08
Portfolio For Vitra’s NYC showroom, Parsons students collaborated on domestic scenes for this year’s ICFF. At left: Cameras and monitors let visitors simultaneously see and experience A Moment with Vitra, a tableau highlighting iconic furniture. Top right: Beyond Nostalgia’s patchwork backdrop echoes the whimsical, handcrafted quality of chairs and ottomans by Hella Jongerius. Bottom right: In Parabox, pieces by Panton and the Bouroullec brothers anchor a scene of domestic clutter, slyly departing from the impersonal tableaux typical of showrooms.
Vitra Vignettes A recent competition sponsored by Swiss furniture manufacturer Vitra brought together students from all of the disciplines of the School of Constructed Environments for the first time to design domestic tableaux displaying Vitra furniture, Artemide lighting, and Ruckstuhl carpeting in original ways. The results ranged from a dining space made primarily of corrugated cardboard to Parabox, the winning design, which integrated the furnishings into a scene awash in everyday items. According to Product Design student Bengt Brummer,
“The project unified students from different departments in the School of Constructed Environments, and I learned so much about architecture and interior design.” The winning team received a trip to Vitra’s Boisbuchet design workshop in Lessac, France. Alfred Zollinger, instructor of the class involved in the project, says, “It’s amazing for Vitra to come to Parsons for inspiration and for students to be trusted to create designs for display in the showroom of such a renowned company.”