Tabla de contenidos para November - December 2018 en Frame

MANUFACTURING – A growing revolution in robotics is enabling brands to adopt automated manufacturing systems that proved difficult to implement in the past. Now that artificial intelligence and enhanced robotics are able to handle soft, malleable fabrics, our understanding of product design is being revolutionized. The latest systems go beyond industrial mass production to include rapid manufacturing. Today, a single pair of trainers can take up to 18 months to go from concept to end product, according to executive search firm Boyden. When we stop to consider that more and more consumers expect tailoring options and prompt delivery, we realize how important it is for brands that want to stand out to provide a fast service that enables shoppers to personalize their garments. Advances in speed and personalization are evident…

URBAN DESIGN – CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati proposes that the future of city planning will result in the removal of a seemingly innocuous design element: the kerb. The sharp-angled step popularized in the 18th century separates the thoroughfare intended for vehicles from pedestrian walkways. But CRA, along with Alphabet’s Sidewalk Labs, envisions streets as shared spaces where driverless cars integrate seamlessly into the urban environment. Facilitated by the use of reconfigurable hexagonal tiles, the Dynamic Street is a prototypal paving system that shifts functions immediately to serve the needs of its users. Inspired by French company IFSTTAR’s removable-pavement project, CRA’s modular concrete tiles can be easily replaced for repair and – furthering the hack-ability of urban environments – readily accept plug-ins, from basketball hoops to bollards and bike racks. The Dynamic…

How do you foresee us living together in the future? MILES GERTLER: The future of communal living can only be thought of if addressed together with the future of communal dying. As we face the very real prospect of our digital lives being stored online in perpetuity, the question of what we are willing to share becomes increasingly important. How will our virtual leftovers be preserved, protected and made more or less accessible? What are we willing to share? IGOR BRAGADO: Our online activities invariably imply and require a great degree of curation. We operate in the virtual landscape through self-built avatars of Photoshopped images and cropped posts that have already circled back to our non-digital lives, blurring the line between the two. We are constantly curating, designing and constructing…

RACHEL BORN IN 1963 in Ilford, England, and currently living and working in London, Rachel Whiteread is known for her large-scale public sculptures cast in concrete, most of which relate to everyday life. After making smaller domestic pieces in 1988 (Closet, a cast of a wardrobe; Shallow Breath, a cast of the underside of a bed; Mantle, a cast of a dressing table; and Torso, a cast of a hotwater bottle), in 1990 Whiteread made Ghost, the cast of a room in a north London house. Creating a positive form from a negative space, she cast plaster-of-Paris panels of walls and surfaces in gridded sections to ‘mummify the air in the room’. Ghost inspired Whiteread to make House in 1993, the cast of a Victorian house in east London that…

‘TO BE HONEST, it’s just nice to find a place you can take people for a drink, knowing you’ll definitely get a seat,’ says Tim, a friend of a friend who’s a successful businessman in London. I’d heard he was a Soho House member and asked him why. His answer makes sense: London’s a busy place. It was in the UK capital that the first Soho House opened its doors in 1995. The private members’ establishment sought to freshen up the genre, moving away from the staid gentlemen’s club to attract a young, creative clientele. Since then, Soho Houses have cropped up in metropolises from New York City to Amsterdam – locations in which wrestling for the staff’s attention in a crowded bar is standard. The drastic rise in co-working…

A FIRST ENCOUNTER with the Neolith range of materials sent Amal Babay of Stone & Skills off on a genuine voyage of discovery. ‘About three years ago, we were browsing a store specializing in natural stone when we came across a Neolith surface,’ she says. The wide variety of colours, patterns, finishes and formats on display was so intriguing that the Stone & Skills team soon headed to Valencia, Spain, home of Neolith manufacturers TheSize. There they learned that Neolith is created through a proprietary sinterization process, which exposes minerals and other raw materials to extremely high pressure and temperatures over 1200°C. Effectively, it mimics the formation of natural stone, a process that normally takes thousands of years. The resulting Neolith (the name signifies ‘new stone’) material is highly durable,…

As urban populations across the globe continue to grow, the dimensions of urban dwellings keep on shrinking, city housing markets become more competitive, and affordable housing is harder to find. In response, designers are coming up with cost-saving solutions. They introduce kitchens to living spaces and ask the two to live harmoniously in open-plan layouts. We’re experiencing a 21st-century iteration of the Wild West. Although a majority of our urban areas are developed to the hilt, it’s time to integrate clever interior designs into existing spaces. For the renovation of an apartment in a 1920s Amsterdam School-style building in the Dutch capital, Time & Style – specialists in interior and furniture design – had a clear concept in mind: an open and connected space. Installed by Bob de Kort, the…

In Danish film director Gabriel Axel’s 1987 cult classic, Babette’s Feast, the protagonist is a Frenchwoman and ex-chef de cuisine of a famed Parisian café. The feast she prepares – a gratuitous gift to those who partake – not only comes at great expense to her but acts as a forum for renewing friendships among the diners. The movie illustrates the beauty of food’s underlying social function. After all, what’s a banquet without a dozen guests to share the spread? Today, creatives from Poland to Peru are using the preparation and consumption of food to address a variety of social problems. We look at four projects aimed at democratizing the kitchen through design. Social Oven is a subscription-based kit by designer Magdalena Sabatowska, who set out to reintegrate the elderly…

‘When I arrived for my shoot with Rachel Whiteread at the NGA, her exhibition was in the process of being installed. It felt surreal to be able to move around the space freely, with freshly unboxed works scattered around. And Rachel, of course, was an absolutely wonderful subject.’JUSTIN TYLER GELLERSON A recent graduate of the DAE in Eindhoven, where she followed the Master’s Programme Design Curating and Writing, Vancouverite KIRSTEN GEEKIE now lives and works in Amsterdam. Research carried out while she was a student at the DAE targeted the ways in which design influences urban areas and impacts a city’s social health. On page 118, Geekie discusses the resurrection of disco-inspired spatial design. American photographer MATT HAAS, who has offices in Chicago and Milwaukee, doesn’t like to be tied…

You want to ensure that communal living is inclusive? EIRINI TSACHRELIA: Today we see individuals with multiple digital identities, a situation that will lead to isolation as people become autonomous members of remote virtual communities and thus increasingly separated from public life away from the screen. What consequences will this have? Extended social isolation transforms the brain, and mental issues can cause isolation. Loss of self-confidence, depression, social anxiety and chronic loneliness all threaten our ability to connect with the people in our immediate physical environment. Establishing face-to-face contacts can help overcome the aforementioned conditions and can fight the stigma of mental illness, allowing affected individuals to be welcomed back into the community. How does your concept, the ID-Finder, offer a solution to isolation? It’s a testing ground for community…

HANGZHOU – Neobio is making a name for itself in China’s hospitality scene. In its candy-coloured Shanghai restaurant (Frame 121, p. 110), kids can run riot in the playground in full view of their dining parents. After crafting the brand’s first veritable wonderland of colour, pattern and form, designer Li Xiang of X+Living was called back for the second fantasy-filled instalment: Neobio Family Park in Hangzhou. This time Xiang had 16 times more square metres – and an unusual shopping-mall setting – with which to play. The intention was to take advantage of Hangzhou Star Avenue’s steady stream of visitors to resolve the location’s typically low theme-park turnout in the off season. The developer cleared the mall’s 8,000-m2 atrium prior to construction, allowing X+Living to redefine the area’s function from…

DISCO WAS A FLASH in time, albeit a bright one. The neon lights and polyester pantsuits ripped through the seventies and – like glitter that just won’t come off – left an influence on contemporary design. In recent years, however, examples of disco are showing up with a fervour that suggests the movement’s resurgence is more than just nostalgia. Consider Fiorucci, an Italian clothing label founded in 1967 that became synonymous with the youth movement. Its New York City store was even dubbed the ‘daytime Studio 54’. But with the end of the eighties came the end of Fiorucci. Until now, that is. Last year the brand triumphantly opened a Brinkworth-designed store in London’s Soho district. Teeming with neon lights, toxic-yellow curtains, a round bed – and hosting an occasional…

THE PAST TWO DECADES have seen the rate of urbanization accelerate worldwide. Perhaps the most rapid escalation occurred in Chinese cities. Tremendous urban growth, together with the construction of countless new buildings, obviously has an impact on the lifestyles of city dwellers, as well as on the design and function of interior spaces. The Shaking-hand Building in Guangzhou, designed by O-office, is a revolutionary addition to urban housing. It seems to consist of interior spaces only. Instead of a façade, adjacent buildings clothe the new building, making it almost invisible at first sight. O-office’s Shaking-hand Building – also described as a ‘sandwich type of vertical community’ – is an exciting example of densification and diversification. In the case of Guangzhou, almost half of the current urban area is characterized by…

According to a 2018 report issued by American not-for-profit organization National Kitchen and Bath Association, technology for the kitchen is evolving faster than its use in today’s domestic settings. The technology race is only one facet of an industry-wide, consumer-driven quest for efficiency, however. As companies from Dada to Gaggenau present their latest products – intended to facilitate all aspects of cooking – designers and furniture brands are following suit with sophisticated examples of labour-saving layouts, storage solutions, worktops and smart accessories for Gordon, Nigella and the rest of us. Stone, a series of objects by Japanese studio Nendo for Chinese lifestyle brand Zens, is an elegant line of tableware. Pots, mugs, drippers, milk jugs and sugar bowls can all be stacked like stones, making them a piece of cake…

Yes, we need food, but nourishment has never been just about necessity. Our perception of food as the origin of both pleasure and guilt can be traced to the story of the forbidden fruit in the Book of Genesis. Today, the growing popularity of farmers’ markets, pick-your-own orchards and urban farming can be seen as an attempt to find a balance between fun and misgivings, while also reflecting a closer connection between consumers and what they eat. More and more of us want to know where our food comes from, and one way to find out is to source the ingredients ourselves and to prepare our own dishes. Designers are aiding our efforts by making new utensils and reinterpreting existing tools. Their ideas are prompting young and old to question…

MATERIAL – Plastic. It’s used in almost every way, shape and form, but very rarely in a product worth treasuring. To highlight the potentialities of three new materials, ‘plastic specialist’ Pyrasied commissioned three Netherlands-based designers to develop a functional yet aesthetically appealing object that incorporates at least one of its latest launches. Studio Koen Steger and Mo Man Tai were both drawn to Versato Myst for its ability to absorb and diffuse light. The acrylic product made its first big splash in the hands of another Dutch studio, Noman, which sliced and diced the range’s pastel-toned sheets into pop-up displays for Esprit x Opening Ceremony (Frame 117, p. 114). Steger chose to amplify Versato Myst’s light-manipulation qualities – and to explore his fascination with industrial tube lighting – by using…

TRAVELLING, VISITING MARKETS, walking in nature – Rotterdam-based interior designer Lex de Gooijer draws inspiration from everything he does, sees and hears. It is from this constant awareness of and thirst for the world around him that his designs sprout, and his innovative ideas explain why Dornbracht asked him to collaborate in the launch of a new colour collection for its Vaia series by Sieger Design. The German manufacturer of bathroom and kitchen fittings challenged De Gooijer – and others, including architecture duo Irina Kromayer and Etienne Descloux – to envision a bathroom as part of the ‘Create a new balance’ project the company kicked off in 2017. Drawing from both nature and the city, De Gooijer came up with a rigorous geometry of form that harmonizes with the serendipitous…

Tell us about your perspective on communal living. JOB VAN DEN BERG: In the future, horizontal space will become even more condensed, so we will need to explore vertical options. Currently, most spaces are designed and developed from a horizontal perspective: somewhere between 1 m and 2 m above ground level or between sitting and standing height. The standard seat height is between 42 cm and 46 cm – why not 42 cm and 550 cm? So the only way is up? Imagine sitting in a chair 275 cm above the ground. A conversation or connection with someone on the ground would be fairly difficult. It’s possible, though, to be isolated from those below without having to use a wall or any other kind of physical barrier. Instead, you carve…

DESIGN AND CURATION studio Wakimukūdō has fully established itself in Finland with the double-inauguration on 11 September of its atelier in Helsinki and a site-specific installation in that city’s popular market square. As the practice plants its roots in the Finnish capital, creative director Hermione Skye discusses the idea behind the installation, which is the first of several such works that Wakimukūdō is planning for locations throughout the country. Skye speaks of the values that informed the design and that continue to shape the modus operandi of the company’s new workspace, while revealing where the Wakimukūdō philosophy – The Way of the Heart, Finland – is travelling next. Can you begin by introducing the site-specific installation in Helsinki’s market square? HERMIONE SKYE: Its form, made predominantly from Cor-Ten, was derived…

QIANYI, TIMOTHY & AMELIA SIBLING ARCHITECTURE is a collaborative practice with five directors – Nicholas Braun, Amelia Borg, Jane Caught, Qianyi Lim and Timothy Moore – and offices in Sydney and Melbourne. We speak to Moore, Lim and Borg about Sibling’s vision and its efforts to create environments that ‘make people’s lives better’. Your practice covers a diverse range of projects, from civic buildings and residential units to exhibition design. With five directors, how does Sibling work on a practical level? Does each of you have a speciality? QIANYI LIM: No. We possess different qualities, so our collective knowledge feeds into different typologies. When we start a new project, we all sit around the table developing concepts and adding input. I think that’s our strength. TIMOTHY MOORE: What’s important, and why…

NEW YORK CITY – Modern life is tiring. Our minds are as exhausted as our bodies. Spotting a flaw in consumer attitudes towards physical and mental wellbeing, mattress retailer Casper set out to address the missing link: sleep. Casper’s gone one step further in its ambition to ‘reimagine how the world sleeps’ by creating a real-life land of nod. The Dreamery is located behind Casper’s first permanent retail store in the heart of New York City. Designed by architecture firm Hollwich Kushner, The Dreamery encourages city-dwellers to make sleep – or nap time – as much a part of their daily routine as a yoga class or a run in the park. To help them achieve this goal, the team constructed an experiential ‘procession of space’ that transitions from the…

CHANGSHA – For decades, workplace designers have been asking how office interiors might make businesses more productive and staff more efficient. They’ve made their way through the cubicle, the open plan, ergonomics, deskless options, offices consisting of a single serpentine desk, and playgrounds that blend work, entertainment and socializing. More recently, designers are concentrating on wellbeing, sowing workspaces with greenery, colour and natural light. Now, in the Chinese metropolis of Changsha, the Changsha Leading Advertising Office forgoes plants and play. Designed by ∞Mind (Infinity Mind), its interiors fuse creativity and commerce. Starkly mineral rather than verdant, they tune out the cacophonous world outside, while encouraging workers to turn inward and discover life’s spiritual dimension. On the second floor of a mixed-use building in the Yuhua district, lead designer Wang Xiaowen…

VILNIUS – How does an optical retailer who wants to transcend mere commercialism with its store redesign manage to weave itself into the history of a storied medieval city? According to architects Petras Išora and Ona Lozuraitytė, the answer lies in the ‘superimposition of previous public space, Soviet stratigraphy and today’s ecology’. Their ideas pervade an experiential retail interior in Vilnius, created for Lithuanian optical company Friends & Frames. Lozuraitytė talks about meeting the client, who requested a location strong enough to bear the label ‘city landmark’. Together they developed the concept of an interior that would work as a ‘city event’ or a ‘city play’. It was to be a dynamic destination, an integral part of the town, and to have ‘an atmosphere similar to a gallery’. Swathed in…

FROM ITS INCEPTION in 1948 as a furniture workshop founded by artisan Alberto Minotti to the multifaceted celebration of its 70th anniversary as an internationally recognized manufacturer of design furniture, Italian brand Minotti has been on a skyward journey. Brothers Renato and Roberto Minotti, who took over the company after their father’s death in 1991, believe this ‘constant escalation’ to be the product of an unwavering passion for growth and new challenges. As the brand evolved, the scope of its product lines, which began with the Home collection, expanded to include Outdoors (2006) and Hospitality (2014). Meanwhile, Minotti remains true to its roots as a family business with a sharp focus on outstanding quality and ‘Made in Italy’ craftsmanship. Significant aspects of the company’s methodology are the development and affirmation…

In the past, predictions of the future did not omit the sort of food humans would eat and how they would eat it. Forecasts in the 1920s and ’30s imagined people in the 21st century swallowing complete meals in pill form, no garnish. Today, although it’s hard to fathom a capsule replacing the universal allure of a piping-hot pizza, we are looking for innovative experiences that highlight how we eat. We want to play the part of keen observer, as well as the role of amiable participant. As the divide between back of house and front of house in present-day restaurants shrinks, our senses – sight, smell, sound, taste and, in some cases, touch – tell us that a good meal is nothing short of magic. With technological advancements extending…