PREVIEW Identity Architects – Ippolito Fleitz Group

identity architects Ippolito Fleitz Group

identity architects Ippolito Fleitz Group

Frame Publishers, Amsterdam

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Style, disruption and modus operandi.

‘/ors c. .’

Attention, design!

Stuttgart, Germany’s motor city. Ippolito Fleitz Group’s (IFG) headquarters p 294 are located in a respectable neighbourhood with a sober bourgeois demeanour, only two underground stops from the city centre. It was in 2008 that IFG moved into an old workshop building in one of those streets that somehow remind you of San Francisco, with one building sitting virtually on top of another. Climb the steps to the second floor and find – nothing. Nothing but a crude metal door you might otherwise expect to find in a blighted neighbourhood or some vaguely menacing basement. Above the handle you manage to decipher: ‘/ors c. .’ These faded letters are the remains of what must have once been a proper warning: Vorsicht Stufe (mind the step). Upon entering the premises, there is indeed a barely visible step hidden under a rather loud tartan carpet, and a wall plastered with awards and certificates. In fact this wall of fame represents only a small fraction of the awards IFG has won over the past decade, culminating in the firm being admitted to Interior Design magazine's prestigious Hall of Fame in 2015 – the first German interior design studio to do so. There is a delightful video documenting the awards ceremony in the ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria, New York, full of smiling faces and radiating happiness.

It offers a glimpse into what drives Peter Ippolito, a man with a bald head, dark glasses and tremendous creative energy, and his partner Gunter Fleitz, who uncannily resembles the French actor Daniel Auteuil and runs the studio, making sure every detail is treated with ultimate precision and care. You can see that these two friends have come a long way together. There is no boasting, no pretended humility, but instead pure unadulterated joy.

Early days

Gunter Fleitz and Peter Ippolito, Chicago 1995

Foreword by Oliver Herwig

Their strong relationship and incredible team spirit were there from the start to patiently and diligently shape a success story, with the will to invest their talent, wit and energy in one enterprise and one single goal: go beyond the limits and always remain unpredictable. ‘There isn’t a nook or cranny in design and architecture they are not interested in,’ said Cindy Allen, editor-in-chief at Interior Design, in her commendation speech. ‘Their appetite for new problems, new discoveries, new challenges, and new good fights is nothing less than gargantuan.’ Well, what else could you say after taking a look at the 1000+ projects they have collaborated on since 2002.

Every project, whether a small renovation or a building costing millions, is treated to the same level of energy, effort and devotion to detail – transforming what others might regard a routine job into a real mission. In place of a settled style we find a multitude of options, a whirlwind of ideas and a team capable of confounding the expectations of their two leading architects. Once they take on a commission, there is no stopping them. Once they have found a successful combination, a winning strategy, an unexpected material, it is almost certain they will replace it for another idea or surpass it with something else.

This constant articulation of energy and ideas is best reflected in the large studio space where IFG is at its loudest and busiest. This is the beehive: an area at the back with a spiral staircase connecting the two levels, which function as a cafeteria, meeting zone and place for inspiration. Peter Ippolito and his crew are gathered around a long table covered with renderings, which are each accompanied by half a dozen samples of different materials. What they are critically eyeing resembles a living collage featuring metal and different varieties of marble and oak. Together they form a specific world for a specific project. Peter Ippolito does not seem to be content yet. This particular combination is ‘overly predictable’ he muses. The head of the materials lab steps in and offers a surprising alternative. Ippolito smiles: ‘Yeah, much better.’ This is how the design process works at IFG: it’s fast track, high speed, with lots of exchange that is both experimental and effective.

Don’t expect Ippolito Fleitz Group to follow a style guide.

Instead a multitude of possibilities, ranging from rich, hedonistic interiors to minimalistic spaces and subtle notes are part of the palette. Sometimes, in a flight of fancy, you might even imagine IFG as a swarm of different ideas,

humming around core values, regrouping every other moment to form new combinations and collaborations.

But then the eruptive resourcefulness of Peter Ippolito and Gunter Fleitz ignites to open up a new field of possibilities.

Yet amidst all the excitement, they ensure that no one gets lost along the way. This heady mix is reflected in the entrance to the Stuttgart headquarters. You see, feel, sense the different paths and the deliberate disruptions in the design cosmos, but are also struck by the impression that in some amazing piece of creative chemistry everything comes together neatly.

‘We are Identity Architects,’ they say. ‘We work in unison with our clients to develop architecture, products and communication that are part of a whole and yet distinctive in their own right. This is how we define identity.’

What would Freud have made of that in light of his theory that our mind is an iceberg with only one-seventh of its mass visible above water? He would perhaps have concluded that the designers at IFG must have found a method – analytic or empathic – to identify the real needs of their clients, needs that transcend the surface level of to-do lists and briefings. This methodology involves listening closely to people and still following one’s own ideas and convictions. The way IFG describes the design process may seem quite conventional, but like the structure of a poem, it intimates some deeper truth.

Or let us say: magic you can feel without ever fully explaining it. Just take a look at IFG’s creed:

With meticulous analysis before we begin. With animated examination in the concept phase. With clarity of argument in the act of persuasion.

With love of accuracy in the realisation. With a serious goal and a lot of fun along the way. Working together with our clients.

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Contents Team Spirit ‘/ors c. .’ Attention, design!

p2

Foreword by Oliver Herwig

Life on the Underside of a Leaf

p10

Essay by Ben Nicholson

Form follows Identity

p12

Interview with Peter Ippolito and Gunter Fleitz

Reflections

p22

Case study: Der Spiegel Canteen

Memory

p34

Bella Italia Weine

p36

Schorndorf Nursing Home

p44

Linden Apotheke

p46

Walter Knoll

p50

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Home

p60

Maisonette P155

p62

House HOD

Quant 1

p72

Apartment S

House Benz

p90

delight

Pegasus home desk

p82

Loft ESN

p84

Cleopatra bath

p94

p100

p102

holyfields

p78

GinYuu Stuttgart

p104

p110

WakuWaku Dammtor

p116

Bachofer

Motel One Restaurant

p122

p126

Bar FouFou

not guilty

p130

Wonder

p132

p136

Case study: Palace of International Forums Uzbekistan

Heimat

p162

Schorndorf Town Hall

p164

Wienerwald

p172

Belfry Tashkent

p178

Trattoria da Loretta

p182

Phoenix Real Estate

p186

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Essay by Ben Nicholson

Life on the Underside of a Leaf Between the moment of getting up in the morning and flopping into bed at night are a gazillion this-and-that points in time. Upon reflection, it is mind-boggling to think how the continuity of those moments could possibly add up to something whole. Then there are an equal number of chances and chance encounters with others and their own permutations of complicated craziness, and all need to be parsed. You wonder how it could possibly work together.

Since time began, artists have guided us through life to ensure that we do not get lost on our way to Paradise. Others have built leafy oases in the desert, where people stop off from their complicated journeys to rest, reflect and tease out their imagination. Ippolito Fleitz Group are architects of this ilk. They thread together places that we cannot imagine exist until we step into them, when they seem eerily familiar.

It is as if some puzzle of DNA had been sparked into action, awaking a long-lost sleeping joy in which layers and layers of sensory experience are brought to life. The places they make give rise to the primitive in us as well as the hyper-sophisticated, where time forward and time past are reunited in our sensory imagination.

Peter Ippolito and Gunter Fleitz were born in Germany at the point that the country had departed the chrysalis of its re-emergence onto the world stage. Two generations of post-war German architects, such as Frei Otto, Günter Benisch and Werner Sobek, satiated themselves with technology, not daring to dip into the fund of German

cultural metaphor that might inadvertently allude to the country’s recent political undertow. The generation of Ippolito and Fleitz was spared the horrors of mass cultural amnesia, and instead looked for inspiration of the spirit.

They recalled Germany’s long love affair with the sweetness of Hahnemann’s homeopathy, the Bach flower remedies (albeit of English origin) and an imagination stimulated by nature, although not necessarily being a part of nature.

Their generation was reawakened by a contradictory mixture of home-grown wellbeing exemplified by Rudolf Steiner and the presence of boisterous foreigners, in the guise of alien American soldiers and their otherworldly tanks and rocket launchers. One can imagine the 1970s boyhood lives of Peter and Gunter, lying on their elbows in front of the TV watching Mork & Mindy, just as American kids were shown to do. In the post-modernist mindset, imagination lived on the inside of the consumptive richness of ‘Amerika’, a mythical place far beyond the confines of their own storied cities, that had been bombed into a million shards just 25 years before. We are the beneficiaries of these polar visions.

Like every effective partnership, Ippolito and Fleitz bring to the table complementary expertise. Ippolito was born in the fabled medieval city of Nuremberg, rebuilt after World War II, and on whose periphery languished the crumbling imperial stadium and infrastructures of the Third Reich. His boyhood was spent within this rich architectural conjunction, playing amidst the broken stones of empires and hokey-pokey reconstructions, much as did Piranesi in

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Rome’s Forum. Fleitz harks from a family of masons and architects from Baden-Baden. The left side of his brain is inhabited by the relaxed glories of the historic spa town, while the right side of his brain holds raw pragmatism, born from a long line of builders, that ensures that dreams become reality. Together, Ippolito and Fleitz lead a team that is nothing short of being a perfect storm of creativity.

So how does this new interior world actually work? On the outside all is normal. The discipline of interior architecture requires that the public face of the outside skin is provided: It might be new or it might be old, but oldness or newness is of secondary consequence to the task at hand, which is to transport the visitor into a place that they might never have considered. It is as if the inside is actually akin to the beginnings of the outside, i.e. that questions of where the inside starts and outside ends are of secondary importance to the need of being transported to a place where matters of inside or outside are irrelevant.

To appreciate the intimacy of their designs, imagine lying at home in a hammock and gazing up into the trees: what you see opens you up to an upside-down world.

Spiders spin cobwebs in impossibly complicated spaces, and stick insects are busy making curious structures on the underside of leaves. Across the way, children crawl beneath tables and examine the netherworld of unpolished timber, screws, brackets and bits of chewing gum. We ask ourselves: ‘What has happened to me these past years since childhood, that I have forgotten how to read the flipside of the perceived world?’ Ippolito and Fleitz remind us of what we have lost, while simultaneously giving us our grown-up world.

And what do the spaces look like? That’s the thing. It’s not so much what the places look like (which is mesmerising) as it is what they feel like (the kind of goosebumps that come with a nice haircut). Every surface and mnemonic prompt is considered. There are no orphan spaces or forgotten junctions. Think of sixteen different evocations occurring simultaneously (just like in normal life) and each one is attended to with care. In each meticulous room are swaths of colour with the vivacity of Alpine meadows, and the private memories of the client are given full verse. Public recollections of what furniture used to be are reinterpreted to what furniture needs to be NOW! In their domain, we get just the right amount of the past to help transport us to the future, but without ever being lonely. Everyday generic spaces become places of theatre, and it all makes sense, not as in ‘it makes sense’ but they make sense, by reconstructing the human senses, just as one makes love.

In every era, humans learn to distinguish imperceptible changes in their environment. The aesthetics of art appreciation are part of this. At one time, the dilettante collector was able to distinguish between fifty shade of blue, and determine who has ‘got it’ and who has not. Today, epicurean finesse has migrated from art appreciation to food: the modern dilettante now knows the subtle qualities of fifty kinds of lettuce, and devours them accordingly. Ippolito and Fleitz understand this migration from one aesthetic subject to another, not only because they love to cook, but because they know that the place in which we gather together is as important as the activity that brings us there.

Their architecture is an extension of the meal, the meeting, the market or the melee. They construct the stage upon which we live and work, understanding that theatre is a biological need for humans, and without it we will starve our minds of emotive nourishment.

Of the hundreds of projects that Ippolito and Fleitz have made over the past 14 years (the entrance to their office shows 240 awards alone), there is one link between them all that is disarmingly simple: the circle. In this, they are Classicists. At its essence, their design practice is a life-long search for the perfect curve. Curved form is a variant of the pure form of the circle; one might say it is driven by the human desire to go one better than divinity.

But what is the genius of that curve? Each circle that informs their projects is of a different quality, rendered through a rich palette of materials. They can make both the pert curve of a spring bud and the curvaceous rump of a ripe pear. We all have the ability to draw and construct curved lines, yet some do it more convincingly than others. At Ippolito and Fleitz, the magic of the partnership is revealed in the making of curves and circles, as they are both drawn and then built seamlessly. Perhaps this is the result of years of local industry hammering steel to form those delectable surfaces of medieval armour and now created in factories building Porsches and Mercedes. The eyes of Stuttgart, that gaze across the globe, are very discerning of both their craftsmen and their clients, and hold us to a high standard.

Upon stepping over the thresholds of the beautifully crafted realms made by Ippolito and Fleitz, our collective subconscious is placed in their care and released from its confines.

Their spaces evoke ‘wunderlust’. Sometimes we are left to meander through mesmerising cabinetry and at other times our spirits glide slowly through ethereal mists. Whatever passage we are taken on, they prove to be much more than mere chaperons. By entrusting ourselves to their guidance, we rediscover places we have long forgotten exist.

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Interview with Peter Ippolito and Gunter Fleitz

Form follows identity

Today

Peter Ippolito and Gunter Fleitz, 2016

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A lot of successful studios rely on a distinct, highly recognisable style. In fact they are often hired because of their specific design idiom. You’ve always avoided that, not following a singular style, but rather a pattern of styles, a multitude of different possibilities, sometimes overwhelming and loud, sometimes rigid and minimalistic. The result can be quite intense.

Absolutely. It may be a truism, but the user is really at the core of everything we do. It’s a people business. When we first opened the studio, one of our main drives was not to become stuck with one style, one discipline or one typology. Keeping your eyes wide-open and seeing what the world has to offer, as well as constantly trying out new viewpoints, is always at the centre of what we do.

Gunter Fleitz Our approach is highly individualised.

As Identity Architects, we develop unique and very precise answers to our clients’ needs and to the spaces we encounter.

It’s a very exciting process, since identity is never stable.

It’s continually in motion, formed and re-formed by the diverging traditions of the past, desires for the future and the daily business of the present.

Peter Ippolito

Might this be considered a disadvantage in times when people like to rely on particular brands and recognisable design idioms?

GF Well, we get very different clients coming to us with very diverse tasks, from all sorts of cultures and backgrounds, and we enjoy finding a very specific solution for each of our projects. A project in China obviously demands a different response to a project in Central Asia, which has a much more Islamic background. A Russian or German project will be different again. It also makes a huge difference whether we are dealing with an individual or a corporate client. Design is something that provokes an intense dialogue, and we usually interact strongly with our clients. It’s fun to work with people who are highly knowledgeable in their fields and know what it is they want.

PI To put it in a nutshell: our clients are all very different, so our initial concepts and our responses are as well.

This is the beauty of what we could call open narration.

Many people look at our work and we are always surprised how different their perceptions of what we do are, depending

on where they come from. I might meet someone who says, ‘I love your work. You’re so minimalistic, white, functional…’

Interesting, I think. Then the next person comes along and says your projects are so sensual and they are all about greenery. OK. And then someone asks you about ornament and communication in space. And all of these conflicting aspects have their validity.

Speaking of initial concepts, how do you usually begin a project? You must have developed certain core concepts to achieve different atmospheres.

I’m afraid I have to disappoint you. There is no certified process.

PI

Even after all these years, you don’t follow any winning strategies?

PI We enjoy meeting people, experiencing their thoughts and ideas. That is where everything begins.

And this is the beauty of our work: almost every day we encounter a new life concept, a new kind of business, a new setup. And they’re all quite different.

We never think in terms of right or wrong. Part of our energy as a studio derives from the fact that we’re not scared to try things and do things. We always aim to be as open and as curious as possible.

The most important thing is to go beyond the boundaries of language, to understand what the project is about at a deeper level. We’re curious to experience how somebody expresses him or herself, what he or she is going to use as imagery and reference projects.

PI You often have a gut feeling about what the project is really about. If you can identify that, it gives you a certain freedom to forget everything you’ve heard before.

GF

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A case of unmistakable identity.

2011

Interior architecture, product design Partner: pfarré lighting design

H A M B U RG, G E RM A N Y­

Reflections

Pallid sky, scattered clouds. Yet Der Spiegel Canteen, situated on the ground floor of a tall office building right next to the Hamburg harbour, is ablaze with light, as if it faced directly out to the sea. A shimmering lustre flows across the ceiling, which consists of a sea of sequin discs with a handful of yellow shells of light erupting forth: 4203 aluminium discs to be precise. These reflect the ever-changing sky and tides of the Ericusgraben, one of the many waterways of the Hanseatic city. The canteen is where the journalists on Germany’s most prestigious news magazine meet for their lunch break, to chat regardless of their specialist fields and enjoy a coffee.

CASE STUDY

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Memory

The owner on a stamp and the famous Sicilian bikini girls riding a fish: the visual communication continues seamlessly into a collage of memories.

Bella Italia Weine

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Memory

2006  

Interior architecture, brand identity, print and editorial Partner: Monica Trenkler (ceiling mural)

  LU DW I G S B U RG, G E RM A N Y

Linden Apotheke The Linden Apotheke is an old, established pharmacy in Ludwigsburg, which specialises in naturopathic products and natural cosmetics. Our interior design picks up on motifs from our collective memory. Without over-indulging in wistful nostalgia, the vaulted ceiling, mural and granite cobblestones on the floor all hark back to an era when pharmacies were not yet part of a health industry. At the same time the modernity and clarity of the design establish an instant connection with professionalism, precision and competence.

A rigorous reorganisation of the space resulted in a compact, high-ceilinged room, which is immediately ascertainable from both entrances. Continuous shelving units and the room’s rounded corners support this impression, establishing a clear backdrop for the merchandise on display, which is beautifully lit from front and back.

The unity of the space is accentuated by a rounded transition from wall to ceiling, as well as by the calm continuity of the white palette. The granite cobblestone floor reflects the typical baroque style, so evident in Ludwigsburg, and creates a tantalising contrast to the otherwise demonstratively modern interior design.

Three rotatable merchandise stands in the centre of the room offer an additional area for presenting and highlighting seasonal products.

With its clear, sweeping contours and monochrome colour palette, the room and furniture design draw the eye up to an expansive ceiling motif: eleven medicinal herbs in a modern interpretation. The motif was designed in cooperation with artist Monica Trenkler and acts as the new emblem of the pharmacy in both a spatial and communicative sense.

Linden Apotheke

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My home is my castle ?

HOME

My home is my castle, an old adage insists; my place of last resort, my refuge. When I close the door upon the world outside, I am free to choose what it is I wish to do, when and where. Contemporary sociologists have explored this phenomenon and argue that in an increasingly complex world, home has become the last line of defence against an encroaching society and working world. We crave escape – even if it is just in the act of closing the door to find respite and solace in a cosmos that we have created.

Forty-five square metres is the average size of a singleperson apartment in Germany in 2013. Statistics from the Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB) factored in living and sleeping quarters, kitchens and ancillary rooms. Interestingly, the data also reflects a tendency towards more space separating people than we have seen before. We might be very open and trusting with sharing our personal information on the internet, but we certainly draw our apartment’s curtains very carefully at night to prevent anyone from looking in. Cocooning

has been a defining movement in recent years, and will probably continue to function as an individually administered antidote to super-high-tech, megaaccelerating societies. Designers have responded to this development by pursuing the concept of uniqueness.

At the same time, the stylised vision of an ideal home is morphing into a more staged sequence of rooms that, though tiny, look as perfect as if they had been lifted from a catalogue. The move toward small apartments is quite understandable and highly profitable: with the high demand for exclusive flats, you can easily sell again, if necessary. This model works for singles, commuters and professionals. But fundamental questions still remain: what should your home feel like? What manner of design should enhance your private environment?

Quant is a compelling response to this perennial quest.

The exclusive apartment complex in one of Stuttgart’s prime residential areas reworked an existing building, and IFG was tasked with developing an exceptional design

to serve as a suggestive template to future owners and tenants. What resulted is a compact space that appears as precisely appointed as a precious jewel box and where every detail has obviously been given careful consideration.

Add to that sumptuous natural wood and corresponding notions of marble, honey and beige to soothe the discerning yet stressed, urban mind. Quant 1 p78 is designed to ‘appeal particularly to the single woman.

Femininity and sensuality thus play an important role in the design and furnishings’. You can sense the level of pleasure in this particular commission just by studying the movie-star quality of the curved staircase and the collection of carefully curated spaces with their high-level sheen. The lavish bathroom resembles one in a stylish, five-star hotel; then there is the prominent lavender lounge chair dominating the room and facing the fireplace.

‘We do not think in terms of male-female dichotomies, we prefer to work with collages,’ Gunter Fleitz adds. ‘Pastel shades, which are usually perceived as being feminine, can be present, juxtaposed with darker, more masculine tones. We love to go beyond common clichés. However when designing apartment spaces, some briefings ask specifically for a masculine or feminine ambience.’

Each and every detail is crafted to a level a biologist would probably call a case of overly stimulating appeal, such as the visualised perfection of the oval window, enclosed within a seating niche that is wittily upholstered in a Chesterfield style.

IFG cherishes the challenge of working in so many fields, always combining a honed sense for overall qualities with a gift for striking details, such as in its venture into furniture design with the Pegasus home desk p82 for ClassiCon. The desk emanates an allure of leisure and refinement rarely seen today. Again, the IFG touch can be seen in the arresting mix of materials that trigger our imagination, like the leather tabletop that can be folded upward to access the compartments beneath.

The desk holds a special place in the history of furniture thanks to its ambiguous nature that is both official and private. Important documents were signed here and

love letters written. It first entered bourgeois interiors during the Biedermeier era of the early to mid-nineteenth century. The eighteenth century letter culture with women and men of letters and their epistolary novels would be unthinkable without such a place of contemplation and fancy. The desk mirrors our minds and souls. Many companies still require a clean desk at the end of the day; each paper, each snippet is mercilessly removed by the cleaning crew. It is no coincidence that the success of a TV series like Mad Men, set in the 1960s and 1970s, is closely related to an analogue cosmos full of sphericalhead typewriters, teleprinters and reams of paper.

Back then, a desk’s design and dimensions still served as status symbols, with countless compartments and drawers, flaps and divisions. Today, a desk is a portal into the digital world. Obviously, the IFG designers were aware of this sea change and developed an exquisite piece of furniture that we would instantly place in our private home: elegant and sleek, minimalist and semiotic.

It speaks eloquently of an old world that is not entirely over, yet offers home for the digital paraphernalia that have suffused the office space. But, frankly, who is going to pen a real letter and wait for the ink to dry on custom paper? Then again, why not? If this setting doesn’t invite intimacy, where else could you hope to find it?

Intimacy is not a set of rules, not guarded by strict regulations. It is, instead, an atmosphere whose delicate vibes can only be sensed by listening closely to your customer. Peter Ippolito says: ‘If your client feels you actually care – and this is what it’s all about – it permits us to go further with our client than if you limit yourself to simply being a service provider.’ After all, isn’t your home the most intimate form of Identity Architecture?

Gunter Fleitz and Peter Ippolito discuss personal routines, habits and beliefs that finally find their way into the organisation of a wardrobe. Residential design starts with your morning ritual, following you from bed to bathroom to breakfast table and finally out of the door. And at the end of the day, it welcomes you back into your castle.

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Home

2015

Interior architecture

S T U T TGA RT, G E RM A N Y

Maisonette P155 We created a sanctuary for an architect and a textile designer in a listed ­Wilhelminian building in a sought-after location on the edge of Stuttgart’s city centre. The 290 m² space was transformed into a vibrant cabinet of curiosities, filled with mementos and inspirational pieces, which they collected or sourced on their travels. A ­characteristic period feature of the building is its layout of individual rooms grouped around a central hallway. This layout was carefully modified, respecting the building’s listed status, to create a spacious, open discourse with shifting vistas and overlapping perspectives.

The prelude is given by a pale grey, gallery-like hallway, which forms a cabinet brimming with travel curiosities. A striking element is a wooden bench from India, which draws you into the space, accentuating the suction effect of the trapezoidal layout. A black, herringbone parquet floor runs from here throughout the apartment, giving the suite of rooms a flowing feel and creating a strong graphic counterpart to the typically bourgeois Wilhelminian architecture.

The maisonette is a museum of memories and a showroom for the creativity of its owners in one. In place of a closed, consistent aesthetic, the apartment functions as a collage of variegated moods. Yet in spite of their seeming disparity, a synthesis is achieved that perfectly reflects the personality of the owners in the individual rooms.

Maisonette P155

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Home

Maisonette P155

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Cooking up a storm.

delight ‘Thanks for a great evening. We loved the surprise menu and complementing wines,’ a Bachofer p122 guest enthuses online. ‘First-class and a lot of fun. An absolute must for fine dining in Waiblingen.’ It goes without saying that the interior of this Michelin-starred restaurant relates closely to the sensuality of its international fusion menu, which assuredly combines cod, a sesameflavoured brioche in a shiso and cress bouillon, bok choy, smoked paprika and chilli praline with potato shiitake cream to create a flamboyant offering. It is interesting to note how the restaurant concept has evolved in recent years. Urban sociologists such as Ray Oldenburg indicate how important ‘third places’ such as cafes, bars and restaurants are for society as a whole. They establish and deepen bonds between people. And it now seems almost natural for these places to be designed to the very highest degree.

Entering what was once a pharmacy in a historic, halftimbered house from 1647 is like stepping into a time warp. Skipping forward through almost four centuries, you find yourself in a setting of dark leather chairs with glittering gold and mocha terrazzo at your feet.

The lighting is as precisely choreographed as Swiss clockwork: bright and centred over the table, with softer, ambient lighting to enhance the laid -back feel of the place. All senses are alert, awaiting pleasure. There is a certain grandeur to this 45-seat restaurant in the town of Waiblingen, not far from Stuttgart. Amid the general air of relaxed sophistication, there is even an element of

urbane cool you would more expect to find in a hotel bar in, say, London’s West End. Every detail has been selected with care to engender harmony. If you are lucky, you may be perched on one of the barstools with a view of the open show kitchen, where the chef is busy preparing some complex concoctions while you sip your aperitif and sample an amuse-bouche. Mouth-watering aesthetics in every sense.

As we know, life is not always about these gourmet dining experiences. Sometimes it has to be fast and efficient.

But that is no reason to relinquish our standards. Take, for p116 instance, the enticing WakuWaku Dammtor restaurant, which is fast-food outlet and organic food store combined. WakuWaku is plain, simple and all about quality. Solid wood covers the floor, benches and food displays. Reach out and you can touch rough wood, smell resin. To highlight the solidity of the fittings, airy lamps inscribe wire outlines (like paintings by Julian Opie) and 3D wall renderings by Chris Rehberger employ taut strings. ‘Organic and sustainable – these brand values are the clear focus of the new WakuWaku spatial concept,’ comments Gunter Fleitz. And indeed, it really feels very sustainable here surrounded by all these natural materials.

You can dine and buy whatever you have just eaten. A long table surrounded by a melange of chairs invites you and your friends to sit and share a meal. Because aside from culinary expectations, this is something in which we all delight: sharing the moment with nice people, natural food, in a healthy environment.

The problem with any lunchbreak is time – there is never enough of it. So you are always in a rush. Which is why holyfields p104 adopted a new approach, fusing high-energy meals with high-energy people. First, you save time by ordering at one of ten touchscreens, then you take a pager to your seat and pick up your meal at a central counter. This strategy is pretty efficient in a world geared toward simplicity and speed. But what about emotions in such a streamlined eatery? How do you instil a special spirit in a space? Consider the materials, surfaces, the highly tactile properties and unexpected juxtapositions of forms and colours. ‘We love details,’ Gunter Fleitz explains. ‘A good project has smart details, which tell you a lot about the concept behind it .’

The idea here translates into a lucid template: to create a relaxed environment that helps open your mind to novel taste sensations – even ones that are quite unexpected.

If you do not waste precious time standing in line, you are free to focus on friends and colleagues, to share your meal and attention, because everything else is taken care of. The holyfields interior concept is totally intuitive: you simply follow clear markings to your favourite place.

Maybe a cosy spot right by the window, or a place more conducive to communication with upholstered benches seating two, or a vibrant spot at the bleached oak bar counter, or at one of the sculptural six-seater tables by the rear wall. ‘As a studio we love multilayered spaces, which contain a hierarchy of information that you uncover whilst using it, instead of being able to see everything at once from the entrance door,’ Peter Ippolito explains.

Patterns and ornamentation are all part of a choreographed communication, which does not just delineate a space, but brings forth a living environment.

Here again, unexpected materials or unorthodox treatments of common ones create a wealth of sensual stimuli that blend to make a room vibrantly evocative: rubber laces dividing booths, a food counter wrapped in a floor-to-ceiling copper wall, a special imprint on a stainless steel counter, which transforms it into a tablecloth. Each aspect gives a welcoming gesture and summons a sense of quality into the space.

Whenever you walk into a new place, you are instantly – viscerally – either attracted or repelled. There is rarely an in-between, generic or neutral response. Especially not with IFG that strives for the most characteristic solution possible – even in places with a specific set of expectations to fulfil. System catering is a field in which IFG makes every effort to ensure a recognisable style, which is enhanced by signature answers to specific situations. Like the concept restaurant GinYuu p110, which features front cooking and chip payment, and offers pan-Asian-Pacific cuisine in a laid-back atmosphere. Its special fusion of cocktail bar and restaurant combines different types of wood and is not afraid of decoration. The attentive guest might even discover bits of driftwood and bricks made of spruce. Each piece contributes to set the stage for a carefree setting, quite as if one were on holiday in the Caribbean. Perhaps the only details missing are the glorious sunsets and turquoise waters.

Speaking of places we all love to go: there is always a perennial fascination with hotels and their promise of exciting encounters. But what kind of atmosphere nurtures these experiences? The Munich headquarters of Motel One responds to this architectural challenge with a dramatic, two-storey lobby and adjacent Motel One Campus Restaurant p126 , open to hotel guests, visitors and staff. Huge internal shutters transform the interior into a natural marketplace. It all feels warm, urban, tactile.

With a natural skylight, a waterfall of pendant lamps of corrugated cardboard conjures up memories of Chinese lanterns emitting warm light. You feel instantly at home and the idea crystallises that there are sure to be great people to meet at the bar or at one of those tables in the open, airy space where anything seems possible.

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Delight

2010

Interior architecture, product design Partners: Loved (in-store communication), pfarré lighting design

F R A N K F U RT, G E RM A N Y

Holyfields A high-end restaurant experience at a good price, while respecting today's need for simplicity and speed: this is what holyfields is all about. The brand’s claim ‘time to eat’ describes an innovative concept based on a sophisticated ordering system that gives diners more time to eat – because holyfields wants you to relax at your table rather than wait in a queue.

A white host counter supported on a multitude of different table legs greets the urban clientele. An illuminated ceiling element designates this station as the pivotal point of the room. Terminals with large touchscreens strike a somewhat anthropomorphic note as they stand in wait for lunch orders.

The dining room contains a wide variety of seating, offering guests different options depending on their mood. A funnel-shaped, floor-to-ceiling copper wall encompasses the food counter. Its broad, stainless steel case is printed with the folds of an imaginary white tablecloth, while its mirrored pedestal reflects the recurring motif of contrasting table legs. Kitchen hatches and glass rear walls give the guest a glimpse of the busy bustle of the kitchen. The prominence of the food counter is further enhanced by illuminated ceiling elements that give names to the three areas below: Peter, Paul and Mary.

With its innovative food concept, holyfields sets new accents in system gastronomy for a discerning, metropolitan audience. It satisfies the need for fast and delicious, great value food, as well as providing a visual and atmospheric dining highlight. The differentiated range of seating zones caters to the varying needs of its guests, who are certain to find the right setting for anything from a quick snack to a meal out with friends or bigger celebration.

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Delight

2014

Interior architecture Partner: pfarré lighting design

M U N I C H , G E RM A N Y

Motel One ­Campus Restaurant The Motel One Campus Restaurant is designed as an attractive restaurant and bar location for hotel guests and visitors, while doubling as a staff canteen. The restaurant extends upwards over two storeys creating an urban space not unlike an Italian piazzetta.

In the centre of the imposing airspace hangs a canopy of opulent pendant lamps that resemble Chinese lanterns. Different shapes of lampshades, all made from corrugated cardboard, let light escape in horizontal lines, creating a warm and enticing ambience. These horizontal lines are reflected in the oversize window shutters that play with the height of the space. The Chinese lanterns, window shutters and rear brick wall bring the outdoors inside, so that guests feel they could be sitting at a piazza table.

An attractive and striking bar counter forms a backdrop, projecting a bar-like atmosphere into the space. Three table elements of differing heights and materials divide up this area, enabling multifunctional use. A tiled wood-burning stove marks the transition to the rear area of the space, while the wooden core behind conceals the kitchen. In the rear area of what is now a one-storey space, the atmosphere changes. Low pendant lamps, leather-upholstered benches, wooden cladding and wine refrigerators bring a distinct look and feel to this area, which serves as an enoteca and bar.

With its heterogeneous range of seating options and very different hospitality contexts, the Campus Restaurant caters to a diverse yet discriminating clientele. Natural materials with open, haptic surfaces translate the atmosphere and philosophy of the hotel chain into an inviting restaurant environment.

Motel One Campus Restaurant

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The beauty of disconnection.

HEaven

A sudden moment of irritation intervenes. Looking up, you are confronted with patterns and movement in place of the expected neutral surfaces. Soaring high above are elaborate murals, or three-dimensional objects and mirrors. Light might even be filtered down to you through a cloud of myriad petals. The ceiling is positively alive.

There is no escaping it, no matter how much your eyes search for a way out. You always return to this disconnected sensation. With IFG, a ceiling is never simply a plain, functional surface, which most architects set aside in order to concentrate on more important concerns.

Instead it reaches out to become a wholly different entity, burgeoning with information and attractions, challenging visitors, shop owners, tenants and employees to pause and gaze. The ceiling of Der Spiegel Canteen p22 mirrors sparkling reflections of the harbour waters and hazy skies of Hamburg. Whereas at Bella Italia Weine p36, IFG’s favourite restaurant just around the corner from its Stuttgart office, you encounter numerous mirrors – antique, eclectic and modern. You might also find elaborate sculptures shaped from undulating pieces of wood that form a giant wave over your head (Drubba Moments), light sources hidden behind veils, or perhaps sculptures that shed a magical light over the space.

The ceiling holds a prominent place in IFG’s interior architecture. Whereas nineteenth century architects and even early modernists like Adolf Loos had a hankering for

elaborate compositions that naturally encompassed both walls and ceilings, modernity set off down a different path. After World War II, industrial products became very popular amongst architects, while system components fostered serial construction and grid ceilings, until finally, designers gave up thinking about the ceiling as a potential design field. Nowadays, ceilings tend to be reserved for technical installations only. ‘But in fact they are great carriers of meaning,’ Gunter Fleitz says. ‘We use ceilings as strong elements of design, simply because they are always visible.’ This is true of course: in a crowded restaurant you may not be able to see how beautiful the chairs or tables really are, but the ceiling is something else – simply because it is visible at all times.

IFG sometimes calls its obsession with this internal sky a ‘fifth surface’ upon which to work, and you immediately understand why. Each and every ceiling surface has great display potential, and probably the largest when entering any room or building. It is quite absorbing to see how the transformation of your gaze functions. This is something you could call a typical IFG gambit: to devise a key visual and expand it in any given direction. It is all about memories, conscious and otherwise, naming things (past and present) and narratability. There are certain details – visual hooks – that won’t let you go. Small patterns or expansive fields of colour, flat designs or spatial installations. There is no rule without an exception, no repetitive pattern, but certain structures that seem to

work well. When developing an elaborate ceiling, you have to be very specific about lighting. Thus, light is an integral part of the design, sometimes even at the centre of everything. Quite often there is not a lamp that can be easily recognised as a design piece, but rather flocks of light, shoals of downlights and objects (Keer jewellery p312) that form a larger installation, or invite one to consider a dark sky twinkling with stars (T-O12 p330), or abstract spaces that make you wonder whether you have been transported to a kind of Star Trek holodeck (Technopark p302), a space still in the process of formation and coming into existence the very moment you enter it.

These sophisticated installations chart spaces. There is an element of playfulness in the idea of discovering and claiming new design territory that only works as a holistic entity. No ceiling without its counterpart, no colour without a resonance, no structure that is merely there for its own sake. So you experience corresponding floorand-ceiling pieces (like in the Bork flagship store p224, reminiscent of rows of teeth and floating pieces in space), or giant patterns that swallow up singular pieces (Wein & Wahrheit p326) and transform them into a flying carpet of forms and materials. Another arresting strategy is a singular line of light that seems to emerge from the designer’s pen, inviting us to follow its winding trajectory (Belfry Tashkent p178 , Sigrun Woehr Stuttgart p218) and making us move around the space.

The eye leads the way, always a step ahead, hoping to

discover hidden meanings and new objects. Every ceiling with an IFG imprint is tempting and teasing, whether part of an information array or pure ornament.

As always, patterns and ornamentation are part of a thoughtful communicative choreography, aimed at catching the customer’s attention. You can find flowers on a pharmacy ceiling (Linden Apotheke p46), for example, which refer to the owner’s specialisation in herbal medicine. Peter Ippolito smiles: ‘We don’t do flowers just because we like the look of flowers on the ceiling – it is part of the overall concept.’ This concept takes us back to the days of the old apothecary business with a rich ceiling conveying a memories of commitment and reliability that form another layer of meaning in the context of a modern pharmacy concept. Of course part of the process is a thought-provoking, in-depth discussion about what kind of flowers they are going to put there and whether flowers are the right thing to do. Ippolito continues: ‘We love the potential of a fifth surface upon which to work. Which doesn’t mean we always have to use it.’ Sometimes even with IFG a ceiling is a ceiling is a ceiling. And nothing more. But more usually, a ceiling is a wonderful opportunity to create a feeling in a room, a space, a building. And an artistic mural or lavish installation does not mean the ceiling is not functional.

They are always fully functional, yet designed to convey layers of meaning that have been lost along the way towards modern efficiency and mass building.

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Left Schorndorf Town Hall, Stuttgart 2007 p274 Right Solo West, Frankfurt 2010

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p104 Top left and right holyfields, Frankfurt 2010 p46 Right Linden Apotheke, Ludwigsburg 2006 p312 Far right Keer Jewellery, Beijing 2015

Visual essay: Ceilings

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Experiments in design.

Love IFG’s cafeteria is swirling with voices. Some people are taking a break or having a quick espresso, a double one.

Others are just chatting. Next to them a group of designers are diligently working on the latest display of new materials: dark green marble from Italy, hand-patinised bronze plates and – well, it looks like woven carbon fibre or something else high-tech. Large, moveable tables serve as platforms for material and colour layouts for current projects. A wall display of ‘shit-hot’, new materials, surfaces and technology changes on an almost daily basis.

The constant influx serves as a source of inspiration for all design teams, ensuring no two projects are ever alike.

Some studios choose to rely on particular materials and design solutions, which, once they have proved their worth in one project, almost always make an appearance in another context as well. Though this method may be convenient and certainly cost-effective, it is definitely not the way IFG operates. On the contrary, there are no favoured materials and winning combinations here.

Once something new arrives and is put on display at IFG’s Stuttgart headquarters, architects often use it immediately, before moving on to the next innovative combination or material. There is a palpable sense of a constant flow of things, ideas and concepts. ‘Every project has its own little universe of conceptual thoughts,’ comments Tilla Goldberg, IFG’s energetic director of product design.

‘There are endless possibilities for turning a big idea into reality. But it is vital to find the right means and details to create a unique solution, a special atmosphere, to communicate the idea precisely.’

Experiments are key in IFG’s creative process. This means bespoke solutions are almost always material inventions.

‘Unique furniture or lighting installations are crucial

in almost every project we do,’ explains Goldberg. ‘We love to use technology removed from its usual context.’ Like these tabletop surfaces for Der Spiegel Canteen p22 .

They were laser-engraved in a process originally used in tombstone lettering. This project is a great example of how far IFG goes. ‘Love is in the detail,’ says Goldberg and flashes a bright smile.

Where does IFG begin investigating materials? And where does all this stuff come from? Sometimes it all begins with a single motif, a faint memory. Inspiration is drawn from a wealth of sources, but travel first and foremost: Peter Ippolito’s mood pictures from a holiday in Turkey showing antique colour combinations and crazy structures, for instance. Or memories of white plastic letters stuck on a black rubber board, seen in old-fashioned hotel lobbies or on the wall of Italian cocktail bars (listino prezzi).

‘A memory of long-gone work environments,’ Goldberg says. ‘Inspiration sparked and they were transformed to create an exhibition stand for new office furniture seating.’

In the end they covered whole walls in a contemporary graphical layout. Scientific texts, song lyrics and poems talking about the endless possibilities of sitting form floor-to-ceiling illustrations. A total of 54,000 letters plugged into the walls. ‘At first the stand builders wanted to chop our heads off for this idea. But it worked out incredibly well,’ recalls the designer. The year before, the Brunner p342 stand in Milan was almost the same size, but had a totally different appearance and material aesthetic. To exhibit a new, colourful plastic chair, IFG clad the walls in mirrored shingles, creating a kaleidoscope of colour with the chairs suspended somewhere up in the air.

Even in these projects the material is always part of the concept, supporting the communicative idea of the project, not used as an end in itself.

Verena Schiffl is in charge of an abundant depot of some 30,000 samples, with at least 30 to 40 new materials coming in each week. ‘But I mean this in a positive way,’ she says. Materials form the basis for almost everything.

Their use reflects stages of civilisation. Think of stone, iron or bronze – entire ages are named after particular materials and their respective stories. After the glass-andsteel pairings of modernism, it seems we are now ushering in an age of adaptive materials in things like pliable solar panels, self-repairing surfaces and transparent wood. Clients expect IFG to be cutting-edge, singular and memorable. There is never just one material on the roster, no matter how successful it has proved itself to be. Just take this carbon curtain for Walter Knoll p50 : the technology was discovered at a trade fair and was originally used for straight room dividers. However since the creation of bespoke patterns was possible, it immediately called for something more. IFG dreamt up a soft, transparent curtain for Walter Knoll’s showrooms and exhibition stands, reminiscent of traditional, heavy home drapery, but recreated as a lightweight and transparent structure with a unique pattern. ‘So many architects, textile designers and even private individuals called to find out where to order this material,’ Schiffl recalls. ‘But like so many of our experimental designs, it was used exclusively for this special client.’

Back at the depot, a treasure trove of patterns is stored that has been gleaned from almost anywhere – natural materials and finds from around the world. Right now, you can explore swaths and samples stored on hundreds of yards of shelf space – ready to be retrieved to play a role in the design process. Once a new idea arises, an almost chaotic brainstorming process is set in motion to translate imagination into materials you can actually get hold of.

Collaborating closely with various manufacturers is key here and feeds inspiration for novel approaches.

The incubator for all these experiments is the materials lab at IFG. Colleagues pull things from shelves, arrange them and create fresh interactions and relationships – some beautiful, others strange and unusual. Every project can be seen as a trial arrangement. In addition to the materials table, a showcase or, rather, a show wall (filled with innovations from various fairs) serves as a tableau of inspiration. The best combinations of materials are discovered from a distance – from the top of the staircase, for instance. ‘Sometimes you must step back,’ says Schiffl.

‘If everything is cleared away, there is not enough output.

Sometimes you need a certain level of chaos.’ Of course the materials lab also relies on classic categories: samples are filed according to classifications like manufacturer, texture, colour and subsets like textile, wood, natural stone, ceramics and metal, flooring, wall covering.

‘With the Palace of International Forums p136 in Uzbekistan at first glance it is about gigantism. We had the whitest marble, the largest Swarovski chandelier ever built and backlit Corian walls, many traditional handcraft techniques that had never been used before on such a grand scale. But it was also about tiny details. When designing a space like this, the dimensions are so big that the human scale can get lost. It was important to create details on eye-level, on a small tangible scale. So we gave every surface, even the seemingly white walls, a bespoke surface pattern.’ The walls in the main entrance hall are a fine example: a delicate, traditional, entwined gypsum decoration makes the walls almost dissolve in the afternoon light.

IFG brilliantly reflects the desire for innovative combinations born out of experimentation. Every other week a client requests more information on a certain type of material, which is unusual or misused. But design is not just about surfaces and eye candy, it breaks ground and connects people, spaces, ideas and visions. Experiments are like revving engines, ready to move beyond the status quo. Which is why there are no fixed boundaries with IFG. Colleagues from other disciplines come in regularly to present new positions; a graphic designer might talk about wall colour and interior designers might comment on font spacing. With so many people from different cultures working for IFG, a heady flux of thoughts and inspiration is always guaranteed.

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Palace of International Forums Uzbekistan, faceted wall in conference room 02 Brunner at Salone del Mobile Milan 2012, plugged letters Exhibition stand janoschka, printed textiles 04 Palace of International Forums Uzbekistan, marble floor inlay 05 Solo West entrance hall, wall relief Burkhardt Leitner constructiv exhibition stand, structural ornament

Visual essay: Materials

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Palace of International Forums Uzbekistan, marble floor inlay 08 Burkhardt Leitner constructiv exhibition stand, umbrella ceiling 09 Innocean entrance hall, ceiling installation Moments pamphlet, Ippolito Fleitz Group 11 Palace of International Forums Uzbekistan, gypsum wall surface 12 Burkhardt Leitner constructiv exhibition, printed textile façade

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IFG studio, materials powwow 14 Palace of International Forums Uzbekistan, mother-of-pearl wall 15 Casamood ceramic tiles, material study Private mansion Tashkent, marble floor inlay 17 Palace of International Forums Uzbekistan, marble floor inlay 18 Palace of International Forums Uzbekistan, mirror wall Private mansion Tashkent, backlit stucco ceiling 20 Palace of International Forums Uzbekistan, folded palladium wall Moscow shopping mall, mirror-polished lighting installation 22 Palace of International Forums Uzbekistan, upholstery detail

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Private mansion Tashkent, folded golden mirror ceiling 24 IFG studio, material experiments 25 IFG studio, material display wall Das Gerber shopping mall, upholstery detail 27 Private mansion Tashkent, furniture detail 28 Private mansion Tashkent, bathroom mosaic Private mansion Tashkent, wine storage detail 30 Belfry Tashkent, polished mirror wall ornament

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Collaboration brings great things.

together

No man is an island. We all work together, share ideas and draw our inspiration from an array of different sources. Collaboration is the touchstone of challenging projects, and it is always a great feeling to see things germinate, evolve and take on qualities you never would have expected at the outset. An impulse hits you and you get straight down to work, just like Tilla Goldberg and her team when she was asked to develop a ­set and presentation case p338 for Philippe Starck’s AXOR/ Hansgrohe bathroom fixtures. You could sense how exciting it was to respond to this bold strike by their French colleagues, who had devised a spectacular fixture design. The Goldberg ensemble created a perfect counterpart to the chrome bathroom fixture: they moulded a leather cover, tight as a second skin, e­ nabling you to actually see, feel and sense the sculptural bath­room tap tucked away inside. It is an art rarely seen nowadays, harking back to times when valuable items were ennobled by a bespoke cover. How unexpected then to see the leather cover open and a glossy tap emerge from this cocoon like a precious artefact. But yet another association looms. The leather case brings to mind a pistol holster – a very masculine object and a wonderful mode of presentation for male sales representatives, who most certainly delight in the ceremony of disclosing such a secret. And even Philippe Starck was pleased to

see his masterful design taken one step further. This is probably the secret of great collaborations of any kind – to respect the original idea, yet move beyond it.

There is always a starting point. This time it was the somewhat daunting enterprise of relaunching Russian electronics chain, Technopark p302 redefining its brand identity, corporate and store design. Since such a holistic approach requires a solid foundation, it meant analysing a highly competitive market and drafting a basic language for the company with blue as a symbol for technology, and a bold interior design that is both rational and poetic. This represented quite a dramatic shift within an embattled market. Technopark is setting new standards and priorities, shifting towards competence and putting technology first, while its competitors lag behind, still focusing on price alone and promoting red and orange as aggressive price indicators. This explains why Technopark opted for blue (which, by the way, is the complementary colour to orange). As promoters of today’s electronic lifestyle, Technopark is opening up to its customers, serving as partner rather than product seller. This shift of focus not only relocates the centre of attention onto the user, but also emotionalises the brand. Consequently, spatial clarity equals quality and an emotional tie as Technopark provides vital orientation within a heterogeneous mass of products. In the

store design, two horizontal blue lines appear against a black backdrop, alongside striking cubic furniture and ­integrated lighting as further indicators of excellence.

A few years earlier, IFG explored what it would mean to establish an identity from scratch. The commission: a dental practice in the centre of Munich. Not only did IFG create the actual space, but also its whole identity. ‘The aim was to do justice to the practice’s specialisation in aesthetic dentistry and dental surgery,’ Axel Knapp, director of communication design at IFG explains. After long discussions with the client, Dr ­Matthias Fiebiger, they came up with weissraum p322 (white space), referring not only to our modern obsession with perfect teeth, but also expressing the idea of pure, perfect healthcare. Teaming up with long-term collaborator Skalecki Marketing & Kommunikation (concept and copy-writing) and Christian Stein (programming), IFG created a suite of light-filled rooms and a welcoming ambience for the dental practice itself and the web presence.

Collaboration is at the very core of how IFG works and thinks. ‘Underlying everything is a level of trust and a joy in doing things together,’ Peter Ippolito comments.

This involves honest criticism as it does honest praise, not forgetting the strong team Fleitz and Ippolito have

built around themselves over the years. Their design is integral, ready to embrace different disciplines and techniques, regardless of where they come from.

Both in-house design and external experts are welcome to participate in the endeavour.

To work for fellow architects is a rare opportunity, and IFG seized it with both hands. The brief was to create a space for Stuttgart’s vibrant architecture scene in the so-called Wechselraum p318 (Change room), best described as a combination of meeting point and gallery for all members of the Bund Deutscher Architekten Baden-Württemberg (Association of German Architects Baden-Württemberg). As expected, the architects favoured a clear space that would be open and confident, with a highly recognisable branding. IFG devised a crystal-clear environment with a corresponding m ­ emorable brand identity including web features and print. This inter­ vention, bathed in white, also offers a minimalist frame for panel discussions, lectures and exhibitions. Visitors and members alike enter a very recognisable brand presence, further augmented by select design tools. Once before, in the early twentieth century, Stuttgart had been a hub of progressive architecture, now Wechselraum provides a platform for innovative ideas and bold initiatives in the field of contemporary architecture.

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Together

2013  

Interior architecture, brand identity, advertising, signage Partner: Skalecki Marketing & Kommunikation

  M O S COW, RU S S I A

TECHNOPARK Technopark is a Russian electrical appliance retailer that required a complete brand make-over as well as universal yet product-specific presentation elements for its broad range of electrical products. The monochromatic store design creates a technology universe that emphasises product presentation rather than store fittings. Only the store guidance elements, set against a fluorescent blue line in the ceiling, draw the eye as an omnipresent guide. This theme of a blue line of light is continued along the walls and dividing fixtures to create a strong corporate identity element.

A floating cloud of illuminated pixels in the entrance area presents a striking image to the outside.

Designated zones for coffee machines and home cinema, and a beauty salon with resident beauty advisors create fields of attraction between the accustomed store fittings. A particular focus lay on the integration and amalgamation of store, brand and communication design. All elements now speak the same visual language and give the new Technopark stores an unmistakable identity.

The concept was implemented as a pilot project on 2800 m² and over two floors in the Khimki Mega Mall in Moscow, where a bright pixel cloud hangs in the 12-m-high atrium.

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Technopark

A floating cloud of illuminated pixels in the entrance area presents a striking image to the outside, communicating the brand's competence in lifestyle and technology.

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United we stand.

Showcase

Munich, Expo Real 2008. The whole world of real estate is on display. Striking architecture, spectacular buildings, and next to them even more elaborate stratagems of exhibiting houses and building plans. Right in the middle of this window into the workings of capital you come up against something else altogether: a pure, conceptual space, a white environment with a capital ‘A'. Here A stands for Architektenkammer. It is like walking into a parallel world, with the A as a symbol for architecture revisited and what it might be like to reflect on a more sustainable environment. You enter a collage comprised of cut-outs of different projects, all linked by one striking concept: reduce, reuse, recycle – the famous three Rs that are the key principles of recycling. The Bundesarchitektenkammer p360 (Federal Chamber of Architects) wanted an exhibition stand that fully embodied the concept of sustainability. And, indeed, they got one, and it even adhered to the aforementioned guiding principles.

A sustainable environment – isn’t that what we all want?

But when it comes to putting the agenda into practice, excuses have a way of popping up, just like the arguments about postponing, because things are not going too well.

You would probably never expect an exhibition stand to be particularly sustainable. Just think of all the energy invested in the transport of its components. Yet isn’t the very idea of a fair stand to stand out, to grab attention and, well, to be new? The venerable Bundesarchitektenkammer felt the need for change and sought a stage from which to address their brethren, builders and developers alike, using a compelling concept, which needed to be unique and sustainable at once. Upon receiving this choice commission, IFG reflected on the key elements of recycling and began by reducing the amount of materials needed and reusing older exhibition stands to make a statement. Then they ventured one step further: what if the new platform were to be more courageous, more exhilarating than all the previous ones? Well, good luck with that, you might think. But IFG went ahead and devised the daring idea to collate reused elements and paint them white with various parts, however, remaining ‘deliberately visible in order to present the concept of recycling as a tangible presence,’ Gunter Fleitz explains.

What is the exhibition business all about? Well, it is about velocity and distinction, just like a speed-dating event.

There is a need to arouse curiosity and communicate a

theme within seconds. Every stand must create a lasting impression. You have to come up with a powerful punchline, a key visual, an unexpected move or just a great surface. There are no limits to the imagination, but ‘there is no good project without a good idea,’ Peter Ippolito says. This is crucial to every exhibition stand.

Nowadays, it is rare to see partnerships evolving over the years, becoming deeper and more meaningful as time goes on, be it a partnership of architects – like IFG itself – or a partnership between client and designer. One exception is the relationship between Brunner p342, an international manufacturer of contract furniture, and IFG, which has come up with numerous fair and exhibition concepts for Brunner. Over the years, Gunter Fleitz and Peter Ippolito have deepened their working relationship with Brunner, creating a whole set of emotional spaces and clear-cut environments for the Milan Furniture Fair and Orgatec. But these close mutual ties have always allowed for the freedom of finding a new expression. There is a distinct development of means and messages with Brunner, evolving into a set of individual atmospheres separated solely by black cords strung from the ceiling like dark rays of light.

A palpable sense of belonging emanates from this arrangement. No one should feel excluded, rather, you see and feel your way into differentiated spaces, which are linked but do not flow amorphously into each other. It is a feat of IFG to have created a vibrant series of subtle shifts that give shape to the company’s claim to be a dynamic, transparent enterprise.

IFG later modulated this concept into a different frame of reference – as if to illustrate the idea of a cloud.

This time, there is a certain visual simplification to see word bubbles floating over a long table containing quotes from clients and friends of Burkhardt Leitner constructiv p352, a manufacturer of modular architecture systems. Rather than simply presenting the conventional, infinite combinations of this building system, IFG opted for a change of perspective.

After all, isn’t design all about communication? Isn’t design a way to cross the abyss separating people’s minds? With IFG, a stand is not just a spatial marker for a company’s identity, but really a matter of perspective on the world and, ultimately, how everything comes together. A mission that can be resolved, a single moment of perception. United we stand.

342

Showcase

Since 2010

Exhibition design, communication design

RH E I N AU, G E RM A N Y

Brunner Founded in 1977 by Rolf Brunner, the eponymous company is a leading international provider of contract furniture. Its focus is on solutions for companies and hotels, trade fairs and congress centres, as well as on institutions in the fields of care and education.

At the Milan Salone del Mobile 2011, Brunner showed ‘twin’, a mono-bloc plastic chair designed for a new price segment. The slogan ‘See/Reflect/Act’ was taken literally: IFG created a world of reflections, blurring the boundaries between customer and manufacturer, object and subject. It felt like a thrilling funhouse cabinet of mirrors, where differences and similarities are suddenly dissolved, creating arresting sparks of attention and inspiration.

A year later, Brunner presented both the ‘hoc’ stool and the ‘plot’ modular seating system in a completely different context and ambience for the Milan Salone del Mobile 2012. IFG opted for a study in contrast and enveloped the new products in a dark sky, with images created from words. The dark atmosphere served as an ideal backdrop to the colourful seating objects, a literary landscape opening new horizons for the company. ‘Almost a poetic seating experience,’ Peter Ippolito reflects.

At Orgatec 2014, Brunner exhibited a striking graphic concept, closely connected to the exhibition design as part of an integrated brand presentation.

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A discourse on the theme of seating. 54,000 plastic letters create a powerful backdrop for the new seating landscape.

Take a closer look and the walls tell a story.

Showcase

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Identity Architects Ippolito Fleitz Group Publisher Frame Publishers Author Oliver Herwig Text Contributors Ben Nicholson (Life on the underside of a leaf) Wieland Höhne, project texts (Ippolito Fleitz Group) Richenda Gillespie, English translation and editing (Ippolito Fleitz Group)

Trade Distribution Benelux Frame Publishers Laan der Hesperiden 68 1076 DX Amsterdam the Netherlands distribution@frameweb.com frameweb.com Trade Distribution Rest of World Thames & Hudson Ltd 181A High Holborn London WC1V 7QX United Kingdom T +44 20 7845 5000 F +44 20 7845 5050

Production Carmel McNamara Graphic Design Concept Ippolito Fleitz Group Cathelijn Kruunenberg (Frame Publishers)

ISBN 978-94-92311-00-9

Graphic Design Axel Knapp, Jennifer Schäfer and Carolin Stusak (Ippolito Fleitz Group)

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy or any storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Prepress Edward de Nijs Trade Distribution USA and Canada Consortium Book Sales & Distribution, LLC. 34 Thirteenth Avenue NE, Suite 101, Minneapolis, MN 55413-1007 United States T +1 612 746 2600 T +1 800 283 3572 (orders) F +1 612 746 2606

© 2016 Frame Publishers, Amsterdam, 2016

Whilst every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, Frame Publishers does not under any circumstances accept responsibility for errors or omissions. Any mistakes or inaccuracies will be corrected in case of subsequent editions upon notification to the publisher.

Printed on acid-free paper produced from chlorine-free pulp.

TCF ∞ Printed in China 987654321

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p280 Drees & Sommer, Stuttgart Swarovski, London p218 Sigrun Woehr, Stuttgart p356 Armstrong DLW, Munich CEG H11, Shanghai p224 Bork flagship store, Moscow p230 The Tailor Shop, Moscow p116 WakuWaku Dammtor, Hamburg p268 wgv customer centre, Stuttgart p90 Apartment S, Stuttgart p164 Schorndorf Town Hall, Schorndorf

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Over the last decade, Ippolito Fleitz Group has evolved into an international design player with headquarters in Stuttgart and studios in Berlin and Shanghai. Peter Ippolito and Gunter Fleitz are Identity Architects, crafting elaborate designs, unconventional responses and often surprising solutions for their clients.

IFG has won almost every major interior design award. And in 2015, the studio became the first German interior architecture firm to be invited to join Interior Design magazine’s prestigious Hall of Fame.

Every project – from small-scale refurbishments to impressive edifices such as the Palace of International Forums Uzbekistan – is treated to the same level of energy, effort and devotion to detail. In the process of developing unique Identity Architecture for its clients, IFG transforms the most routine job into a real mission.

This monograph is the first comprehensive overview of IFG’s work of the past decade. It provides an insight into the thought processes of one of today’s most progressive interior architecture studios.

Don’t expect a stylebook, but instead a multitude of possibilities, ranging from richly hedonistic interiors to starkly minimalist spaces and subtle final touches.