen to initiate a critical infrastructure project. While Reykjavík is small, with fewer than 200,000 inhabitants, the city…

How was Various Associates established in 2017, and how has the studio evolved since? QIANYI LIN: We left London in 2015 after completing our studies, and spent the following year looking for meaningful projects to pursue in China. One of our British ex-classmates from the Royal College of Art happened to be working in Hong Kong at the time, and after speaking to them, it became clear that there was space in the Chinese design market, particularly in Shenzhen, to do something creative. We feel that for many years, the predominant approach to significant projects has been to go for a stereotypical vision of grandeur – marble, expensive materials, a ‘Cinderella’ feel. Initially, we weren’t sure if our experimental attitudes towards spatial design would gather currency in China, but after…

Ambitious developments in the construction of the so-called ‘metaverse’ encourage the ongoing dominance of ‘immersiveness’ as a spatial design strategy that elevates and centres the participation and creative direction of the consumer to define, personalize and edit the retail experience. Partner apps, augmented reality, engaging art installations and in-store gamification facilitate this, knocking on the fourth wall of retail – promising consumers a newly empowered role as both listener and storyteller. In Dark Retail, disruptive retailers are challenging the prevailing orthodoxy, designing spaces that renew the status of the retailer as creative instigator and that affirm the phenomenological stability of the product. The structures and pathways of these spaces are built on and along linear and cold geometries. Spotlights in formations reminiscent of dotted grid paper hover squarely above, or…

Why is light – something so integral to how we live – damaging us? Because light regulates circadian rhythms – the physical, mental and behavioural processes that determine our 24-hour cycle – telling us when to sleep and when to be alert, it’s only natural that being exposed to the wrong type of light at the wrong time will profoundly affect our biology. Contributing to our reliance on light is screen time, which increased 60 per cent among Americans during the pandemic. According to a UCLA study, this had ‘profoundly negative impacts’, such as disrupted sleep, which, in turn, disrupts the body clock. Our always-on culture extends to our light-polluted cities, some of which are responding by shrouding themselves in darkness. Pittsburgh, for instance, is dimming streetlights and using LED…

The home has undergone a sea change in recent years, shifting from a place for temporary moments of downtime to a place for resting, socializing and working. While this revaluing of the home has affected every part of our life, its relationship to our health and wellbeing has been particularly catalytic. Part of this stems from the fact that we’re now expected to separate the various activities we use our residences for, such as learning to switch into rest or childcare mode after a day of working without the natural partition of commuting. Studies show that a sense of kinship towards our home is central to maintaining good health. According to Ikea Retail, 40 per cent of people who felt more positive towards their home in the last 12 months…

01 DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK In a world in which light follows us wherever we go, citizens are craving moments of darkness. Consider designing light-free spaces that can invoke contemplation, silence and a sense of escape from the rays of our light- and screen-polluted lives. 02 SYNCHRONIZE MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH As our understanding of health as a holistic endeavour broadens, combine circadian lighting with other sensorial design features such as scent and touch to align people’s mental and physical wellbeing. 03 ELEVATE THE SHIFT-WORK EXPERIENCE Imaginative workplace design can no longer be exclusive to offices. Designers are well-placed to radically rethink warehouses and factories, whether implementing sun-mimicking lighting for night-time workers or utilizing open-plan layouts to bring natural light to those on day shifts. 04 ADAPT FOR INDIVIDUALS Homes…

8 different types of colour blindness exist and 8 per cent of people have some form of CVD 6,114 warp – or vertical – threads make up the tapestries’ width of 170 cm; there are between 18,000 and 21,000 weft (horizontal) threads kukka.nl 38 plates were on the original Ishihara colour-blindness test, developed by Japanese professor Shinobu Ishihara in 1917 for red-green deficiencies 19 hours of handiwork goes into finishing the tapestries after they’re woven on industrial jacquard machines 5 tapestry designs – each with different functions – comprise the Chromarama series…