design exchange magazine (de mag) Summer edition 2011

de/design exchange summer 2011 Issue 023 ÂŁ5.00 www.demagazine.co.uk

â„– 23

Less U r b a n T h i n k Ta nk / R i v a d e ne y r a Ar c h itect s / Recetas Ur ban as / A r c h i t e c t ur e f o r H u ma ni t y / 6 a Ar c h i tect s / D es ign er s bl o ck / No u s

THE VERY BEST IN OUT/INDOOR FURNITURE. THE LEADING BRANDS OF DEDON, EGO PARIS AND FISCHER MOBEL ARE EXCLUSIVE TO LEISURE PLAN. TEL +44 (0)1279 816001 SALES@LEISUREPLAN.CO.UK WWW.LEISUREPLAN.CO.UK

KA M A COL L ECTION

TEUCO NEW LONDON SHOWROOMS: 160 CITY ROAD, LONDON. EC1V 2NP. (T) 020 7608 3090 INFO@TEUCO.CO.UK

PAPER

D U R A L I G H T® B A T H T U B S

PAPER DURALIGHT ® BATHTUBS ARE IDEAL FOR ANY STYLE OF INTERIOR DÉCOR AND ALL FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS: A BROAD RANGE OF SIZES AND INSTALLATION METHODS, CUSTOMISABLE COVERINGS, “INVISIBLE”

BLOWER

MASSAGE

AS

WELL

AS

CHROMOTHERAPY. AND THE APPEALING WARMTH OF DURALIGHT ® AFFORDS UNEXPECTED PLEASURABLE EXPERIENCES FOR BOTH SIGHT AND TOUCH. w w w . teu co . co m

THE VERY BEST IN OUT/INDOOR FURNITURE. THE LEADING BRANDS OF DEDON, EGO PARIS AND FISCHER MOBEL ARE EXCLUSIVE TO LEISURE PLAN. TEL +44 (0)1279 816001 SALES@LEISUREPLAN.CO.UK WWW.LEISUREPLAN.CO.UK

fischer mรถbel

T ku

naughtone designs, manufactures and supplies useful, beautiful furniture.

Shown here is our ‘hush chair’, part of our extensive range of furniture for contract and domestic use.

To see our full range visit our website or contact us to receive our new brochure.

www.naughtone.com T: +44 1423 816500 info@naughtone.com

bespoke walnut flooring up to 400mm wide

01509 812020 www.timbernatural.com

de/design exchange www.demagazine.co.uk

editor’s note Less resources, less funding and less materials can lead to more inventive creative solutions.

In this issue, entitled “Less”, we have focused in on projects where architects and designers working under tight constraints have developed innovative design solutions. Be it a design practice, such as Urban-Think Tank (Project No 1), to organizations such as Habitat for Humanity (Project No 2, with Rivadeneyra Arquitectos) to individual designers, as highlighted in the article Design for Communities, Not Competitions, we wish to applaud those who are taking the responsibility to create pragmatic projects which have positive social and / or environmental impact.

Issues such as sustainability, ethics and poverty can be broad and overwhelming; but this doesn’t have to mean unapproachable. We can each begin to address these in our own way, learning as we go how to increase our impact and create positive change. We hope you find this issue an inspiration for making your own start or pushing your current engagements that step further.

Let us know about your experiences – email me at diana@ demagazine.co.uk, get in touch Facebook (design exchange magazine), follow us for the latest design news on Twitter (@demagazine) and find us on LinkedIn (design exchange Magazine).

Happy summer, Diana

11

www.demagazine.co.uk

See inside today's brightest creative minds at 100% Design 4 days, 400 world-class exhibitors. Source new products for projects and find the latest furniture, lighting, textiles and accessories. Connect with the best under one roof and enjoy workshops, seminars, trails and events. Whether you're looking for cutting-edge products, innovative materials, fresh talent or great inspiration, you'll find it at 100% Design.

Live and breathe the interior landscape at the UK's leading interior design show.

Register now for entry:

www.100percentdesign.co.uk

Imagined by: Peter and Paul — Inspired by: Amy Levinson Design — Andy Murray — Atelier Areti Carlo Borer — Dare Studio — Design Virus — G Squared Art — Jeongwon-ji — Normann Copenhagen Philip Watts Design — Sandin & Bülow — Stuart Akroyd — Suck UK — Westergaard Designs

www.mrfdesign.co.uk 



 

Editor Diana Biggs editor@demagazine.co.uk Editor-at-large Mariana Pestana mariana@demagazine.co.uk Feature Editors

Holly Harrington Kirsten Beith Lucas Gray Stuart Blakley

Guest Editors

Joanne Shurvell Luis Beltran del Rio Garcia Melissa Woolford Paulo Moreira

Art Direction - Design / layout Yvette Chiu yvette@demagazine.co.uk Marketing Sarah Beck info@demagazine.co.uk Accounts Department Jenny Shore accounts@demagazine.co.uk

de/design exchange SUMMER 2011 Issue 023 Cover Image: The ICA Studio by 6a Architects All photos by David Grandorge (c) All rights reserved

design exchange Magazine 366 Bethnal Green Road London E2 0AH T: +44 (0) 20 7033 9410 F: +44 (0) 20 7739 1924 www.demagazine.co.uk

For subscriptions: UK: £15.00 per year (4 issues) visit www.demagazine.co.uk Š 2011 Copyright design exchange magazine claims no responsibility for the opinions of its writers and contributors contained within this design magazine.

All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without prior permission is strictly forbidden. Every care has been taken when compiling design exchange to ensure that all the content is correct at the time of printing. design exchange assumes no responsibility for any effects from errors or omissions. design exchange Magazine are media supporters of:

nous

14

www.demagazine.co.uk

Glass and Mosaic Arts in Architecture

New website www.bradleybasso.com

/CONTENTS/

PROJECTs

St Mar ys Anglican Chur ch

28

Urban Think Tank (U-T T), Caracas, Venezuela

Casa Centla

32

Ri vadeneyra Ar chitects Tabasco, Mexico

PROYECTALAB

36

Recetas Urbanas BenicĂ ssin, Spain

Legac y Football Center Lompr eta Nolte Arquitetos / Nanda Eskes Arquitetura / Ar chitectur e for Humanity Rio de Janeir o, Braz il

40 44

98

102

106

110

44.............................................................Vertical City 98.................................St.Pancras Renaissance Hotel 102.....................................................Nerocubo Hotel 106....................................................Syon Park Hotel 110............................................................nhow Hotel

16

www.demagazine.co.uk

If it has to be stain resistant...

...it has to be Caesarstone With a 15 year guarantee, fantastic scratch and stain resistance, we’re confident that your Caesarstone surface will stay looking great for years to come.

Non-Porous | Stain-Resistant | Scratch-Resistant | Heat-Resistant Excellent Flexural Strength | Low Maintenance | 30 Colours

www.caesarstone.uk.com

/CONTENTS/

FeAtures

68

72

Design for Communities not Competitions

48

CCPP (Drug Awareness through Space and Sound)

54

6a Architects Residency at ICA

62

56......................................... B ur n i n g h a m 58...................................................Nothing Office 66........................................ D esig nersb lo ck 72.........................................24h Design Challenge 76..........................................The Making of Power 80...........................................CanapĂŠ Saint Nazaire 84............Learning by Living Reclaiming Heritage 94........................................Nous 128..........................The 54th Venice Ar t Bienna le

76

84 19

www.demagazine.co.uk

134

The Luminous Interval D.Daskalopoulos Collection Brit Insurance Designs of the Year Danish Design - I like it! Jasper Morrison This is Whitechapel

135 136

diARy

134

135

136

138

140

142

143

144

6a Architects Residency at ICA 2011 Free Range 2011 Show RCA 2011 The Society of Women Artists Anniversary Exhibition New Designers 2011

138 140

Rushlight Built Environment Briefing Restaurant & Bar Design Awards

141

Shubbak Design Tokyo Art in Action Designers Saturday Oslo 2011 Maison Objet Making Believe 2011 The Auction Room

142 143 144 145

20

/CONTENTS/

London Street Photography Festival 2011 Tracey Emin ‘Love is What You Want’ Junya Ishigami: Architecture as Air

London Design Festival 2011 Wood Ware Enlightened Waste designjunction 100% design Origin Tent 2011 Decorex 2011 Taking the Chair

www.demagazine.co.uk

THE VERY BEST IN OUT/INDOOR FURNITURE. THE LEADING BRANDS OF DEDON, EGO AND FISCHER MÖBEL ARE EXCLUSIVE TO LEISURE PLAN. TEL +44 (0)1279 816001 / SALES@LEISUREPLAN.CO.UK / WWW.LEISUREPLAN.CO.UK 21

www.demagazine.co.uk

//

Enterior Project I

JVC True Black 3D

For further information contact Larry Sadoo - JVC (UK) Marketing Department on larrys@jvc.co.uk

1 0 0 3 66 �

1069860 �

1099299 �

1092886 �

1085083 �

1106414 �

1020458 �

1084379 �

1106072 �

1109142 �

1022248 �

1070763 �

1103094 �

1127738 �

1109088 �

1131444 �

1106213 �

1096525 �

1103512 �

1091889 �

1115629 �

1078536 �

0 9 6 7 35 �

1074563 �

1105228 �

0 6 0249 �

1106134 �

1116905 �

1 0 4512 �

1084117 �

1126519 �

5100704 �

0 9 1 483 �

1018668 �

1120646 �

1059937 �

1106940 �

1121631 �

1066034 �

1013947 �

1132488 �

1059947 �

1105138 �

1075654 �

1037136 �

1127742 �

1111534 �

1124868 �

1116715 �

1116445 �

1076823 �

1000164 �

1116341 �

1054105 �

1119806 �

1116284 �

1036196 �

1106579 �

1059218 �

1 1 4355 �

5100598 �

2 6 4 07 �

1106965 �

1109049 �

1000855 �

1105160 �

1 0 3397 �

1104362 �

1109304 �

1097834 �

1127467 �

5100797 �

7 9 763 �

1115441 �

1114596 �

1080681 �

1052802 �

1121628 �

1106937 �

1106246 �

1045333 �

1 9 531 �

1086673 �

1027483 �

1080678 �

1085205 �

1106724 �

1119725 �

5100741 �

WWW.ARCHITONIC. COM www.architonic.com/PRODUCT CODE 8 9 995 �

1105033 �

5100200 �

1030391 �

1090979 �

1129817 �

www.sixinch.eu/catalogue

SIXINCH OFFERS A CUSTOMISABLE COLLECTION OF FOAM-COATED FURNITURE ALONG WITH A BESPOKE FURNITURE AND DESIGN SERVICE. SIXINCH UK Showoom | 16 Britton street, London EC1M 5SX | Tel +44 (0)79 35885345

"A new design show with an international mix, designjunction shows all the promise of delivering quality with energy and verve."

4H_°-YHZLY

LONDON DESIGN GUIDE

°:,7;,4),9° =0*;690(°/6<:,°)(:,4,5; :6<;/(47;65°96> 365+65°°>* )° (7 www.thedesignjunction.co.uk

10/11 The only concept of its kind dedicated exclusively to design. www.restaurantandbardesignawards.com

Call or visit our showroom to ďŹ nd out more about our new ranges:

â&#x201E;&#x2013; 1/

28

www.demagazine.co.uk

S t m arys a n g l i can C hurch Ur b a n T h in k T a nk ( U-TT) , Carac as , V enezu el a

//

Architectural Project â&#x201E;&#x2013; 1

Inspired by squats and loft living, interdisciplinary design practice Urban Think Tank has designed a building constructed on top of existing structures, providing homes that can be developed over time.

29

www.demagazine.co.uk

Urban Think Tank was founded in 1993 by architect Alfredo Brillembourg and since then the award-winning practice has dealt with sustainable development worldwide. Based in Caracas, a city of paradoxes, where gasoline is cheaper than drinking water, the company has had its work cut out. The area boasts an astounding five municipalities, Baruta, El Hatillo, Chacao, Libertador and Sucre, all of opposing political standing; each led by a different Mayor. It’s a disjointed situation and, unsurprisingly, the environment is often conflicted.

However, this makes for creative and changeable situations, and Brillembourg, together with U-TT Director Hubert Klumpner, is dedicated to pioneering projects that will help unite the city.

“Our work is aimed at reversing the top-down hierarchy of governance in the public sphere in favor of bottom-up, locally driven action,” states U-TT, continuing, “Ideal situations do not concern us. Our work is about avoiding catastrophes.”

While there have been many ventures since 1993, one project that epitomizes U-TT’s goal of ‘creating consciousness through concrete’ came about in 2004.

Inspired by squatting and New York lofts of the 1980s, St. Mary 30

www.demagazine.co.uk

“We think of this project as an entrepreneurial village development, based on the concept of the flexible growing house,” explains U-TT, “The concept is similar to that of sites and services in India, but laid out vertically.”

Anglican Church grew from a simple yet original concept: to construct a tower for emergency housing across and above existing buildings.

First, a concrete frame was created, with necessities like electricity and water provided for each level. This meant that

residents could complete each space to their own specific needs – and since this frame works as a shelf system between floors, offering easy flexibility for build, future extension for tenants is straightforward.

“We are interested in low-cost, sustainable solutions that can

//

Architectural Project № 1

Images from UTT archive

be developed step-by-step on a small scale,” says U-TT, “Such solutions empower individuals and offer new models for vertical density and new approaches of open-ended planning.”

Naturally, St Mary’s isn’t all about housing - it’s about community and coexistence.

The space is multi-faceted and includes a kindergarten, cafe, meeting halls and shops, allowing

for a working non-profit church society – one that is both resourceful and self-sustaining.

“We think of this project as an entrepreneurial village development, based on the concept of the flexible growing house,” explains U-TT, “The concept is similar to that of sites and services in India, but laid out vertically.”

Currently Brillembourg and

Klumpner are involved with SLUM (Sustainable Living Urban Model) LAB at Columbia University, while more recently they began planning Studio Neighborhood Youth Facilities in Rusaifah, for the Ministry of Social Development, Jordan.

31

www.demagazine.co.uk

â&#x201E;&#x2013; 2/

32

www.demagazine.co.uk

C a s a Centla rivadeneyra architects tabasco, Mexico

//

Architectural Project â&#x201E;&#x2013; 2

Every year, Mexicoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Tabasco region endures flooding from the Grijalva River. In the face of such destruction, Rivadeneyra Architects has designed a sustainable home that embraces the elements through native traditions.

33

www.demagazine.co.uk

Designed to deal with annual flooding in the southern state of Tabasco, one of Mexico’s wettest regions, the Casa Centla is a prototype created by architect Alejandro Rivadeneyra of Rivadeneyra Arquitectos in collaboration with Nicholas Bellizia at Habitat for Humanity, Mexico. The build is intended to deal with natural catastrophes, most notably that of the Grijalva River overflow, which encroaches on surrounding settlements every October and November each year. Relocating residents affected by the devastating floods of 2007, to new, suitable housing on lower level land, the idea of this prototype is to work with the excess water, while also creating safe, sufficient and sustainable homes – ones that will eventually provide a further 26 dwellings for around 150 residents in the Chilapa Boca neighborhood of Tabasco.

With help from the IberoAmerican University in Santa Fe and EXPO CIHAC, the first prototype was built and presented at the international

34

www.demagazine.co.uk

EXPO 2011, giving visitors a comprehensive idea of the architects’ goals.

It’s a simple design, one that stays true to local tradition and architecture. Nonetheless, the modular concrete skeleton and wooden boards of the building evoke a modern sensibility.

The prototype, which takes into account soil, climate and native culture, is raised on stilts, 1.5 meters above the ground, keeping the home secure from any possible flood damage. Above, the unit is

broken into two separate floors or appendixes, providing living areas, which include a kitchen, study, an eco-bathroom and porch, as well as space enough to sleep three. These bedrooms are separated for privacy by wooden staves, while the house itself is structured in concrete and wood, with walls containing a protective layer of mosquito netting. In addition, a ventilation system is built within the roof, which provides cool, clean air for residents.

While the walls give flexibility

//

Architectural Project â&#x201E;&#x2013; 2

that allows for the possibility of future expansion, underneath the construction remains sustainable, as water is gathered in tanks below the kitchen and bathroom, and then filtered for re-use.

To date, the prototype has been a huge success; houses have already been built in Tzucacab, Yucatan leading to the possible build of the settlement in Chilapa Boca.

More recently, in October 2010, Casa Centla was awarded the Premio Nacional de la Vivienda, delivered by President Felipe Calderon in Mexico City.

35

www.demagazine.co.uk

â&#x201E;&#x2013; 3/

36

www.demagazine.co.uk

recetas Urba nas benicassin Spain

//

Architectural Project â&#x201E;&#x2013; 3

A collective said to be subversive, Recetas Urbanas has reclaimed the disused and abandoned to construct PROYECTALAB, a dynamic artistic hub housed in a once derelict train station.

37

www.demagazine.co.uk

Recetas Urbanas (Urban Prescriptions) was established in Spain in 1996 and is made up of many collectives including Camiones Contenedores Colectivos, Escarceos conel Arte, and Arquitecturas Colaborativas. Since its inauguration, the group has restored and regenerated disused lots and environments across the local area. In Benicàssim, this March, in collaboration with Rehasa Structures and Lucas Construction, they opened PROYECTALAB, a multifaceted space for cultural and artistic activities, ranging from exhibitions to workshops and conferences.

Built on the grounds of an old train station, using recycled materials and reclaimed 38

www.demagazine.co.uk

products, PROYECTALAB covers a fantastic 400m2. This comprises of six individual cabins donated by ‘Trucks, Containers, and Collectives’, an enterprise based in Zaragoza, concerned with issues such as re-use of public housing assets and street furniture recovery. These containers had been dismantled from an old housing project and had they not been reclaimed, the 42 square-meter units would be left vacant. However, thanks to Recetas Urbanas, they now have a new home and have been put to good use.

For the construction of PROYECTALAB, the containers were connected to one side of the building, stemming from the main, original structure on raised metal rafters. Each was then

//

Architectural Project № 3

Built on the grounds of an old train station, using recycled materials and reclaimed products, PROYECTALAB covers a fantastic 400m2 linked by walkway, while utilities were also added, with windows and wooden floors, making each container comfortable and accessible for the artists who work there.

Today, PROYECTALAB is painted bright canary yellow and filled by classes, courses and art studios. The space is a huge benefit to the community, providing a regenerated meeting space for those who may not have the opportunity, or resources, to gather, discuss or create. It’s a considerate and

diplomatic body that houses a different group dependant on the season; Asociación Proyecta, a public initiative working in collaboration with the Escola d’Art i Superior de Castelló of Design, make use of the space during summer, while Nau de les Arts take over for the winter months. Other participants include Straddle3, X ALL THE PRAXIS, CONCEPTUARTE, and NEWNOWSTUDIO. 39

www.demagazine.co.uk

â&#x201E;&#x2013; 4/

40

www.demagazine.co.uk

L e g ac y F oot b a ll Ce n t e r Lompreta Nolte arquitetos / Nanda Eskes arquitetura / architecture for Humanity rio de Janeiro, brazil

//

Architectural Project â&#x201E;&#x2013; 4

The Legacy Football Centre, Rio, was built in connection with the 8th Homeless World Cup, creating a community for those affected by homelessness within a modern and efficient build.

41

www.demagazine.co.uk

Home for street-football, and an elevated voice for the homeless of Brazil.

The Homeless World Cup is an annual event that raises awareness for the homeless by way of football. In 2010, for their 8th tournament, held in Santa Cruz, a suburb of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, things went a little further than ball games when the area saw a new build for the event - a huge 12,000 square-metre space, dubbed the Legacy Football Centre, was created for street children aged between 6 and 17.

The project, sponsored by Nike Gamechangers in partnership with Architecture for Humanity, Organização Civil de Ação Social and Instituto Bola Pra Frente, was built on a shoestring in two separate parts. The first of these was inaugurated in October,

42

www.demagazine.co.uk

//

Architectural Project № 4

when designers Lompreta Nolte Arquitetos, Nanda Eskes Arquitetura and Daniel Feldman, a design fellow with Architecture for Humanity, established a community space: a sports building that was more than a fitness centre and football pitch – this was, and is, a social hub for all effected by homelessness.

Today, the structure includes a women’s learning centre, childcare, classrooms, offices and storage, alongside the pitch, which was donated by Greenfields. These areas are situated beneath the ramp-like roof, a construction which allows spectators to move up onto the building to watch the games below. For those beneath, the ramp provides a shaded location

close to the pitch.

Meanwhile, the second phase of the project is intended for the Institute Bola Pra Frente, a charity body recently incorporated into the streetfootballworld network, founded in 2000 by footballers Jorginho and Bebeto to help children at risk.

Best of all, the Legacy Football Centre is an eco-friendly, sustainable space constructed with local, recycled materials, including concrete, metal and OSB. In the facilities, collected rainwater is cleaned for use by a UV purification system, while ventilation is produced through natural cooling systems. There are also ongoing plans for solar panels, which will provide

electricity and illuminate the pitch for late night games.

Unsurprisingly, the project has been a success. “We are thrilled that the Santa Cruz center is creating a lasting legacy providing resources to the community,” Cameron Sinclair, founder of Architecture for Humanity, recently remarked, continuing that it is, “a home for street-football, and an elevated voice for the homeless of Brazil.”

Almost a year on and the 9th Homeless World Cup is gearing up to take place in Paris, while the Legacy Centre stands as testament to sustainable design and social cause.

43

www.demagazine.co.uk

â&#x201E;&#x2013; 5/

44

www.demagazine.co.uk

Ve rt i cal C it y desitecture Caracas, Venezuela

//

Architectural Project № 5

Generating natural energy from the environment, design collective Desitecture’s plans for the futuristic, award-winning Vertical City aims to provide Caracas with an answer to the city’s slums and overcrowding.

45

www.demagazine.co.uk

There are five million people in the metropolitan area of Caracas, many of whom live in the slums surrounding the city or within the notorious 23 De Enero, a large social housing project built in the 1950s, mostly for military families, many of which inhabited by squatters since the end of the dictatorship. It’s safe to say, people aren’t happy with the situation. In fact, it’s an economic nightmare and as such, stakeholders in Caracas are keen to come up with a viable answer to their housing woes. Possible solutions are forthcoming and one that is particularly unique is Desitecture’s ‘Vertical City’.

46

www.demagazine.co.uk

The London-based collective of nine designers, founded by Layton Reid, has come up with a 180-story wonder. Recently short-listed for the World Architecture Festival’s Future Projects Experimental Category 2010, the plans for this project are something else, offering a twisting trio of oval cups on legs, a little like an upside-down, vertical Tower of Babel.

“The Tower of Babel idea is funny,” says Dan Evans of Desitecture, “Actually, it’s based on a need to maximize light penetration and air movement; to generate energy on a relatively tight footprint.” He adds, “We

have been developing on human habitation, emergent technology and sustainability and looking at the ways in which these technologies and parametric form generation can be harnessed to affect the design of a series of environments.”

Since the building spreads across the way, support is crucial, and lies within the frame, which runs back and forth between areas.

Each high-rise cup is a hollow structure containing services for the tower’s levels. Think internal overlapping farms, gardens, housing, offices, schools, cafes, and pretty much anything residents might need.

//

Architectural Project № 5

Unsurprisingly, the build is intended as lightweight with composite pre-cast units containing energy-producing micro turbines and photovoltaic solar panels in the walls.

Meanwhile, the lower levels provide car access and parking, although it is also possible that the City could by reached by helicopter or cable car. Having said that, it’s unlikely that the average slum dweller travels this way; a fact that Desitecture is well aware of.

“There has been a lot of net chatter about the project, which we really appreciate, even if not all of it is flattering,” admits Evans, “but it shows that the idea is generating a real debate about social agendas and resources and the large scale role architecture and design can play in it – something which has not really happened since the ‘60s.”

And therein lies the brilliance of Desitecture’s ‘Vertical City’.

While it may or may not house homeless, it would provide the area with jobs and income – it could create a new economic zone. So, it’s a little crazy. But this is a vision. It’s a work in progress, and if realized, it will break boundaries within architecture and design.

47

www.demagazine.co.uk

No.1 Feature

design for Communities not Competitions Words Lucas Gray

Architects are always looking for ways to be challenged, to engage in design and get their work seen, aiming at attracting new clients. Traditionally, open design competitions have lured in thousands of firms to submit designs for proposed projects.

Thousands may enter; a few will be finalists; yet only one team wins. Even then, there is no guarantee the building will actually be built nor that the architects who designed the winning proposal will be those 48

www.demagazine.co.uk

chosen for the project. What it boils down to is a waste of thousands of man hours once you add up all the resources each participating firm had dedicated to the endeavor.

According to a recent TEDx talk

by Daniel Dendra, founder of Open SimSim, only 2% of the buildings worldwide are planned by architects. A few years ago, 1557 offices participated in the competition for the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

Assuming at least 3 architects

per team and at least one month of work, that equals 4671 man months - or approximately 10 architectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s full careers. That is a tremendous amount of wasted time and resources - and it also represents 1,556 buildings that were designed but will never be built. Imagine if all that effort went to people who were desperate for a new home, a community in need of a new school, a country that is rebuilding after a natural disaster.

//

Feature no.1

1

1

“

A few years ago, 1557 offices participated in the competition for the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Assuming at least 3 architects per team and at least one month of work, that equals 4671 man months or approximately 10 architect’s full careers.

”

Master Plan (c) Boogertman + Partners

Sustainability is all about living within a system that doesn’t consume more than is produced, where waste is obsolete and rather becomes a new resource.

A system where all efficiencies are maximized. The antiquated architectural system described above is incredibly inefficient as thus unsustainable. Imagine if a client called a group of 10 lawyers and asked them to each prepare a case for free, and then the client would chose the firm that prepared the case with the best chance of winning. There is no way a law firm would conduct business like that. No other profession spends as much time and money merely bidding for work - yet architects line up to enter these competitions, giving away their time and, more importantly, their ideas for free.

To counter this unproductive business model, I propose that we DO give our ideas away for free. However, instead of giving them to wealthy clients wanting to build new museums and luxury houses, let’s give our ideas to the vast sea of people with no access to trained design professionals. Let’s donate our services to communities in need, to social issues that could be 49

www.demagazine.co.uk

solved through design. Designers have the power to change the world â&#x20AC;&#x201C; now, letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s make it happen.

I have learned from experience that offering my services free of charge to a group in need is both more rewarding and ultimately provided a greater return on the investment than any competition. This experience began while I was working as a freelance designer last year and found myself with a few weeks of free time between projects.

As someone who gets antsy when being unproductive for an extended period of time, I started 50

www.demagazine.co.uk

looking for creative ways to fill my days. As I looked for design opportunities I checked the competitions page on the Open Architecture Network - an open source architecture community started by Architecture for Humanity. Rather than enter any of the competitions, I chose to reach out and contact Architecture for Humanity directly to ask if they had any perspective clients in need of an architect. A few days later I received an email from AFH with the description of a project to design a community center for a group in Winterveld, South

Africa.

The Golden Youth Club takes at-risk youth and teaches them traditional dance, whilst also providing them with a place to stay and skills to find jobs. Currently, the group operates out of the small house belonging to its founder. The project called for new complex housing a performance and rehearsal hall, computer lab, multi-purpose classroom, youth room, dormitory for 24 people, kitchen and dinning area. About a week after I received the project description, I received an email from Mahlangu Nomatlou

//

Feature no.1

3

2

Drawing of community center for a group in Winterveld, South Africa. (c) Lucas Gray

3

locality (c) Boogertman + Partners

2

Johannah, the Managing Director and founder of the group. Communicating with her by email, Skype and other chat programs allowed me to further explore the intricate needs of her group and develop an appropriate design solution.

Furthermore, Berlin resident Ulrich Krauert had been volunteering with the group, both on location in South Africa as well as back in Germany, spearheading the fundraising efforts for the project. We met in Berlin to discuss the program for the building, go over the site and understand

the local building culture and regulations. He introduced me to the philosophy behind the group and their goals for the project as well as discussed the complex requirements of having a flexible multi-use facility in the underprivileged community of Wintervelt.

I worked on a design for a few months with the assistance of a couple of students from the University of Oregon. Our work produced an initial conceptual design and presentation images to facilitate the fundraising efforts and to show the client and members of the club to get them 51

www.demagazine.co.uk

excited about the possibilities of the project.

At this stage, it was important to turn this conceptual exercise into a real piece of architecture.

Working from a different country and without the opportunity to visit the site and coordinate with the local building codes and regulations was a difficult task. Instead of undertaking the design development on my own, I sent my design to a friend, Henk Boogertman, the founding partner of Boogertman + Partners in South Africa. He graciously donated the time and resources of his successful firm to take the initial design 52

www.demagazine.co.uk

and develop it to work within the local conditions and the tight budget. He was also able to meet directly with the client and visit the site, a necessity of any successful architecture project.

The project is currently working its way through the local government. It has been presented to the city and they are attaining the required permits and approvals to move forward towards construction. The fundraising effort is continuing as well and slowly nearing the goal to fully cover the costs of construction.

This project taught me a lot about the possibilities of focusing on socially sustainable

architecture. All the hard work, time and resources pumped into a project directly benefit someone in the real world - someone who without the donated time would never have access to the skills and value of working with an architect.

Furthermore, I learned a lot by communicating with people from around the world, exchanging ideas, sharing different cultures. This cross pollination is an invaluable experience and one that doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t happen by entering an open design competition where you blindly submit an idea to an ambiguous jury and hope for the best outcome. Here, I got to

//

Feature no.1

actually meet new people and work with them to provide an ideal solution to their specific needs. This project will also make a huge impact on the lives of hundreds of underprivileged children - a fact that can’t be overlooked.

As this project moves forward, I will also have the opportunity to visit South Africa, participate in the construction process and ultimately see the design become reality. This just doesn’t seem to happen with design competitions. One out of thousands of proposals might get built and even then it could be many years before anything becomes of the project. With

the Golden Youth Club, we are looking at starting construction of the project within a year of the conceptual design.

This is a much more exciting and rewarding return on the investment of time put into it.

Finally, I will eventually have a building I can add to my portfolio and use to attract new clients. Having a constructed building is much more valuable and impressive than simply conceptual competition entries that never lead to a built project.

I urge the architects and designers of the world to consider the alternatives to the current system of open design competitions. Think about the

return on your investments and how your time and energy and creative ideas could better serve humanity. As stated by The 1%, program of Public Architecture, “If every architecture professional in the U.S. committed 1% of their time to pro bono service, it would add up to 5,000,000 hours annually - the equivalent of a 2,500-person firm, working full-time for the public good.”

Imagine the impact of 1% of every architect in the world.

If you are interested in more information about the project or would like to get involved please contact Lucas Gray: lugray@gmail.com 53

www.demagazine.co.uk

No.2 Installation

CCPP Quatorze / Cochenko / butong

Initiated by the French Ministry of Culture and MILDT (the Inter-ministerial Mission for the Fight Against Drugs and Drug Addiction), the Chantier Créatif de Prévention Partagée (CCPP) is an exhibition which offers school and institution attendees a short trip inside a containerstyle space for a sensorial and interactive experience. The ‘space, light, sound and drugs’ project came about via a partnership between collectives Quatorze and Cochenko, alongside 54

www.demagazine.co.uk

Benjamin Levy and Augustin Brisedou of Butong. The latter, a Swedish company founded in 2009 by Architect and Designer Lars Höglund, specialises in an innovative, mouldable concrete.

The material, described as translucent, transparent or opaque, reacts to the atmosphere and as such, was ideal for the changeable CCPP structure.

The project was well thoughtout with preliminary seminars organized by Cochenko at the ENSAPB School of Architecture

in Paris. Here, students were keen to work with light in a sculpted space, later coming up with 3D models of boxes broken into separate sections - pleasure, repetition and awakening. Each of these areas was then recreated within Portacabins with walls covered by Butong’s textured concrete and wooden floors concealing triggers activating different scenes and sensations throughout.

The installation is nothing if not thought provoking, with

//

Installation no.2

Credits: French Ministry of Culture MILDT Cochenko team: Quatorze team: Butong team: Benjamin Levy, Augustin Brisedou www.butong.eu

each individual moving through the trio of stages, interacting with space, light and sound.

But despite the onslaught of sensations, this is intended as a solitary trip, and while they can remain in the structure as long as they like, visitors may only visit CCPP alone.

Initially, the journey is pleasant and peaceful. The music is smooth, the lighting calm – the experience, enjoyable and mellow. However, in the second section the area is more constrictive, as the walls close and light dims, moving onto the third, which can only be described as severe and offers dull bass sounds and little direction for easy exit.

It’s all very provocative, yet the CCPP project was never intended as a judgement call on drug use. As those behind the work mention, “there are no pamphlets or brochures in the installation, no pointing fingers, only a mind-opening experience and a chance to reach people coming for the installation,” adding that this is, “an opportunity to talk to people lured by architecture.”

55

www.demagazine.co.uk

No.3 Installation

burningham exyzt

A highlight of this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fierce Festival was a large-scale, location-specific architectural intervention for Birmingham by internationally acclaimed French architecture collective EXYZT. Working from Paris and London, this visionary practice creates temporary structures - usually communal social spaces â&#x20AC;&#x201C; often on disused urban patches of land, in a process which is always site-specific and engages and empowers the communities it enters. EXYZT use architecture 56

www.demagazine.co.uk

as a form of social regeneration, involving the community in the creation of a collaborative narrative.

For Birmingham, EXYZT created a pavilion-like structure (akin to an outsized Monopoly house) made from scaffolding and the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s trademark translucent white plastic. The project was announced by gigantic Hollywood-style letters.

Built by the collective, local contractors and a team of young apprentices recruited for the

//

Installation no.3

project, the structure included a chimney and fireplace, making it glow from within, and large barn-like doors used for specialist screenings and graphical projections.

Located in the shadow of Birmingham’s abandoned Curzon Street railway station and on the route of the proposed HS2 high speed rail link, EXYZT intended the project as a meeting ground and melting pot for the city’s population, providing a space for an ongoing

and every-changing programme of social and cultural activities throughout the festival. As part of the collective’s process of ‘urban psychoanalysis’ of the city, it was meant to evoke questions such as ‘Does Birmingham have low self-esteem? Does Birmingham have multiple personality disorder? Should Birmingham be renamed?’

Truly a striking intervention into the city’s sprawling scaffolding landscape.

Images: Briony Campbell & Anna Morris

57

www.demagazine.co.uk

No.4 Installation

Nothing Office Joost van bleiswijk and Alrik koudenburg

Joost van Bleiswijk and Alrik Koudenburg have designed an office of cardboard for Nothing advertising agency in Amsterdam which is biodegradable, sustainable and strong.

Back in 1972, Frank Gehry’s Wiggle Chair started a slow burning trend in home products made from cardboard. It’s a fashion that has been quietly 58

www.demagazine.co.uk

growing, as other designers followed in Gehry’s footsteps, including Eric Guiomar with his quirky bookshelves, and Sergei Gerasimenko, famed for his Foldschool children’s furniture.

While the mass production of cardboard products has been less than speedy, these designers are definitely onto something and today cardboard is building

//

Installation no.4

2

1

1

2

Nothing cardboard office interior: Photographer: Joachim Baan

more than products - it’s making rooms, offices and more.

The recently launched Nothing advertising agency in Amsterdam took note of this trend, and keen to turn ‘nothing into something’, decided to build an innovative cardboard agency for their staff.

For this, they hired designers Joost van Bleiswijk and Alrik Koudenburg, a duo that came

up with something pretty special - indeed, the agency that they’ve built is astounding.

Joost van Bleiswijk explains, “I wanted to create a timeless space, monumental with my monumental and ornamental design style, using recognizable classic lines and styles.”

Naturally, this is exactly what he and Koudenburg have done.

59

www.demagazine.co.uk

4

5

Nothing cardboard office interior: Photographer: Joachim Baan

4

Constructed from a phenomenal 500 sq. metres of reinforced cardboard, the place is both cool and distinctive. All of the 1500 pieces have been put together without glue or fixings and are as strong and functional as any standard fittings. Areas include an elevated office, boardroom, library and workspaces, alongside desks, tables, bookshelves, and a staircase – and all are made from good old fashion, newly produced, cardboard.

“Nothing is about the power of ideas, about how a single idea can transform nothing into something,” Michael Jansen states, adding, “Using a cheap 60

www.demagazine.co.uk

4

5

//

Installation no.4

5

6

6

throw-away material to build a unique and memorable work space seemed a good way to materialize this thought.â&#x20AC;?

The staff here have got it made and can do whatever they wish with the surrounding card structures. They might draw, doodle or graffiti the desks and walls, and when the cardboard is worn, it can easily be replaced.

However, this cardboard is far more than just replaceable - itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sustainable, biodegradable, strong and pretty damned cool.

Nothing cardboard office interior: Photographer: Joachim Baan

Credits: Joost van Bleiswijk / Nothing cardboard office interior / Nothing / Amsterdam, The Netherlands / 2009 www.projectjoost.com

61

www.demagazine.co.uk

No.5 Installation

6a arCHiTECtS residency at ICa

21

From October 2010, ICA welcomed 6a architects to the building, who joined the institution for a six month architectural residency. 6a examined how the spaces worked and made significant changes with small gestures.

The architects played with furniture and layout, cleverly engaging with ICA programme in a physical way. As Stephanie Macdonald, Co-Director of 6a architects, mentioned in 62

www.demagazine.co.uk

the beginning of the residency period, ‘The spaces should engage with the diversity of the ICA’s programme and the social life within and around it. In order to foster this kind of cultural laboratory and it’s communities the spaces must be open, beautiful, authentic and specific – the character of the ICA must be unmistakable.’

The residency offered a processled approach as a way of making change without the

//

Design/Art no.5

1

2

The ICA Studio by 6a Architects All photos by David Grandorge (c) All rights reserved 3

The ICA bookshop by 6a Architects All photos by David Grandorge (c) All rights reserved

2

3

need for major fund raising.

This process was drawn as an alternative to a large, capital dependent, instrument of renewal. Through the residency, the ICA’s recent organizational reforms established a corollary in the physical environment to communicate to artists and audiences its new creative and critical values.

6a have operated both at the Entrance Hall and Bookshop, but they have also proposed a new programme, transforming the former workshop and delivery depot into The Studio.

The Studio is now a place to

access the ICA’s archive; host artist residencies; present the ICA’s new Live Edition events, for which Bob & Roberta Smith and Billy Childish have already made works during the space’s transformation; sell limited edition prints and books; and display individual works, beginning with a painting by Jakub Julian Ziolkowski.

Previously inaccessible to the public, this sunny and relaxed room, located above one of the ICA Cinemas, retains some of its original function as a workshop. However, the 63

www.demagazine.co.uk

4

4

64

Furniture by Simon Jones All photos by David Grandorge (c) All rights reserved (Image used on Cover)

www.demagazine.co.uk

flexible furniture by Simon Jones allows the room to be transformed for talks, meetings, events and an informal space for ICA Members. Clear glass skylights allow the Duke of York statue and Regency colonnades to be seen from the room for the first time, enabling visitors to identify their location on The Mall and within the ICA. In the words of Stephanie, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Rather than designing the ICA Studio, we have found and represented a wonderful original space.

Using the natural light that floods the room, we have made subtle changes, often leaving original features, as well as giving a lot of attention to the many ways in which people from across the organisation hope to use the space.â&#x20AC;?

6a have built a reputation

//

Feature no.5

5

5

6

Flexible furniture allows for different uses of the space All photos by David Grandorge (c) All rights reserved 7

6

for working with history and legacy in a creative way, especially evident in their design for Raven Row Gallery, in 2009. Their recent intervention at the ICA comprised a reinterpretation of a workshop that had seen the work of artists from Pablo Picasso to Damien Hirst and Billy Childish to Pablo Bronstein pass through its

The ICA Studio by 6a Architects All photos by David Grandorge (c) All rights reserved

doors. Appropriated by 6a Architects, the workshop transformed into the ICA Studio, a brand new space opened to the public.

6a architectsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; residency at the ICA follows a thorough organisational review, led

by Executive Director Ekow Eshun, which has now placed the Institute on a more secure footing following a period

7

of considerable financial pressure. With a strong autumn programme and a new five-year business plan delivered, the ICA is well placed artistically, financially and organisationally to meet new challenges and thrive into the future as a forum for progressive thinking in the arts.

65

www.demagazine.co.uk

No.6 Design/Art

designersblock

The Designersblock have long been on the lookout for new, emerging designers. They have selected and brought them to life through their shows, conversations, parties and encounters. Once again Bud and Rory select two more designers for this issue.

This is their choice!

66

www.demagazine.co.uk

//

Feature no.6

Designersblock have had a busy couple of months. Since returning from their 11th annual show in Milan in April, they produced an event for Creative and Cultural skills at the sumptuous Goldsmiths hall in the shadow of St. Pauls, showcasing furniture, products, graphics, ceramics and concepts from designers within their network. Later in May, they also presented the Bodging Milano project during Clerkenwell Design Week, showing how it has developed in just over a year from nine designers making furniture in a forest to a range of pieces which includes some currently in production.

During New Designers in

July they will be presenting an award for outstanding creativity to one emerging designer.

The prize will consist of space at their next London and Milan shows as well as the opportunity to work from their headquarters and receive mentoring and advice. Upcoming projects include working with Kingston University to develop their creative industries course, which will cover research initiatives, conference content development and mentoring of MA students.

Also being planned is an exhibition and conference at Europe House in Smith Square

for the European Union, looking at the history and future of the creative industries since the term was coined in 1998.

Designersblockâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 14th annual London show will take place between the 22nd and 25th of September 2011. They welcome applications from individual designers regardless of discipline, design collectives, universities, manufacturers, creative agencies, artists and others who understand and appreciate their approach and values.

67

www.demagazine.co.uk

/

rory's Choice -

why would i do that!

I’m in a cold garage just before Christmas in Kensington at an RCA pop up shop with Katrin Baumgarten and I’ve just asked her if she’s ever thought to design a chair. Stupid question on my part but born of a genuine interest in seeing what that chair might be like given that some of her work explores the idea of intimate dialogues mediated through technology and familiar objects in surprising ways, often through touch.

I have vivid memories of an RCA show in 2002 when I was invited to sit down by a mischievous designer called Annick Collins. She had developed a pair of seats which 68

www.demagazine.co.uk

she called pixela. Connected with wires, each seat was a topographical surface made up of a grid of hydraulic tubes with soft ends. By pressing down the surface on one seat, the surface on the other seat moves up correspondingly with hilarious results - it was like being touched up by a stranger. Possibly the best ice breaking furniture ever.

Annick’s been involved in many projects since and is now with multidisciplinary design team Superblue.

I first came across Katrin Baumgarten when she applied to show with Designersblock in 2010. She had graduated that year from a joint MA /

Msc in Innovation Design Engineering at Royal College of Art | Imperial College London and had a remarkable project called Aesthetics of Disgust. A collection of twelve switches based around human relationships and reactions, both emotional and physical, to the things and materials that disgust us. Some of the switches react and some anticipate human touch and some are made of things that people really don’t think they want to touch. One oozes sticky goo when pressed, another is made of fingernails, one is covered in hairs that move towards your finger as it gets closer to the switch and

//

Feature no.6 1

1

Photo: Brickssm

2

Katrin: disgusting lightswitch installation

3

Katrin: ntimate touch communication

3

2

one has a button that actually disappears before you can press it. The results are timed and recorded so the collective disgust can be quantified. An important element of the installation is that several people can press the switches at the same time so that the experience is shared often with strangers and the hoots of laughter and moans of revulsion

are always loud and vocal.

A second collection of hand held objects invites touch through familiar forms. Similar to a TV remote or cellphone, they are dormant until picked up, whereupon they react in human ways by squirming and coming out in goose pimples tapping into a collective mistrust of devices and hidden activity within technology. Crucially they raise the question, do we control the technology or is it the other way around? Lastly, the secret button experiment explores

intimacy through linked devices so that two people can touch each other secretly and remotely in a way not unlike Annicksâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; seats.

Recently she held a public workshop at the V & A where people were able to bring teacups to be modified so that they began to vibrate or shiver when the tea starts to cool down. Currently, she is working on a collection of animated teapots.

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m still hoping that the furniture is on the way.

69

www.demagazine.co.uk

/

bud's Choice -

dream ball

To me, most packaging is very much like having a stalker something you didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want in the first place thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very hard to get rid of. We all live with the ephemera around ourselves of the daily products we consume: milk, hair products, food, cigarettes, alcohol, medicine, junk mail, condoms and other such essential tat. Which is probably why I responded in such a visceral way to the Dream Ball by unplugged design.

Simply put, the Dream Ball is packaging for famine relief but it is, however, a little more than that. Once the consumables supplied by the Dream Ball have been consumed by starving children in developing countries, or by their parents, or by whoever first comes across them 70

www.demagazine.co.uk

//

Feature no.6

and has a say in how they are distributed, the Dream Ball then has a second life. You rip the Dream Ball apart and it becomes a football. In developing countries, a football is seen as a luxury; a highly developed industrial designed product that only the rich can afford. So, to turn the debris of famine relief into something beyond practical, an object that has the infinite variation of play, is quite a thing.

When I initially saw the pictures, I thought what a charming idea, a shame that it is only an idea.

I didn’t imagine that it was the thing it claimed to be.

However, when we exhibited it at Earls Court back in 2009, we showed it in the only way that actually made sense, with a goalpost and a keeper and random kids and adults playing keepy up and trying to smack it into the back of the net. And there was a strange revelation.

Kicking it, it felt like a football, the dimensions were right, the weight felt right, you could control it, dependent on your actual skill with a ball, it actually was a football, not a bunch of soggy rags. Rather than being just a lovely idea, it was the thing it pretended to be.

So many things around us in that lovely phrase we ‘use once then destroy’. I use disposable contact lenses and every time I rip that aluminum foil from the plastic, I think of the miners that ripped that metal out of the earth.

As far as I’m aware no one has

ever taken a head count of the number of male human beings that have died while working as miners, in the same way that no one has ever thought to do a headcount of the amount a female human beings that have died in childbirth. But these are real things that actually matter.

It’s a sterile medical product that needs to be delivered to me in this way or else I’ll suffer from an eye infection, but still it troubles me. Quite why we can’t take vessels we already own to the supermarket to be filled with

1

ketchup or soup or olives, I don’t really know.

And that’s one thing the Dream Ball, like a lot of Korean design, does for me: it chucks the poetry of the possible at us. Perhaps you can have a genuine disaster, famine, hurricane, tsunami but the solution to the horror of the situation can be genuinely layered and point a way forward.

To my knowledge the Dream Ball is not currently in production anywhere in the world.

Photo: Dreamball

1

71

www.demagazine.co.uk

No.7 Design/Art

24H dESIGN CHaLLENGE a project by Hendzel and Hunt Words Mariana Pestana

What can one find in a postal code area? What materials are there to source? And what can one build with them?

The 24h Design Challenge happened on May 6th this year, organised by Hendzel and Hunt and taking place in their workshop and studio in Peckham. It branched from their MADE IN PECKHAM range of furniture, built within the principles of sustainability and up-cycling, where all the materials were sourced locally. Hendzel and Hunt wanted to develop the exercise further, 72

www.demagazine.co.uk

extending it to more people, “the best of the best” as they called it, and the challenge was devised as a platform to encourage experimentation. They challenged a group of 20 designers, from kinetic artists to furniture makers, to design and make an object in 24h.

It all started at 8pm, when the entrants arrived to the workshop. There was an ambience of suspense and excitement in the room, all the designers poised to start. Around 9pm the teams and brief were announced: split

into five teams, the designers had 24h to come up with a mechanical machine capable of playing “Two Cigarettes in the Dark”,

by Joe Green and his Novelty Orchestra, Edison Bell record.

The machine should not include electronics of any kind, and all materials should be sourced locally. Each group was provided with original gramophone needles, one test record and a £30 sourcing material budget.

I left the workshop that night thinking that it was an impossible task. I looked back at the

//

Feature no.7

1

1

2

3

4

5

Photo at the Hendzel + Hunt 24hr Design Challengedisclosure of the brief at the studio Hendzel + Hunt 24hr Design Challenge- Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bin a Long Time Hendzel + Hunt 24hr Design Challenge- Duchess of Peckham Hendzel + Hunt 24hr Design Challenge- The Portable One Hendzel + Hunt 24hr Design Challenge- The Singer

2

73

www.demagazine.co.uk

groups, discussing the brief and making circular gestures with their hands. They seemed to believe that they were going to make it. And they made it incredibly well.

On the next day the five machines were ready. Some slept, some didn’t, but all came up with very interesting, imaginative solutions: It’s Bin A Long Time was made

by Roger Arquer- Industrial Designer, Jan Hendzel- Designer & Maker and William HassettEngineer. The Idea for “It’s Bin a Long Time” was conceived whilst playing with the idea of how a record is played. Because usually it is the record that spins, the team decided to keep the record static and allow all the elements around the record to move, thus making the record play. The centrifugal force of the bin spinning allows the needle to move along with the track, outside in, so that the whole track is played.

The motion of the bin’s spinning is hand activated, the fly wheel at the base stores the energy so once the bin has reached the correct speed it will just require gently taps to maintain the RPM. The Portable One was the result of the collaboration between Daniel Wallis- Artist, Tim Harris- Furniture Maker, Mike Kann- Furniture Designer and Carson Leong- Product Designer.

The Portable One plays with the concepts of absurdity and futility of making a crafted object within a 24 hour challenge. The principle for sourcing the materials for this project was matching

74

www.demagazine.co.uk

the industrial history of Peckham while simultaneously reflecting their found nature and speed of construction. This aesthetic is evident from the mottled surface of the found zinc plating and its pop riveted construction to the wanny edge of the found oak.

The idea was to celebrate the basic components to create the sound by transforming it into a

Hunt – Designer & Maker, Jade Folawiyo – Product Designer and Chris Glaister – Product Design & Development Engineer, intended to challenge the way in which a gramophone is traditionally viewed. The French Orchestra took the gramophone from the table to the wall. An element of performance is created with the motion of the record

moving sound sculpture. The box would balance on a simple bar while moving slowly across the record as it played. As the team describes it “maybe it is the first portable record player that plays any record at any speed!”

The French Orchestra, by Oscar

spinning as the pulley system is wound up and the audience watches the weight travel from the height of the piece down to the ground whilst the gramophone plays out its tune.

The Singer was made by Stanzin Losal- Designer & Maker, Marta

//

Feature no.7

3

Bakowski- product designer Philip Brauchle- Industrial Designer and Jay Lanaghan- Furniture Maker. The team soon realized that only a paper cone was required to amplify the sound from the needle, and that the foot pedal of the old “singer”

sewing machine that they found would be a great way to power the vinyl rotation. To block out the ambient noise, the team split the sound vibrations from the needle onto two separate sound cones, like headphones.

A found door made the tabletop and found chair legs were used to support the headphones. In the words of the designers, “ The first headphone-gramophone was born”.

The Duchess of Peckham was made by Ben Tyers- Mechanical Engineer, Nic Parnell- Designer & Maker, Nathan JohnsonProduct Design Student and Martin Price- Product Designer.

The inspiration for The Duchess of Peckham came from the place where it was initially conceived: an abandoned hat maker’s studio.

The studio, littered with materials and inanimate objects, provided the team with an exciting range of ideas and possibilities.

They used felt to sit the record on and an old hat box to build the horn, finished off with cuts of an old spray painting board and some scrap wiring. Finding an old barley twist mahogany table in a friend’s attic which they used to sit their gramophone on gave them the idea of creating a consistent theme for the design, execution and finish of all the hand-crafted woodwork by using reclaimed mahogany and oak. The Duchess is powered by an old clock mechanism bought for £3 in Deptford Market, dismantled and altered to the team’s specific requirements.

The diaphragm and connecting

apparatus was constructed from a beer can and scrap copper pipe purchased for £2 from a nearby scrap yard. As the designers described it, “The Duchess of Peckham was engineered with a pragmatic approach to design, retaining a classic and timeless sentiment to the object, very much in line with Thomas Edison’s visions in design”.

The collection of one off objects produced during the 24h Design Challenge is to be showcased at London Design week.

5

75

www.demagazine.co.uk

No.8 Design/Art

the Making of Power Words Mariana Pestana

Despite the current resurgence of interest in a variety of traditional crafts, many long practised skills are being lost to the speed and capacity of modern technological advancements. At the same time, the IT revolution has opened a range of new opportunities, enabling people to make almost anything.

There is an interesting relation between power and making, between freedom and resources.

Making, either in the form of traditional craft or digital fabrica76

www.demagazine.co.uk

tion, means solving problems and addressing needs. The knowledge of making develops through making, and innovation emerges from controlling the production processes. Making well results from making a lot, and making a lot leads to improvement, testing, discovery and potentially, revolution.

Furthermore, learning to make usually entails a relation between two. It implies a process of sharing knowledge be it physically (observing, correcting, explain-

ing) or online, through blogs, forums and open-source design platforms.

The Power of Making Exhibition, opening next September at V&A Museum, will show a selection of old style handcrafts, and examine contemporary attitudes to making and creating. Featuring pieces made by amateurs and professionals, the exhibition will present the traditional image of craft turned on its head.

The exhibition will showcase works made using a diverse

//

Feature no.8

Issey Miyake shop, designed by Tokujin Yoshioka, Tokyo

1

2

Issey Miyake shop.

3

132.5 - 21st centry clothing revolution by Issey Miyake

1

1

range of skills and explore how materials can be used in imaginative and spectacular ways, whether for medical innovation, entertainment, social networking or artistic endeavour.

Works on display will include moulded shoes by Marloes ten Bhรถmer, new Saville Row tailoring by Social Suicide, furniture such as a spun metal rotating chair by Thomas Heatherwick to individual handcrafted puppets from Fantastic Mr Fox, 2

a six-necked guitar, bioimplant embroidering to aid surgical implants, a lion-shaped Ghanaian coffin, extreme cake decorations and new

2

Nora Fok jewellery (c) V&A images

Crochetdermy bear (c) Shauna Richardson

77

www.demagazine.co.uk

Dressage saddle (c) Barnsby Saddlery

3

technologies such as 3D printing.

But more than showing already made pieces, the exhibition will engage the audience with making by providing materials, tools and guidance. There will be a Tinker Space at the exhibition, a workstation where people can make things. The recently announced new V&A residents, Postler & Ferguson, will operate at the maker-lab studio in the Slacker Centre and involve the public in a series of workshops, courses and activities.

The Power of Making will be much more than a showcase, as it is integrated in a very particular political agenda. Inspired by the fab labs, Daniel Charny, curator of the exhibition, seems to be making a serious point and this appears to be the right moment to do so. Since the industrial revolution, people have become distanced from objects and the way theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re made, which hinds 78

www.demagazine.co.uk

them from being able to value objects or to fix them. At the same time, emerging makers are finding their value in a new market, hand making becoming a value again after a decade when it was cheap labour. The Power of Making is situated in a global process of reskilling, of network communities, where digital capabilities nourish ideological and economical concerns. The key declaration of fab labs is that people can make almost anything.

The fab lab program was started

in the Media Lab at MIT, exploring how a community can be powered by technology. A fab lab is a workshop offering digital fabrication, generally equipped with a range of easy-to-use, flexible computer controlled tools that cover several different length scales and various materials.

Fablabs have already shown the potential to empower individuals to create products and objects, tailored to local or personal needs. They provide people with knowledge, enabling them to make things, and hence gain

//

Feature no.8

4

freedom. Fab labs have spread from inner-city Boston to rural India, from South Africa to the North of Norway. Activities in fab labs range from technological empowerment to peer-to-peer project-based technical training to local problem-solving to small-scale high-tech business incubation to grass-roots research. Projects being developed and produced in fab labs include solar and wind-powered turbines, thin-client computers and wireless data networks, analytical instrumentation for agriculture

and healthcare, custom housing, and rapid-prototyping of rapidprototyping machines.

Daniel Charny intends to celebrate the traditional ways of making but also highlight the technical innovation taking place today around the world “We hope the exhibition will inspire people and cause them to more thoughtfully consider the role of making in their lives, in their society, in commerce and in education.” According to the curator, the ideal legacy of this exhibition would be to set the conditions to

Urban Picnic Table (c) Gareth Neal ltd

open a fablab in London. Arguing that at the moment there isn’t a community that justifies opening one, he intends the exhibition to work as a testing ground to evaluate whether there would be an audience for that, “hopefully there will be enough excitement to start one”, he says.

79

www.demagazine.co.uk

No.9 Design/Art

CanapE Saint Nazaire the Generator

by raumlabor

Raumlabor began working on architecture and urbanism in 1999, and they have since been investigating strategies for urban renewal. A key Raumlaborâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s motivation is to engender alternative practices within the city, fostered through cooperation and self-empowerment. Aiming to overcome todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s harsh economical conditions, they explore what remains of collective ideals and establish temporary communities as an alternative to the capitalist 80

www.demagazine.co.uk

logic of use-value and profitability.

Having realised several participative projects in the public domain, Raumlabor decided to create an envelope for that type of projects: The Generator, an experimental laboratory for participatory building practices in the public space. The Generator as a framework for participatory public projects was formalised for the first time in the 12th Venice Archiecture Biennale, curated

//

Feature no.9

1 1

2

Citymap (c) Canapé Saint Lazaire Exhibition (c) Canapé Saint Lazaire

around the theme “People Meet in Places”, where Raumlabor presented their “Küchenmonument“. The Generator has two components: hardware and software. The hardware consists of a workstation designed for mobility, where a set of tools and specially designed workbenches and templetts are provided to assemble different objects and futures for the public domain . The software is a set of construction plans and instructions for modules or furniture which are developed for easy assembly. Since 2010, the construction methods and designs have constantly been tested and improved in a process of learning by doing.

One of The Generator’s projects

is Canapé Saint Lazaire, which happened earlier this year.

Commissioned by Le Grand Cafe, Saint Nazaire Centre d´Art Contemporain, as part of the exhibition “Communities”, Raumlabor created a workshop in the Museum for Contemporary Art to build the “Canapés du Saint Nazaire”. There, visitors were invited to participate and construct a bench for their city.

On the walls of the museum they would find a general explanation of The Generator initiative and a step-by-step manual of how to build the Canapé. In addition to this there were two workbenches with all tools and precut wood pieces set in the exhibition

2

space, for the construction of the benches. Thirty benches were built throughout the exhibition; and each team chose the location to install their bench in the city. The participants were then asked to point out their desired location by setting flag on the big map drawn on the wall. In the end of their visit to the exhibition the visitors were encouraged to take the bench they constructed with them and install it in their chosen location.

As Jan Liesegang explains, the inspiration for making a bench was found in the scale of Saint Lazaire, a French town almost completely rebuilt after the sec81

www.demagazine.co.uk

//

Feature no.9

3

ond world war, and the “feel of emptyness” that prompted possibilities for appropriation. The beautiful sights to the sea, the moments of waiting for a bridge to open, inspired the architects to come up with an alternative to the existing static benches on the public realm that didn’t allow for spontaneaous appropriation.

Canape Saint Lazaire is not fixed to the ground. Instead, it is set on wheels that allow users to move them around and combine them in diverse positions. In the words of Jan, a bench is a devise for communication, as it opens possibilities of exchange between people. It is interesting to see how the architects have applied those same values to the design of the piece: in teams, people meet, share and build together.

And finally, they place their piece somewhere in the town: their piece takes over their town.

82

www.demagazine.co.uk

3

4

School (c) Canapé Saint Lazaire

4

Exhibition (c) Canapé Saint Lazaire

sUBsCrIBE NOW

www.demagazine.co.uk

Follow us on Twitter

www.twitter.com/demagazine

Like us on Facebook

www.facebook.com/demagazine

No.10 Guest feature -Paulo Moreira

Learning by Living notes on a research trip to Luanda, angola

My journey to Angola had begun many weeks before I arrived.

A research trip to Luanda needs to be thoroughly and patiently planned. You will need a visa, but unless you are working for a company which takes care of the process on your behalf, it will be very hard to get it; not least as a citizen of Angolaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s former coloniser, Portugal.

To get a visa, an Angolan citizen or expatriate with a residentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; permit must formally invite 84

www.demagazine.co.uk

you. The letter must be very carefully written, because misusing a word or misplacing a sentence might mean you have to begin the application process again. The letter and identity documents of the signatory must be authenticated by a local notary and by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then faxed to the consulate, before being emailed to you. Take into consideration that on the day your friend goes to see the notary, the electricity

//

Feature no.10

1

1 2

2

Research topics, 2011.

Chicala is surrounded by a colonial and a post-colonial monuments (Fortress and Mausoleum). The three nuclei are connected by boat, from the continent to the island. There is a reciprocity between the public dimension of the settlement and the collective character of the domestic space.

House plan/ family tree, 2011. Relationship between social and spatial topographies: the house has been progressively extended and upgraded, as the family continuously grows. The process has a parallel in the development of the settlement as a whole.

85

www.demagazine.co.uk

3

3

Members of the host family were invited to photograph ordinary life in Chicala. The results express the cycles of day/life of a typical family. On the way to a friend’s house, photo by Selani Damião, 11.

4

Doing laundry in the courtyard, photo

by Tiusa Damião, 19.

5

Building Angola’s Flag, 2010. Materials and objects were collected from private courtyards in Chicala and construction sites within the city. The work was produced with the participation of local residents and remains on display at Galeria Celamar, in the island of Luanda.

4

86

www.demagazine.co.uk

//

Feature no.10

* Paulo Moreira is an architect and researcher at the Faculty of Architecture and Spatial Design, London Metropolitan University.

5

might have gone off and nobody knows when work can begin again.

“Be patient, it’s Africa,” you will hear.

You will need to show a clear criminal record, and an international certificate proving you have been vaccinated against yellow fever, polio and hepatitis.

You will also need to present a bank statement proving you have withdrawn $6,000 (officially, you are expected to spend $200 per day during your stay in Angola). Once you have fulfilled all these requirements, you will still need to pay for the flights and visa services, which adds up to another £1500 or so. Then, sit back and wait for four or five weeks.

If your Angolan friend cannot put you up, you will need to find somewhere to stay. Hotels are out of the question (Luanda topped the cost-of life ranking in 2010).

Fortunately for me, by the time I had started planning my journey, a friend of a friend had returned from Angola, and recommended staying with a local family.

He showed me photos of a courtyard with a vibrant sense of inhabitation: kids playing; hens wandering; a tyre rim used as a barbecue; a man shaving holding a piece of mirror. At the back, the room which was to be my home for the month I was to spend in Luanda.

Everyone in Portugal knows someone ‘earning loads of money in Angola’. In practice,

the expatriates speak in warning tones: “There’s no-one to pick you up at the airport? You must be crazy! No driver? You’ll never survive here.” Even though, as soon as I’d collected my visa, I bought loads of mosquito repellent, expensive anti-malaria pills and jumped onto the plane.

Once I arrived, Luis was a couple of hours late. There I was, in the recently renovated airport, waiting for someone I did not know. I watched the courteous greetings between American oilmen and their company drivers, as a plane landed from Houston.

A TV screen showed São Paulo, Shanghai and Lisbon on the arrivals list. Finally Luis arrived.

Once I had met my “chauffeur”, it took us over an hour to drive home; through a never-ending, chaotic traffic jam.

“Be patient, it’s Africa”, I thought.

87

www.demagazine.co.uk

No.11 Guest Feature - SAuthors: Arch. Luis Beltran del Rio Garcia Msc Urban Management Arch. Renato Dalencon March

reclaiming Heritage Project the case of Chanco

88

www.demagazine.co.uk

/

//

Feature no.11

Costa de Maule Prototype The Costa de Maule project is a design and build workshop developed at The Technical University of Berlin (TU-Berlin). The idea was to develop, trough the design studios of the TU-Berlin, a housing prototype by applying the Reclaiming Heritage hypothesis into the context of Heritage Zones (HZ) in Chile. More specifically, the project was developed in Chanco, a small Chilean town whose HZ was severely affected by the February 2010th earthquake.

The case of Chanco is a very extreme one, the conflict in between emergency response and heritage preservation has led to informal demolitions and construction, loosing in this way the previous urban structure. According to the plans from the DOM, EGIS and the Municipality of Chanco (see Plan No.1); inside the HZ there were 204 damaged houses. Of these 119 were severely damaged. To better illustrate the scale of the destruction, it must be noted that there were originally 407 houses inside the HZ. This means that half of the houses were damaged and out of these more than one quarter collapsed.

89

www.demagazine.co.uk

Reconstruction of heritage zones (HZ) affected by natural disasters has features that differentiate from ordinary risk management strategies. In the case of natural disasters, the first priorities of affected communities often focus on the preservation of human life and then, the allocation of shelter. There is no doubt that these are essential needs.

However, when reconstruction projects overlap with the preservation HZ, the problem of providing shelter can conflict with the problem of preserving heritage. At the same time, after a disastrous event a large amount

of building demolition debris needs to be disposed of before any reconstruction is possible.

Because of the emergency management priorities, this is not done immediately, but instead demolition materials are first accumulated and taken to a landfill only after several months. In this period, an opportunity arises for working with these materials for reconstruction by selectively recycling them or reclaiming them before recycling. In the particular case of destroyed heritage constructions there is a potential for recovering also

some of the cultural meaning embodied in the materials. The Reclaiming Heritage Project aims at exploring the benefits of using reclaimed building materials for a sensitive postdisaster reconstruction that includes cultural values and the retention of heritage by means of material reuse and recycling.

We believe that great part of the vernacular architectural heritage is embodied in the materiality of the buildings; therefore the reconfiguration of these trough reclaiming and recycling techniques could represent an alternative to preserve the

1

90

www.demagazine.co.uk

//

Feature no.11

2

1

3

Material Landfill from the debris of collapsed and demolished houses. The project was divided in three main stages: Diagnosis, design workshop and prototype construction. During the diagnosis stage, one of the main tasks was to map the possible sources for material reclamation. For our surprise there were many valuable materials that were jealously accumulated in front of each plot; timber, ceramic tiles, wooden planks, adobe bricks, etc.

2

3

4

Useful debris accumulated in front of collapsed houses, tiles, timber and adobe bricks.

4

91

www.demagazine.co.uk

5

5

Reconstruction of heritage zones (HZ) affected by natural disasters has features that differentiate from ordinary risk management strategies. In the case of natural disasters, the first priorities of affected communities often focus on the preservation of human life and then, the allocation of shelter. There is no doubt that these are essential needs.

However, when reconstruction projects overlap with the preservation HZ, the problem of providing shelter can conflict with the problem of preserving heritage. At the same time, after a disastrous event a large amount of building demolition debris needs to be disposed of before any reconstruction is possible.

92

www.demagazine.co.uk

Because of the emergency management priorities, this is not done immediately, but instead demolition materials are first accumulated and taken to a landfill only after several months. In this period, an opportunity arises for working with these materials for reconstruction by selectively recycling them or reclaiming them before recycling. In the particular case of destroyed heritage constructions there is a potential for recovering also some of the cultural meaning embodied in the materials. The Reclaiming Heritage Project aims at exploring the benefits of using reclaimed building materials for a sensitive post-

The plans show the physical constructions before the earthquake and after the earthquake, inside the Heritage Zone.

disaster reconstruction that includes cultural values and the retention of heritage by means of material reuse and recycling.

We believe that great part of the vernacular architectural heritage is embodied in the materiality of the buildings; therefore the reconfiguration of these trough reclaiming and recycling techniques could represent an alternative to preserve the vernacular heritage. For that matter the design process is done with equal considerations to the technical and esthetical aspects of the previously existent.

Image 1. Church of Reconciliation in Berlin. The rammed earth wall is composed by earth, cement and instead of gravel, some of the debris from the old church.

The process of reusing these materials has two clearly distinguishable parts: one is reclamation, i.e. identification, assessment and careful dismantling; the second is reuse by including these

//

Feature no.11

6

materials in the construction on new buildings. The use of reclamation materials in building construction has usually two contrasting approaches: on the one hand, a traditional approach based on recycling of valuable pieces salvaged from demolitions because of a specific quality no longer available from the regular market, such as cast iron bathtubs, big sized doors and windows, bronze locks, etc. A material and a cultural value are attached to such elements, considered antiques, and they are used to convey a sense of tradition in a new context, or to complete a refurbishment of an old building with such qualities as a whole. On the other hand, based on sustainable development rationale applied to building, the re-use has gained ground, not only of building materials but all sorts of refuse, industry debris and the like, often testing extremes such as the use of materials considered garbage: used bottles

6

By using the debris from fallen houses into the new construction, the pavilion tests technical solutions and their aesthetics.

or cans, old tires, used with or without further process into the building. In between these prevailing extremes, however, an array of alternatives remains to be explored consistently. On the other hand, we believe that the massive re-use of building materials neither for luxury purposes nor based on garbage is a promising alternative that brings together heritage recovery with low cost reconstruction, and still is unexplored for the most part.

93

www.demagazine.co.uk

No.12 Q&A

London's festival of contemporary arab culture Shubbak de Magazine caught up with Nous, the London based architecture consultancy and gallery to talk about their most recent project: programming the architecture events for the upcoming Mayor of Londonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s festival of contemporary Arab culture, Shubbak.

94

Image (c) Iwan Baan www.demagazine.co.uk

//

Feature no.12

№ 1/ Image (c) Camille Zakharia courtesy of Janet Rady Fine Art

DE: What is the Shubbak festival about?

Nous: Shubbak is a London wide festival presented by the Mayor of London. It will cover many aspects of Arab contemporary culture including film, music, art and architecture. Nous is programming the architecture events in partnership with the Royal Institute of British Architects.

Image (c) Iwan Baan

№ 2/

DE: What prompted your involvement and what events are you holding?

Nous: We see these events as an extension of the Architecture in Context series we hold that examines the impact of politics and economics on architecture and the built environment.

The political order in the Middle East is shifting rapidly. We are interested in how these events, as well as the recent economic downturn, are impacting architecture in the region.

Our programme includes two talks and an exhibition at the RIBA. The exhibition and one talk are on Public and Civic Space in the Arab world.

The talk and exhibition opening are on 12 July. The other talk, called Forward Thinking, is on the 19 July.

Forward Thinking will raise questions about the future of architecture in the region now that so much change is occuring.

We are thrilled to be part of this event and anticipate two great debates as well as a compelling exhibition.

№ 3/

DE: What issues will you be addressing with the Public and Civic Spaces exhibition and talk?

Nous: With the opening of the Dubai Metro in 2009 and the focus on public infrastructure in the Abu Dhabi 2030 plan, public space and infrastructure are increasingly becoming an important part of the dialogue on architecture in the Arab world. We are also interested in the symbolic nature of public and civic spaces, most prominently Tahrir Square in the Egyptian revolution.

The talk and exhibition will address the nature of public and civic life in the Arab world and how the use and design of public spaces are changing.

95

www.demagazine.co.uk

96

www.demagazine.co.uk

//

Feature no.12

№ 4/

DE: You have a few UK based firms participating in your talks. Western firms have played a large role in development in the region. It was recently reported that more than 200 schemes in Dubai have been put on hold since the financial crisis of 2009. What opportunities do you see for UK firms in the future?

Nous: Despite the cancellation of major projects in the region, UK practices still view the region as promising. In the recent AJ100 2011 survey, the most commonly targeted markets for new business include Western Europe (68% of practices), closely followed by the United Arab Emirates (66%) and Qatar (60%). The Nous events will look at the challenges UK firms may face in the region and how they may address these.

Image (c) Charlie Koolhaas

№ 5/

DE: What do you see as some of the key changes for architecture in the region?

Nous: There are some signs of a shift in the type of buildings, such as more affordable housing, which is a pressing issue in much of the region.

For example, the new Egyptian Cabinet has pledged to strengthen the national housing project, while Saudi Arabia is putting billions of pounds towards affordable housing.

As countries in the region continue to build local capacity, architects from the Arab world could also take on more leadership roles in projects and perhaps assert a greater Arab identity in the architecture than we have seen taking place. We have two young local practices in our talk series that are doing fantastic work, X Architects from the UAE and Shahira H Fahmy Architects from Egypt.

Nous in partnership with the RIBA will be presenting a series of events on Arab world architecture as part of Shubbak: A Window on Contemporary Arab Culture, 4 - 24 July, presented by the Mayor of London and sponsored by HSBC. London’s first ever celebration of contemporary culture from across the Arab world, Shubbak will feature more than 70 events in over 30 key cultural venues across the capital, covering visual arts, film, music, theatre, dance, literature, architecture, lectures and discussion.

The Nous and RIBA events include an exhibition and talks on public and civic spaces in the Arab world and the future of architecture in the region. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.nouscollaborative.com or go to www.architecture.com or www.london.gov.uk/shubbak.

Nous is a London-based architecture gallery and consultancy. Its aim is to provide a platform for established and emerging architects, investigate issues affecting the practice of architecture, promoting cultural integration, and facilitating collaborations between architects, designers and businesses. Melissa Woolford is Founder and Director of Nous and Heather Picov is Associate Director of Cultural Activities.

97

www.demagazine.co.uk

â&#x201E;&#x2013;I

St. Pancras renaissance Hotel, London

Words Kirsten Beith

Said to have been inspired by designs for Westminsterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Houses of Parliament, the Victorian red bricks of St. Pancras, London, have become home to a five-star Renaissance Hotel.

98

www.demagazine.co.uk

//

Interior Project â&#x201E;&#x2013; I

99

www.demagazine.co.uk

Rumoured to have cost around £150 billion, the restoration of St. Pancras, an ornate and magical building that once housed the Midland Grand Hotel, couldn’t have come soon enough. Indeed, the Grade-1 listed Victorian edifice, designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1871 is a London landmark, and should be treated as such. Thankfully today, the place has been returned to its former glory, and everything from the carpets to the embossed fleurde-lis wallpaper has been repaired and revamped to a prime condition.

Now accommodating the fivestar St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel, the renovation has given the venue a fresh lease of life, while allowing the public to experience the wonders of this building once again.

The main lobby and meeting area is situated in the old taxi rank of St. Pancras, a red-bricked space adorned by Barlow Blue ironwork. Conveniently connected to the station next door, its glass ceilings ensure the space is bright 100

www.demagazine.co.uk

and light throughout the day.

Meanwhile, the famed grand double staircase, flanked by an immense dome ceiling, has been dubbed Europe’s Grandest Staircase. It’s a far cry from its recent role of movie and music video set, and the build now stands again as tribute to Victorian design and Scott’s enduring talent.

The St. Pancras Renaissance isn’t short of space and offers189 rooms located to the back of the hotel, alongside a further 38 suites in the original building.

All tout period details, including marble bathrooms, fireplaces

and gothic trimmings. However, for guests, the indulgence goes on with social areas, such as the aptly named, The Gilbert Scott Restaurant and Bar, the Booking Office with its 29-meter long bar, Hansom Hall, and The Chambers Club. Then there’s the Spa, Gym, and subterranean indoor pool that’s housed in the former steam kitchen. All areas here are extraordinary. In fact, wherever the spot in St. Pancras, or whether it’s in its entirety, this hotel is remarkable, and the renovations, worth every penny.

//

Interior Project â&#x201E;&#x2013; I

Supplier list Architect - RHWL Architects www.rhwl.com/rhwl.aspx Richard Griffiths Architects www.rgarchitects.com Principal Project Engineers: ARUP www.arup.com Interiors Suppliers: General Contractor: Angel Interiors www.angelinteriors.com Outdoor / Pool Furniture - Leisure Plan www.leisureplan.co.uk Entertainment & Sound Systems - Bose www.bose.co.uk Carpets - Brintons - www.brintons.net FULL Listing on our website www.demagazine.co.uk

101

www.demagazine.co.uk

â&#x201E;&#x2013;2

Nerocubo Hotel, Fornitori TechPlan / Metroplan A/I

Words Kirsten Beith

Located at the edge of Italian The Alps, Nerocubo Hotel is an establishment that works with natureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s elements in an artistic and sustainable way.

102

www.demagazine.co.uk

//

Interior Project â&#x201E;&#x2013;2

103

www.demagazine.co.uk

Designed by Metroplan A/I and subsidiary, TechPlan, the fourstar Nerocubo Hotel is located in Rovereto, Trentino. Intended as a business and design hotel, and built as part of the ‘Area 22’ complex, the construction sits by the Adige River, and stretches across a heady eight floors. These incorporate various parts of the venue, and include the 47-meter-squared Business and Sky Suites; Deluxe, Classic and Superior rooms; Wellbeing Suite, which offers treatments in the Sweet Spa Cabins; Sliding Rooms; and meeting areas that hold up to 250 attendees –

104

www.demagazine.co.uk

all alongside three restaurants and a wine bar.

The Hotel’s dark exterior is structured in a sharp, linear manner, and together with the opposing bright interiors of the building the place is nothing short of edgy and elegant. However, the concept behind the construction is simple: to connect its design though a common thread. This is something that Metroplan and TechPlan have achieved through the building’s materials of concrete, wood and glass, and also by way of the interior designs.

Although the rooms and social

spaces are changeable, one thing remains the same: the contemporary art, which is hung on every floor of the Nerocubo. Eight artists cover each individual floor with works totaling at 118, and talents helming from Cuba (Diango Hernandez), Germany (Christian Schwarzwald), Croatia (Eškinja Igor), and Italy (Alessandro Roma, Luca Coser, Gioacchino Pontrelli, Lorenza Boisi Arnold, Mario Dall’O). What’s more, all of the guestrooms and suites contain artwork. These pieces are set within minimalist interiors, which that set off

//

Interior Project â&#x201E;&#x2013;2

and compliment the work.

The team from Metroplan has created a hotel that takes into account modern issues and trends.

Noting environmental changes and requirements, Nerocubo has been built with a tight carbon footprint; the place is energy saving, and self-sufficient, containing a photovoltaic installation as well as micro-turbine systems to provide power. The place is both economical and chic. In fact, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s everything a modern hotel should be.

Supplier list

Project Team: Building project: MetroPlan A/I srl, Venice; TechPlan srl ,Trento Interiors: Metroplan A/I srl arch. Nicola Tonutti; Gualtiero Azimonti; Enrico Ferreguti, Sebastiano Steffinlongo contributors:Gabriele Mello Rella, Bruno De Tassis, Cinzia Paganelli Interior suppiers: Furniture, lamps: Casamania, gruppo Frezza-Doimo spa Vidor (TV) Kitchen: Gifar spa Rimini FULL Listing on our website www.demagazine.co.uk

â&#x201E;&#x2013;3

Syon Park Hotel, Waldorf Astoria Group

Words Kirsten Beith

In the heart of Middlesex, Hiltonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Waldorf Astoria Group presents Syon Park Hotel, a venue that pays homage to the 18th Centaury designs of Scottish architect Robert Adam.

106

www.demagazine.co.uk

//

Interior Project â&#x201E;&#x2013;3

107

www.demagazine.co.uk

Waterproof (IP65) LCD TV 19" widescreen (16:9) RRP £845.00 inc. VAT 26" widescreen (16:9) RRP £1149.00 inc. VAT

Bll k Black

Mirror Mi i

TM

HIGH-DEFINITION MULTIMEDIA INTERFACE

Sili Silver S

108

Full-function waterproof remote control with holder DVB-T tuner receives all free-to-view TV and radio Choice of finishes – Black, Mirror or Silver Hotel TV system compatible Multi-room AV system and Sky™ remote compatible High quality sound from waterproof, single stereo, flush mount speaker

Full technical specification and instructions are available from www.tilevision.tv or call 0870 871 0111 for your nearest dealer www.demagazine.co.uk

//

Interior Project № 3

As part of the Hilton’s Waldorf Astoria Group, the recently opened London Syon Park Hotel joins a host of twenty locations worldwide. This time, the group has set its sights on Brentwood, Middlesex, where ten miles from London, Syon Park now sits at the edges of the Grade-1 listed Syon House Estate, family home to the Duchy of Northumberland.

Visitors have 137 rooms to choose from at the Hotel, including the Syon Room, Estate Room, Garden Room, Arboretum Room and Junior Suites. All are richly furnished, and find inspiration from the original Robert Adam designed interiors of nearby Syon House, first created during the 1760s. In addition, dining and drinking areas are numerous here; The Capability restaurant, The Deck rooftop lounge, Clubhouse, Peacock Alley, and The Terrace,

are all on offer for guests and visitors. Naturally there is also a Spa, the opulent Kallima Spa, while more unusually Syon Park boasts a butterfly house in the hotel’s lobby area. Then there’s The Grand Syon Ballroom, a huge space that features floor to ceiling windows stretching a fantastic 5-metres, and flanked by stunning handmade Murano chandeliers.

“Every aspect of the concept and the interior design is carefully thought out - from gold leaf mosaic tiles in the Kallima Spa to the digital installations in Capability,” says Andreas Panayiotou, chairman of The Ability Group and owner of

London Syon Park, “Everyone who visits will be over-awed by impeccable detail,” adding, “This hotel is like no other. Our aim was to create an experience that is both playful and luxurious.”

Certainly this is an extravagant retreat for city dwellers and holidaymakers alike, and as the building is situated within a stunning 200-acres of parkland, it comes with a host of benefits. The surrounding land and gardens grants guests the chance to fish, shoot, play croquet, cycle and punt, while the hotels helipad, makes for easy access to the grounds. It’s almost like a luxury resort, with lavish design and fine British culture.

Supplier list Architect: Ettwein Bridges Architects www.ebarch.com Owner / Developer: The Ability Group www.theabilitygroup.com Interiors Suppliers: Furniture: Chichester, Andrew Martin, Moroso Public Space: Moroso, Knoll, Minotti Fabrics / Wall coverings: Seltex, Skopos, Panaz, Knoll Carpets / Flooring: Customised Italian Woods Bathroom fittings: Devon and Devon, Tile Vision Waterproof (TV) FULL Listing on our website www.demagazine.co.uk

109

www.demagazine.co.uk

â&#x201E;&#x2013;4 right Here right nhow

Words: Stuart Blakley

Hard edged dockside architecture meets playful futuristic design at nhow hotel Berlin

110

www.demagazine.co.uk

//

Interior Project â&#x201E;&#x2013; 4

111

www.demagazine.co.uk

////

Interior Project № 4

Nowhere is the status of a city and its wellbeing better reflected in its music than Berlin. The two are intertwined. Think the Weimar Republic and its jazz cafés. Of course the legend of a libertarian culture destroyed by fascism was propagated by the film Cabaret.

Fast forward half a century and post war Berlin’s inherent appeal was again its openness. It was an anomaly, an oasis of extremity created by the Cold War. Here, anything could happen.

David Bowie arrived in Berlin towards the end of the 70s. He became immersed in the German music of the period. It was saturated in absence, loss and distance. Bands such as Kraftwerk influenced his work. Bowie’s piece V-2 Schneider reverberates to the rhythm of an S-Bahn train. He recorded two thirds of his Berlin Trilogy – Low and Heroes but not

112

www.demagazine.co.uk

Lodger – at the city’s legendary Hansa Studios. As the curtain fell on communism and the 20th century, techno music would emerge, climaxing with the ecstatic blaze that was Love Parade.

Which brings us to right here right now. nhow hotel Berlin is iridescently present, a tangible addition to the waterscape, a representation of contemporary immediacy.

Its roots materialise from the city’s relationship with music – more

Chelsom Limited Tel: 01253 831406 marketing@chelsom.co.uk www.chelsom.co.uk

PROJECT: Bump pendants from Chelsom at St Annâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s House Manchester, specified by APM Design in conjunction with KJ Tait.

anon. With the hotel’s opening, a new layer of meaning is added to the decadence and disharmony of the not so distant past.

Positioned along the River Spree, the old line between the East and West, nhow Berlin is a fusion of Sergei Tchoban’s architecture and Karim Rashid’s design. Russian born Tchoban’s creation is a cubist arrangement of boxes piled high, the top one perilously cantilevering over the others by a gravity defying 10 metres. The underside is clad in reflective steel. Tchoban says he is seeking to “convey the image of a ‘crane house’”. Other planes are covered by an aluminium or brick skin punctured by square windows. It’s all about clean lines, perpendicular angles and understated colourways. Enter the tinted glass doors (white outside; pink inside) and a whole new world unfolds.

New Yorker Rashid’s interiors celebrate the German capital’s zeitgeist. He employs a progressive language to describe his oeuvre.

The terms ‘infostethic’, ‘blobject’ and ‘technorganic’ are given three dimensional form. Rashid says, “My vision engages technology, visuals, textures, colour, as well as all the needs that are intrinsic to living in a simpler less cluttered but more sensual environment.”

Strata of irregular lines, asymmetric shapes and psychedelic patterns constantly redefine the hotel experience.

Take the reception desk. It’s a pink amorphous sculpture with inset lighting. Beyond lies an expanse of white space stretching to a glazed wall overlooking the river. A giant continuous profile of Mussolini made of gold lacquered 114

www.demagazine.co.uk

//

Interior Project № 4

fibreglass hovers over bar envy.

Piped music radiates across the ground floor by day; live gigs rock it by night. Art or seating? The luminous voluptuous organic and ergonomic sofas are both. fabrics restaurant is segregated from bar envy by sheer curtains lined with a radio wave digipop pattern.

The hot pink rooms of the East Tower take their cue from sunrise.

Sky blue dominates the rooms of the West Tower. The rooms of the 10 storey Upper Tower are calming grey to counteract the vertigo inducing views. TVs double as radio wave shaped mirrors. Floors are acoustic friendly laminate painted with the digipop pattern.

Guests can avail of a Gibson guitar room service.

Two recording studios on the eighth floor of the Upper Tower

are run by the co directors of the Hansa Studios. An adjacent music lounge is equipped with the latest multimedia technology – and a pink jukebox. The lounge, conference rooms and even the nhow suite and roof terrace are all directly wired to the studios. This allows for impromptu recordings. nhow hotel is in Osthafen, a destination for the new Berlin.

It’s between the offices of MTV and Universal Music. Yet history is on its doorstep. Fragments of the Berlin wall are a stone’s throw away. Bowie could easily have been gazing out over the dizzying panorama from the music lounge when he penned Thru These Architect’s Eyes, “All majesty of a city landscape / All the soaring days in our lives”. Here, anything can happen.

Supplier list Architect: Sergei Tchoban NPS Tchoban Voss www.nps-tchoban-voss.de Building Company - NDC Nippon Development Corporation GmbH Interior: Karim Rashid www.karimrashid.com Interiors Suppliers: Lighting: Artemide, Foscarini Bathroom fixtures: Hidra, Kaldewei, Zucchetti Ceiling Element: Barrisol Wall coverings: Wolf Gordon, Vescom Glass Tiles: Ezarri FULL Listing on our website www.demagazine.co.uk

115

www.demagazine.co.uk

New s / Up da t e We love this magazine- Wrap

Wrap is a unique design and illustration magazine – with interviews and features on one side and prints on the other, each sheet can be re-used as wrapping paper. Set up last autumn by London designers Christopher Harrison and Polly Glass to showcase work by talented artists, it is printed on 100% recycled paper using vegetable-based inks and is available to buy online or from top UK design stores including Magma, The Design Museum, Beyond the Valley, Mint, Drink, Shop&Do and Wolf&Badger. www.thewrappaper.com

Basque Living 2011

We visited the International event Basque Living 2011 organised by Habic, Habitat, Office and Hospitality Cluster of the Basque Country, which took place from June 20th - 21st at the EUSKALDUNA Conference Centre in Bilbao, Spain.

It brought together 22 of the most important Basque manufacturing companies for the habitat, office, hospitality and interiors sectors.

Bilbao is certainly a place worth visiting - the transformation of the city over the past 15 years has been incredible. We highly recommend it and will be revisiting ourselves. www.basqueliving.com

Chelsom ‘Bump’ pendants for contemporary lift lobby

As part of a £1.3m refurbishment project, designers APM Design were given a brief to illuminate the St Ann’s House Manchester lift lobby with distinctive contemporary fittings.

‘Bump’ pendants from Chelsom were specified featuring clear individual glass lenses bonded into laser cut metalwork which is finished in polished chrome www.chelsom.co.uk 116

www.demagazine.co.uk

117

www.demagazine.co.uk

roducts

P 03

01

02

01 02

118

Clerkenwell Design week Scene

Poly light Light shade in the form of a geodesic sphere. It can be suspended as apendant light or used as a floor lamp.

Plus the Time shelves. www.scenedesign.co.uk www.demagazine.co.uk

03

Clerkenwell Design week Deadgood

Deadgood Strip Lights by Viable London are simple lampshades that need no additional fittings, just your everyday standard bulb. www.deadgoodltd.co.uk

04

Clerkenwell Design week Another Country

Desk One with stool from another country is a great combination, home or office. www.anothercountry.com

05

04

06

07

05

Clerkenwell Design week Deadgood

Working with Lee Broom, the Parq Life Lamp combines the traditional herringbone pattern of parquetry flooring with contemporary curves in furniture. www.deadgoodltd.co.uk

06 James UK

The Wingback Chair is a modern take on the traditional Wing Chair. Suitable for many applications with a relaxed formal seating position. www.jamesuk.com

07

Clerkenwell Design week Scene

The Shell table is uniquely crafted from Corian with a black mirror top. www.scenedesign.co.uk

119

www.demagazine.co.uk

roducts

P

02

03

01

01

Clerkenwell Design week Pinch Design

02

Clerkenwell Design week Scene

06 The Drop Candle Holder The random shapes and sizing of Marlow result in an elegant Informed by a graphic abyet impactful piece. Available in straction of a wax droplet & solid timber and painted finishes. launched at CDW the new www.pinchdesign.com â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Shardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; coat stand. www.scenedesign.co.uk

120

www.demagazine.co.uk

03

Clerkenwell Design week Deadgood

The Timber Stacker has been designed exclusively for Deadgood by up and coming British designer David J Irwin. www.deadgoodltd.co.uk

04

06

05

07

04

Clerkenwell Design week Pli Design

Makers of eco-friendly furniture Pli recalls the Utility furniture tradition from the 1940s and offers a range of tables which are strong, practical and affordable. www.plidesign.co.uk

05

Clerkenwell Design week Pinch Design

A generously proportioned desk combining walnut, oak and painted finish with cable management system and hidden router/hard drive storage built-in. www.pinchdesign.com

07

Clerkenwell Design week Assemblyroom

The AR004 stacking chair is a minimal, lightweight dining chair which is hand made in the UK. In either ash or walnut the chair can be finished in clear or coloured lacquer. www.assemblyroom.co.uk 121

www.demagazine.co.uk

roducts

P

01

02

01

122

Modus

Noughts & Crosses Stool

by Michael Sodeau available in two different heights for either bar or dining table use www.modusfurniture.co.uk

www.demagazine.co.uk

02 Seongyong Lee

Seongyong Lee has radically rethought traditions of material use and making, combining a known fabrication process (recognisable in cardboard packaging tubes) with a new material (plywood), to create Plytube. www.seongyonglee.com

03 Arper

Design by Lievore Altherr Molina, the new Leaf table is inspired by the observation of nature. Like the chair of the same collection, it is suitable for both indoor and outdoor use. www.arper.com

03

05

04

04 Lerival

Icon Wall System is a modular, efficient and playful alternative to the traditional cubicle office system.

Answering at once to the needs of shelving, partitioning and modular surfacing, Icon allows the user to build up, build on and build around, resulting in a fully customized and personal work environment. www.lerival.com

05

Beau McClellan Design

Pioneering lighting brand Beau McClellan Design will bring their ground-breaking lighting collection to the London Design Festival, exhibiting alongside a spectacular large-scale chandelier, demonstrating the studioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s skills in innovation, technology and design. www.beaumcclellan.com 123

www.demagazine.co.uk

01

01

P roducts

ICFF

Studio Joost van Bleiswijk

For the exhibition ‘fraternal twins’ during the ICFF at Moss gallery in New York, Studio Joost Van Bleiswijk developed 16 little clocks in the no screw no glue method with different finishes and materials www.joostvanbleiswijk.com 02

Ryan Frank

London designer blends fashion, function, technology and sustainability with cork accessories range. The sleeves is part of a range of stylish and tactile cork based music and computing accessories, consisting of laptop covers, iPhone / iPod touch / Blackberry pouches and custom size eBook readers sleeves for the iPad and Kindle. www.ryanfrank.net

02

03

Kirsty Whyte

The ‘Array Fruit Bowls’ like many of Kirsty White’s products are made with lasting and Sustainability in mind .

Each bowl is made from one single piece of folded sheet steel. So there is very little waste from production. Available in Black , White, Citrus Yellow and Magenta. www.kirstywhyte.com 124

www.demagazine.co.uk

03

Future Products

Bathrooms with Brains: Offering a more intelligent kind of bathroom, Rock Galpin’s ‘Future Bathroom 2020’ was recently unveiled at kbb London 2011. The huge 40m2 exhibit boasts innovative prototypes with ecologically friendly self-sustaining designs including; a walk in steam jet duped the human carwash; smart mirrors to analyze the user’s height, health and heart rate; heated self closing toilets; duo baths for a social bathing experience; and recycled water by way of the toilet cistern. This is a bathroom with a wireless central control system and revolutionary products, which are expected to be part of standard décor within the next ten years.

For more information visit www.rockgalpin.co.uk 126

www.demagazine.co.uk

The concept includes: Bath Lounger: Seated social bathing with twin tubs, unlimited overflow and water recycled via the bath and cistern.3 4 Jet Steam Dryer: Massage, wash and blow dry from a human carwash that includes touch screens, revolving platforms, water jets and steam power.

Self-Mirror: Fingerprint recognition and smart mirrors that analyze and comment on the userâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s health, alongside online advice courtesy of the bathroomâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own wireless central control.

127

www.demagazine.co.uk

reV ieW t h e 54 t h Ve n ice a rt bi ennale

La Biennale di Venezia is the oldest, largest and most prestigious international exhibition of contemporary art. Since the first Biennale in 1895, when Giacomo Grosso’s ‘scandalous’ painting Supreme Meeting depicted nude women frolicking around the coffin of Don Juan, the Biennale has been at the vanguard of modern art and no stranger to controversy.

One of this fair’s controversies is the Azerbaijan government’s censorship of Aidan Salakhova’s sculptures of veiled women by first covering and then removing them from its Pavilion because they were viewed as ‘controversial 128

www.demagazine.co.uk

Words Joanne Shurvell

to the prestige of the country.’

By contrast, ‘ILLUMinazioniILLUMinations’, the main exhibition, aims to emphasize the ‘intuitive insight and illumination of thought fostered by an encounter with art and its ability to sharpen the tools of perception’, according to Kunsthaus (Zurich) curator Bice Curiger, the director of the 54th biennale. The exhibition features 83 artists presenting work in the two main venues of the Biennale – the central pavilion in the Public Gardens in the east of Venice (Giardini Publicci) and in the nearby Arsenale, a massive former naval dockyard.

Alongside ILLUMinations, are 89 national exhibitions, housed in the historical pavilions of the Giardini and in other venues throughout the city, plus 37 collateral exhibitions.

While selecting highlights from such a vast array of art is no easy task, there are a few exceptional exhibits. Mike Nelson’s ambitious installation ‘I, Impostor’, an astonishing transformation of the staid 19th-century British Pavilion into a labyrinth of mysterious corridors, artisan’s workshops and living quarters, references the intertwined histories of Venice and Istanbul.

Sandwiched between the imposing British and German Pavilions, the tiny Canadian

Pavilion is often overlooked.

Steven Shearer has ensured that won’t be the case with his nine-metre high mural, ‘Poem for Venice’ on the exterior of the building. Inside, his figurative paintings and drawings, based on heavy metal music fanzines, provide a further reason to visit.

The US also has an unmissable installation outside that presents Olympic athletes running on a treadmill on top of an overturned army tank - one of several installations by Guillermo Calzadilla and Jennifer Allora.

The Japanese pavilion is a mesmerising video installation

by Tabaimo based on traditional wood-block and manga-inspired illustrations that initially look quite tranquil but quickly take

on an ominous appearance.

Christian Boltanski examines chance and fate with his kinetic installation ‘The Wheel of Fortune’ which takes over the entire French Pavilion.

The national pavilions outside of the Giardini are worth visiting both for the art and the beautiful palazzos that they’re in. Scotland, in the 15th century Palazzo Pisani, shows Turner prize nominee Karla Black’s pastelcoloured sculptures made of Vaseline, sugar, eye shadow, soil, cellophane and soap. Corban Walker’s ‘Please Adjust’, a fantastic, site-specific work, made of 160 interlocking stainless-steel cubes, dominates the interior of the Irish Pavilion at the Istituto Santa Maria della Pieta. Mexico-

Photos: Paul Allen

129

www.demagazine.co.uk

city based British artist Melanie Smith presents a wonderful video of thousands of school children, in the famous Aztec Stadium, creating a series of artworks by holding up thousands of placards.

The ILLUMinations exhibition spread over the main pavilion in the Giardini and in the Arsenale is, as expected, a really mixed bag. There are a few real standout pieces though – Christian Marclay rightly won the Biennale’s Golden Lion award for best artist for his extraordinary ‘The Clock’ which features thousands of film fragments showing a clock or character referring to time, edited together so they flow in real time. Also of note is a fascinating installation on microfiche readers by Italian artist Elisabetta Benassi that shows handwritten notes, dates and captions on the backs of press photographs, mixing events of major historical importance 130

www.demagazine.co.uk

with more mundane news, to create a fascinating portrait of the 20th-century.

The Biennale’s collateral shows, scattered throughout Venice in galleries, palaces, churches and streets, are often more interesting than the main offering.

Penelope’s Labour, across the Grand Canal on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore displays 15thcentury tapestries beside striking modern works by Grayson Perry and Carlos Garaicoa, who has made tapestries to look like Cuban terrazzo floors. Near the Academia bridge is ‘GlassStress’ a stunning exhibition of glass artworks housed in a grand palazzo.

With hundreds of exhibitions and events throughout the city running until November, it’s not difficult to see why the Venice Biennale is often referred to as the ‘olympics of art’.

Photos: Paul Allen

Original Art & Prints www.astburygreen.co.uk Astbury Green specialise in original artwork.

We offer unique pieces of original art and prints from a collection of emerging and established UK Artists. www.astburygreen.co.uk enquiries@astburygreen.co.uk

All work is available to buy online.

sw tch Make the

Uncompromising quality, design, style and superior finish The Series 2 wiring accessories range offers a truly flush finish and whilst meeting the highest British standards, they are a real feature of a room design, in the same way as light fittings, door furniture, wall coverings and fabrics.

Tel: 01483 713400 Email: info@wandsworthgroup.com www.wandsworthgroup.com

/

diarY Tracey Emin ‘Love is What You Want’

Vivian Maier - August 11, 1954, New York, NY

Current - 29 August 2011 Hayward Gallery, London London’s Hayward Gallery at the Southbank Centre presents a huge body of work from artist Tracey Emin with a retrospective entitled ‘Love is What You Want’.

Smart, sharp, humorous and thought provoking, the pieces on show encompass much of Emin’s career, offering all types of artwork including sculptures, paintings, prints, films and neons. Additionally, there are many of Emin’s iconic embroideries on display, alongside some incredible large-scale installations.

However, while the exhibition is essentially about family, nostalgia and friendship, much of ‘Love is What You Want’ is explicit, and under-16 must be accompanied by an adult. www.southbankcentre.co.uk

London Street Photography Festival 2011

Junya Ishigami: Architecture as Air

Current -30th July 2011 Various Venues, London

Current -16 Oct 2011 The Curve, Level G Barbican Centre, Silk Street London EC2Y

The London Street Photography Festival launches this summer to celebrate the time-honoured genre. An exciting new addition to London’s cultural calendar, the festival, 1st-31st July 2011, features curated exhibitions alongside a diverse events programme bringing together leading international artists past and present.

Highlights include the first UK exhibition of the incredible archives of mysterious Chicago street photographer Vivian Maier at the German Gymnasium, as well as a newly discovered body of work by previously unknown British photographer Walter Joseph - a gritty portrait of post-war London at the British Library.

For his first UK installation, internationally acclaimed Japanese architect Junya Ishigami has conceived a new structure built in response to the distinctive space of The Curve, which wraps around the back of the Barbican concert hall. A single line of delicate 4 metre columns runs the entire 80 metre length of the space seemingly held in place by nothing but air and atmosphere alone.

This work is a development of Ishigami’s experimental installation Architecture as air: study for château la coste, which was first shown at the Venice Biennale of Architecture in 2010 and won the Golden Lion for best project.

www.londonstreetphotographyfestival.org

www.barbican.org.uk

134

www.demagazine.co.uk

/

diarY The Luminous Interval D.Daskalopoulos Collection Current - 11th September 2011 Guggenheim Museum Bilbao Curated by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Deputy Director and Chief Curator Nancy Spector, and Assistant Curator Katherine Brinson, The Luminous Interval: The D.Daskalopoulos Collection presents the work of more than 30 international artists drawn from the D.Daskalopoulos Collection, one of the world’s most significant private collections of contemporary art. www.guggenheim-bilbao.es

Brit Insurance Designs of the Year Current - 7 August 2011 Design Museum Shad Thames, London The Brit Insurance Designs Awards, “the Oscars of the design world,” showcase the most innovative and forward thinking designs from around the world, spanning seven categories: architecture, fashion, furniture, graphics, interactive, product and transport.

At the awards ceremony on 15 March, British designer Samuel Wilkinson and product design company Hulger, were announced as the overall winner of the Brit Insurance Design of the Year 2011 for their stunning low energy lightbulb Plumen 001.

Danish Design - I like it!

Jasper Morrison Current- 4 September 2011 Designmuseum Danmark

This is Whitechapel Current – 4 September 2011 Whitechapel Gallery, London

The world-famous designer Jasper Morrison has always been fascinated by Danish design. Now he will curate an exhibition on Danish design, handpicked from Design museum Denmark’s rich collections.Danish Design - I like it!

He will be creating the exhibition’s interiors with his favourite textile, Hallingdal, which was designed

by Nanna Ditzel and produced by Kvadrat in 1965.

Much like today, east London in the 1970s was undergoing rapid social and economic change. As the established Jewish community moved away and a south Asian population took their place, the Whitechapel Gallery commissioned leading British photographer Ian Berry, to document this period of transition.

His project is brought vividly to life through the Gallery’s archives of original photographs, letters and rarely-seen documents.

www.designmuseum.dk

www.whitechapelgallery.org

www.designmuseum.org 135

www.demagazine.co.uk

SOCIETY

OF

WOMEN

ARTISTS

2011 Colour s of India by Anne McC or mack R I SWA

THE

150

TH

C E L E B R AT O R Y E X H I B I T I O N

30 T H JU N E - 9 TH JU LY 10 – 5 LA S T D AY 1 PM W WW. S O CI ETY- WOMEN- A RTISTS.O R G .UK THE MALL, L OND ON, SW1

MALL GALLERIES

SWA

THE SOCIETY OF WOMEN ARTISTS 2011

/

diarY Free Range 2011 Current - 25 July 2011 The Old Truman Brewery 91-95 Brick Lane London, E1 The UK’s largest art and design graduate talent exhibition Free Range returns to East London’s Old Truman Brewery in June for an eight-week free showcase of new British art and design talent. Now in its eleventh year, Free Range has established itself as the authoritative identifier and supporter of tomorrow’s best young creative talent. 2011 will be the exhibition’s biggest year yet with over 150 UK arts courses participating. www.free-range.org.uk

Show RCA 2011 Current - 3 July 2011 The Royal College of Art, London 6a Architects Residency at ICA 2011 Current - 25 Sept 2011 Institute of Contemporary Arts The Mall, London SW1Y 5AH 6a Architects join the ICA for a six month architectural residency, exploring the possibilities of renewal within the spaces and responding to the wider restructuring of the institution over the past year.

Through talking to staff and visitors, and engaging with our programme in a physical way, 6a Architects are examining how the spaces work at different locations within the building and experimenting with small changes to furniture and layout.

The Royal College of Art’s 2011 graduate summer shows will take place simultaneously across the College’s two campuses in Battersea and Kensington.

Sponsored by The Conran Foundation for the 6th year running, RCA graduate shows offer visitors – some 40,000 of them came through the College’s doors last year – a unique opportunity to experience the very best of emerging contemporary art and design practice.

Over 450 art and design postgraduate students will exhibit work of exceptional quality, imagination and technical skill. The exhibitions are free of charge to the public, with much of the work for sale or commission – ranging from paintings to prints, glassware to jewellery and furniture to textiles. www.rca.ac.uk

Read full review on page 62 www.ica.org.uk 137

www.demagazine.co.uk

/

diar Y The Society of Women Artists Anniversary Exhibition 30 June – 9 July 2011 Mall Galleries, The Mall, London, SW1 In their 150th Annual London Exhibition, the Society of Women Artists will proudly celebrate the formation of their Society enabling many women to exhibit their work in London for the first time. The founders ran the gauntlet of high society’s disapproval, as it was considered scandalous for women to exhibit their art work. This year’s anniversary exhibition will be opened by the Society’s Patron HRH Princess Michael of Kent. On show will be paintings from miniatures to large canvasses plus ceramics, sculptures, etchings, and prints with the majority of works being for sale. here is the opportunity to meet artists, and watch demonstrations during the exhibition in the splendidly refurbished Mall Galleries less than 5 minutes from Trafalgar Square. www.society-women-artists.org.uk

New Designers 2011 Part 1: 29 June - 2 July 2011 Part 2: 6 July - 9 July 2011 Business Design Centre, London New Designers is the premiere showcase for the most exciting graduates emerging from the UK’s design courses to start their professional careers in creative industries that embrace fashion, interiors, multi-media, furniture, products, architecture, graphics and more. The popular summer event gives a snapshot of the hottest ideas, latest trends and creative minds, as some 3500 new designers come together and present their impressive work at the Business Design Centre. de magaizne readers will also get a discount if quote ND114 when booking your ticket Also Vanessa Brady, SBID President, will be presenting a seminar on sat 9th July at 13:00 discussing sustainability, finance and Intellectual Property to help and direct New Designers

www.newdesigners.com

/

diarY

Rushlight Built Environment Briefing

Restaurant & Bar Design Awards

6 July 2011 10 Cabot Square, Canary Wharf, London E14

7 July, 2011 East Wintergarden, Canary Wharf, London E14

Rushlight Events are delighted to announce a second briefing for built environment professionals and advisers that work in the sector. This event, will be hosted by Ogilvy, and offer attendees a unique opportunity to hear from leading architects setting out their views on: How architectural design can contribute to making the built environment sustainable.

Confirmed speakers include Bill Dunster, the founder and Principal of ZEDfactory, and Alan Shingler, Partner and Head of Sustainability at Sheppard Robson. This event is eligible for CPD points for a number of professional organisations.

The shortlist for the 2011 Restaurant & Bar Design Awards has been selected by a judging panel of top design, lifestyle & hospitality personalities. 330 entries were submitted by leading architects, interior designers and hospitality operators from the UK and 50 other countries.

The winners will be announced at an award ceremony and party to be held at the prestigious East Wintergarden, Canary Wharf, London on the 7th July 2011.

www.builtenvironmentjuly6.eventbrite.com

www.restaurantandbardesignawards.com

140

www.demagazine.co.uk

/

diarY Shubbak 4-24 July 2011 Various locations in London

Nous in partnership with the RIBA will be presenting a series of events on Arab world architecture as part of Shubbak: A Window on Contemporary Arab Culture, 4 - 24 July, presented by the Mayor of London and sponsored

by HSBC. London’s first ever celebration of contemporary culture from across the Arab world, Shubbak will feature more than 70 events in over 30 key cultural venues across the capital, covering visual arts, film, music, theatre, dance, literature, architecture, lectures and discussion. www.london.gov.uk/shubbak.

Art in Action 21-24 July 2011 Waterperry House, Oxford Art in Action is a festival of fine art and master craftsmanship hosted at Oxford’s Waterperry House. As well as visitors viewing the creative process first hand, practical classes are available for kids and adults in subjects ranging from mosaic making to etching. Come to this creative event to check out performances, live music, and enjoy good food and wine. www.artinaction.org.uk

Design Tokyo 6 - 8 July 2011 Tokyo Big Sight, JAPAN Design Tokyo is an annual event which gathers the latest design products and leading designers from all over the world.

Its first edition ended in July 2010 and welcomed key buyers coming in flocks to find new vendors and see what’s fresh in the design and lifestyle fields. www.designtokyo.jp

141

www.demagazine.co.uk

/

diarY Making Believe 2011 Goldsmiths, University of London Post Graduate Design Exhibition 17 - 24 Sept 2011 Mile End Art Pavilion London E3 4QY

Designers Saturday Oslo 2011 3 - 4 Sept 2011 Oslo, Norway Designers Saturday Oslo is the only national exhibition event in Norway, dedicated to furniture, textiles, lighting, flooring and other interior and design related products aimed at both industry professionals and the wider design aware public. Designers Saturday Oslo is not a run-of-the-mill event hosted in some national exhibition centre, rather it is an important arena for professional practitioners wishing to keep updated and informed on the latest trends, developments and products www.designerssaturday.no

Maison Objet 9-13 Sept 2011 Villepinte Exhibition Centre, Paris The trade fair for international decoration brands, Maison Objet is known and loved by many designers and is always on our calendar. Each year, Maison Objet displays the latest trends in interiors objects and furniture design. Six creative sectors in total will offer different styles and ideas, giving the visitor plenty of design ‘eye candy’, inspiration and sourcing options. www.maison-objet.com 142

www.demagazine.co.uk

Making Believe, featuring a rich mix of designers, showcases innovative ideas from Goldsmiths Postgraduate Design students. The exhibition is situated at the Mile End Art Pavilion in the centre of beautiful Mile End Park. Keep an eye on their website for this year’s schedule of events. www.makingbelieve.co.uk

The Auction Room Sept 2011 Location tbc, London A group exhibition showcasing product and graphic design pieces.

The show will display bespoke objects especially commissioned to reflect upon the theme of ‘fake’ and arranged as to form an immersive experience that evokes the scenario of an auction.

The exhibition shall culminate in a ‘sale’ evening where all objects will become available for exchange*.

The exhibition encourages the viewer to ‘decode’ the display narrative: playing on reality and fiction, The Auction Room questions the format of exhibitions and the role that they play in the contemporary context of design.

The Auction Room is an exhibition curated by Mariana Pestana with The Designers Block and will take place during the London Design Festival. www.verydesignersblock.com

/

diarY

London Design Festival 2011 17-25 Sept 2011 Various Locations Throughout London In its 9th year, LDF is expecting to be the largest and most significant yet with over 180 partners and over 250 events planned. Placing the spotlight on London as the world’s most creative city, the Festival has commissioned installations all over the city. British architects and designers will help transform the capital, including the entrance to the V&A museum with the Timber Wave, and for the first time ever, an installation in St. Paul’s Cathedral. Artists such as John Pawson, Bouroullec Brothers, Murray Moss, Daniel Charny, Noma Bar, are just a few involved in this exciting design week - not to be missed! www.londondesignfestival.com

Wood Ware 17-25 Sept 2011 Gallery Fumi, London EC2

Enlightened Waste Sept 17 – 25 2011 Brompton Design District, 8a Egerton Garden Mews, London As part of the London Design Festival, Marion Friedmann Gallery - a new pop-up gallery project for design and material culture - presents “Enlightened Waste” an exhibition which shows sculptural lighting and objects created out of waste materials. It represents the first London show for artists Gisela Stiegler, a Vienna-based artist known for her polystyrene carvings and French-Mexican designer Thierry Jeannot, who hasbeen manipulating unconventional materials since he first began object design in the 1980s.

A Chair, a table, a console, a bed... A new collection of studio furniture designed by Max Lamb for Gallery FUMI

The exhibition plays on the idea of waste, as using materials such as PET bottles and polystyrene packaging and playing with light, the artists create intriguingly beautiful and somewhat magical pieces.

On display will also be a jewellery installation by Thierry Jeannot.

www.galleryfumi.com

www.marionfriedmann.com 143

www.demagazine.co.uk

/

diar Y 100% design 22-25 Sept 2011 Earls Court, London A focal point of creative talent from the UK and around the world, 100% Design exhibits cutting-edge contemporary interior design. This allround design event hosting furniture, lighting, product, and interior design is not to be missed. New this year, is the Director’s Cut, which will showcase an exclusive selection of British design, and is curated and overseen by Julieann Humphryes, Head of Design for Yoo and nonexecutive chair of 100% Design. www.100percentdesign.co.uk

Origin designjunction 22-25 Sept 2011 Victoria House, Basement, Bloomsbury Square, London, WC1B 4DA

22-28 Sept 2011 Old Spitalfields Market, London

Showing across an enormous space of 2,000 square-metres at Holborn’s Victoria House, Designjunction will also grant designers and brands the chance of displaying work, alongside the opportunity to meet press, trade and domestic audiences. Moreover, during LDF, Designjunction will exhibit through and across the event, with talks, seminars, pop-up bars and an evening with Tokyo’s PechuaKucha.

Origin, the Contemporary Craft fair, displays new collections in paper, interior, ceramics, furniture, jewellery and textile designs from over 200 makers. The show offers visitors the chance to see highly skilled craftsmanship and products, all of which will be displayed in a purpose built pavilion. For this first time this year, Origin will collaborate with prestigious London retailer Liberty to curate several display windows with work from participating exhibitors.

Visitors can also see Lux Craft, a new platform and space at Origin specifically conceived and designed to showcase lighting installations by the world’s finest crafts makers.

www.thedesignjunction.co.uk

www.originuk.org

Debuting this September at London Design Festival, Design Junction offers up an international collection of products and designs. The line up of talents showcasing here is excellent and includes a variety of products from lighting, furniture and accessories, which promise to inspire and impassion visitors and buyers alike. Designjunction intends to ‘strike a balance between being creative and commercial’, while avoiding a traditional trade show setting and, having debuted at Milan’s Salone del Mobile, the enterprise, under guidance of creative designer Michael Sodeau, will undoubtedly continue to break boundaries at LDF.

144

www.demagazine.co.uk

/

diarY Taking the Chair 15 Sept - 29 October 2011 Marsden Woo Gallery 17 – 18 Great Sutton Street, London EC1V

Tent 2011 22-25 Sept 2011 Truman Brewery, London

Marsden Woo Gallery would like to present ‘Taking the Chair’, Caroline and Maisie Broadhead’s first major collaboration.

Working intensively together, mother and daughter have chosen seven paintings by masters such as Vermeer, Velasquez and Magritte, in which a chair (usually empty) has a powerful presence. The chair is the point at which Caroline and Maisie’s work meets, and this exhibition will show seven of Maisie’s photographs, which feature seven of Caroline’s chairs, with image and object displayed alongside each other. www.marsdenwoo.com

This is Tent’s fifth year, offering an exciting line up of furniture, lighting, textile, and product design from around the world. Visitors will be the first to view many interesting and innovative ideas from Asia, with a very strong Japanese contingency this year. Through this event, Tent 2011 plans to solidify its reputation in pioneering brands, undiscovered talent, and true originality. www.tentlondon.co.uk

Decorex 2011 25-28 Sept 2011 Royal Hospital Chelsea, London Decorex hosts a renowned selection of handpicked exhibitors showcasing a unique display of design led products. The fair explores the very latest in inspirational design in new technologies, craftsmanship, and fresh young talent. This year, Decorex invites the design community to indulge in a theme of ‘Cherished Places’ www.decorex.co.uk Image: Maisie Broadhead and Caroline BroadheadStanding at a Machine 2011

145

www.demagazine.co.uk

/

d e p ic k

ann dahlberg submitted this image.

Ann currently lives in Stockholm, Sweden and teaches Photography at the Cybergymnasiet college in the City.

The photo here has been chosen from the great selection we had submitted for our online photography entry for the Spring edition (Places & People: reading de magazine) More images are online www.demagazine.co.uk To submit a image for the Summer edition please email photo@demagazine.co.uk 146

www.demagazine.co.uk

Aminaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s truly invisible loudspeaker range brings a totally new dimension to whole house entertainment systems. Simply mount into a wall or ceiling and skim over with standard finishing plaster. Once dry, apply your chosen wall covering or paint finish. The result is unparalleled sound quality, evenly distributed throughout your home, totally invisible to you and your guests.

Call or email to receive your free brochure: t:+44 1480 354 390 / e: inspired@amina.co.uk / w: www.amina.co.uk