Wallpaper* News Feed: The latest

Window shopping: a virtual tour of the world’s standout fashion boutiques

Wed, 27 Jan 2021 14:00:00 GMT

From Dolce & Gabbana’s mosaic-clad boutique in Puerto Banús, Spain, to Loewe’s first art-filled and tapestry-lined space in New York, we invite you to settle back and zoom into the standout details in these global stores. Retail design has never offered more respite.

Maison Margiela, London, UK

Photography: Henry Bourne

Seeking out some architectural retail splendour to spark a serotonin surge on your daily walk? Should you stroll around London’s Mayfair, we recommend walking past Maison Margiela’s Bruton Street flagship, which has been aesthetically overhauled by Dutch architects Studio Anne Holtrop. The design of the 190 sq m space has been influenced by the textural marking of clothing, and interior elements like columns and walls have been imprinted with the fingerprints of fabric. Creative director of the brand John Galliano was also inspired by the concept of getting dressed in haste, an ideal he holds integral to its aesthetic, and pillars appear dented or curved, as if in motion. For now, we’ll be satisfied peering through the windows of the store, and taking in its pared-back and tactility-focused design. When lockdown lifts, we’ll be dropping in in person too.

maisonmargiela.com

Dolce & Gabbana, Puerto Banús, Spain

An ode to modernist Catalan architecture, the label’s Puerto Banús boutique, in Nueva Andalucía, also offers up a tribute to the ocean. Rustic blue ceramic walls, soft furnishings created from natural rope and a floor created using trencadís – a broken mosaic technique formed from shards of glass, all evoke maritime escape, while floor to ceiling windows reveal a resplendent real time harbour view. On the first floor, a terrace houses Dolce and Gabbana’s Martini Bar – a space synonymous with the brand’s retail vision. Imagine shopping the label’s latest Siciliy-inspired wonders, before taking in the Spanish sunset upstairs, sipping on something served with a twist.

dolcegabbana.com

Loewe, Soho, New York

Picture settling into this cornflower blue Cassina 637 Utrecht armchair and surveying the art that populates Loewe’s first Manhattan space on Greene Street. In a nod to its other gallery-inspired outposts in cities including London and Tokyo, the oak, Campaspero limestone and concrete-clad space boasts a roster of pieces from the Madrid house’s covetable collection. These include three tapestries depicting photo realist scenes, created by Limoges-based master weavers in France, and conceived originally for the set design of Loewe’s S/S 2020 show, and a figurative hand-painted screen by South African artist Lisa Brice. Top marks for spotting a tea bowl by the Japanese ceramicist Takuro Kuwata and 2018 Loewe Foundation Craft Prize finalist, who creative director Jonathan Anderson collaborated with for the brand’s recent A/W 2020 womenswear show, on a series of sea anemone-like bag adornments and knobbly breastplates.

loewe.com

Homme Plissé Issey Miyake, Tokyo, Japan

For his 17th store design for Issey Miyake, Tokyo-based designer Tokujin Yoshioka was inspired by the concept of monozukuri no gemba, or ‘making things.’ The raw concrete walls of the 225sq m space house not just the label’s prismatic Homme Plissé and limited-edition COLOR collections, but also a functional pleating machine. This nods the history of Miyake’s renowned and shrouded in secrecy pleating technology. Here, two Issey Miyake engineers pleat garments – originally cut 1.5 times larger than their final size – live. The Minami-Aoyamal-located street the space is housed on is a Miyake mecca – also playing host to its Issey Miyake mainline, Pleats Please and HaaT to Reality Lab Issey Miyake stores.

isseymiyake.com

Prada, Design District, Miami , US

Peek through the white vertical blades that are clustered over Prada’s Miami boutique’s large windows, and you’ll find a sleek, chequer mosaic-clad treasure trove, dedicated to mid-century Brazilian design. The space – spanning two floors and 650 sq m – is populated with furniture pieces by Joaquim Tenreiro, Carlo Hauner and Martin Eisler, Jorge Zalszupin, José Zanine Caldas and Sérgio Rodrigues. Take a highly-coveted seat and take in the eye-catching walls of the space, which are clad in sea green bas-relief panels, featuring various 3D floral designs from the brand’s ready-to-wear collections.

prada.com

Fendi, Mayfair, London

We were such fans of the brand’s 70s-centric Dimore Studio-designed Mayfair outpost, that we awarded its seductive VIP room our ‘Best Personal Space’ gong in 2018’s Wallpaper Design Awards. The retro revivalist space nods to the designs of Paul Evans, Pierre Paulin and Gae Aulenti, and pairs contemporary with vintage furniture classics, like armchairs from the 1800s and an ‘Artona’ series dining table by Afra and Tobia Scarpa. We’ve also got a real soft spot for the boutique’s staircase, which is lined with snuggly double height mohair and velvet walls.

fendi.com

Bottega Veneta, Miami Design District, US

Imagine ascending the central dusty pink plaster spiral staircase inside the first boutique designed by creative director Daniel Lee. The calm-inducing light-filled space revels in the interplay of materials, including brass, plywood, leather, resin and reclaimed wood (Lee also favours mixed media in his accessory designs too). Fixtures in bright pops of colour, in blue, orange and green and terrazzo flooring in an array of Verde Guatemala, Bianco di Carrara, Verde Alpi and Nero Marquina marble tones bring bold juxtaposition to stark white shelving and fixtures.

bottegaveneta.com

The Row, Mayfair, London

Less retail space, more serene gallery haven, the Annabelle Selldorf-designed boutique in Mayfair’s Carlos Place is brimming with art and design treasures. Wonder at ‘Jai Signh’s Sky’, a James Turrell light piece at the entrance of the store, descend the brand’s majestic arts and crafts wooden staircase and take in pieces by John Chamberlain and Isamu Noguchi across the brand’s two floors. The boutique reflects The Row’s other calm-inducing boutiques in LA and New York, and is populated with furniture pieces sourced from Galerie Jacques Lacoste, Galerie Patrick Seguin, Galerie 54 and Oscar Graf, which, like its men’s and womenswear, are also available to buy.

therow.com

‘At home or in the office, I want to wear beautiful things again and again’

Wed, 27 Jan 2021 13:00:00 GMT

Last March, London-based Thailand-born fashion consultant Katie Ruensumran travelled back from Paris Fashion Week, as the threat of the Covid-19 pandemic began to unfold. ‘I thought, “this is going to be serious"’, she says. ‘“We’re going to have to rethink everything"’. Within a fortnight of her return, the UK entered its first lockdown. Shops, restaurants and offices shuttered, and the impact a global pandemic would have on the fashion industry in terms of employment, production and revenue became a reality.

When Ruensumran returned to her small studio in east London to pack up her things in the wake of lockdown restrictions, she encountered people in the creative industries, from pattern cutters to graphic designers who’d already lost their jobs. ‘I wanted to do something about it,’ she says. The result is The Meaning Well, a small fashion label specialising in relaxed, voluminous silhouettes made using deadstock fabrics, developed with a tiny team of a pattern cutter and a graduate fashion design student.

With her label, Ruensumran is keen to subvert the notion of a one-wear-only purchase. Her ruffled taffeta dresses, insouciant slips and slouchy shirts and blazers are designed for trend-subverting investment. ‘At home or in the office, I want to wear beautiful things again and again,’ she says. ‘The concept of seasons just isn’t working anymore.’

Utilising her industry network, Ruensumran contacted fabric manufacturers for waste fabrics she could use to create her designs. Her floral print day dresses are formed from deadstock upholstery fabrics, several of which were originally produced for hotel soft furnishings. Emphasising The Meaning Well’s focus on seasonless pieces, the brand won’t release a plethora of new silhouettes, instead reissuing designs in different rescued fabrics. Ruensumran has already connected to a Thai factory left with thousands of metres of fabric, after an enormous clothing order was cancelled. ‘We can create new things with old things,’ she says. §

Best Dining Experience: Wallpaper* Design Awards 2021

Wed, 27 Jan 2021 11:20:45 GMT

MDF Italia

Designers shaped up to a changing landscape last year, outlining new ways to stay at home in style, and in the dining room, geometric silhouettes were the order of the day. Pritzker Prize-winner Jean Nouvel’s elegantly monolithic ‘NVL’ dining table is the French architect’s second project for MDF Italia (following on from his ‘Super_Position’ bookcase) and is a harmonious lesson in contrasts, appearing both sleek, light and minimalist, while also very sturdy and strong.

‘NVL’ table, price on request, by Jean Nouvel, for MDF Italia
mdfitalia.com

Artek

A synthesis of contrasts is at the heart of Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec’s ‘Rope’ dining chair for Artek, which pairs a solid frame with flexible elements, matching up steel tubes with pliable robe armrests and backrests to invite postural creativity.

‘Rope’ chair, £495, by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, for Artek, from Twentytwentyone
artek.fi
twentytwentyone.com

Flos

Casting a seductive light over our dream dining scene is the ‘Episode 2’, Vincent Van Duysen’s update of his original ‘Infra-Structure’ lighting series for Flos. This system follows an industrial aesthetic, taking its cues from the Bauhaus and allowing for playfully twisted combinations, compositions and configurations on infinite levels.

‘Infra-Structure Episode 2’ lighting module, price on request, by Vincent Van Duysen, for Flos
flos.com

Tom Dixon

The playfulness continues at the table with Tom Dixon’s contemporary cocktail glassware, which pairs a satisfyingly thick base reminiscent of ice hockey pucks with elegant geometric forms, such as cylinders, cones and spheres. The collection creates a stylish set of consummate companions for our cocktails – Martinez (red), featuring vermouth, maraschino liqueur, angostura bitters and orange, Gin & Tonic, and Magic Number (orange), featuring pink grapefruit juice, cardamom syrup and passion fruit pulp – all crafted using Berry Bros & Rudd’s No.3 London Dry Gin. We’ll drink to that.

‘Puck’ glassware, from £65 per pair; ice bucket, £100, all by Tom Dixon
tomdixon.com

Van Cleef & Arpels’ 2021 high jewellery collection launches at Paris Couture Week

Wed, 27 Jan 2021 10:50:54 GMT

‘Unlike old romantic black and white depictions of the skies, all the recent imagery show it’s actually amazingly colourful,’ says CEO and president of Van Cleef & Arpels, Nicolas Bos. The cosmos is the inspiration for the new high jewellery collection, Sous les Etoiles, which draws galaxies, curving comets and celestial figures in brilliant precious stones. ‘If you look at those pictures with the eyes of a jeweller, you see stones,’ he adds. ‘The constellations immediately make you think of sapphires or opals, lapis lazuli, pyrite.’

Bos brings this wealth of colour to life for the new collection which returns to celestial themes a decade after Les Voyages Extraordinaires, the collection which drew its inspiration from a Jules Verne novel. The heavens have long fascinated the maison, from the chic black enamel cigarette cases of the Twenties to the romantic complication watches this century.

These new pieces bring together pyrite-flecked lapis lazuli with chalcedonies and tanzanites cast into hyponisting forms, with mauve sapphires and coral adding a heavenly pop to a bracelet. In the Saturne clip, rings of diamonds circle a half-sphere of hammered yellow gold, with threads of yellow gold under the rings bringing the piece to life. ‘Drawing is two-dimensional, the challenge for the jeweller is to use expertise to bring in a third dimension and give the feeling of movement,’ say Bos. ‘You’re working with the hardest materials that exist – it’s why they last forever – but to use these materials to create feelings of life and movement is a challenge. In this brooch, it could be a flat representation but we work on the volume and play with the reflection of the stones to bring real depth.’ §

Shop talk: new design hotspots

Wed, 27 Jan 2021 05:00:00 GMT

Tiwa Select

Photography: Justin Chung

When Alex Tieghi-Walker launched his design gallery Tiwa Select earlier this year, it was conceived as a means to discover functional works by contemporary artists, along with unusual and useful found objects and curiae for the home. Gleaned from his extensive travels both domestically and abroad, Tieghi-Walker’s evocative array of collectibles distills the offbeat, individualized beauty of handcrafted treasures that most people would only cross paths with once in a lifetime.

Amongst Tiwa Select’s recent offerings is a collaboration between the artists Vince Skelley and Megumi Arai – a limited edition series of Hinata stools. Carved by Skelley from a single piece of Oregon white oak and adorned with a quilted cushion featuring a patchwork of salvaged indigo, floral and kakishibu-dyed cotton scraps, made by Arai, this harmonious joint effort brings that warming feeling of being ‘in the sun’ (as its name prescribes) with each piece being entirely unique in shape and composition. Tiwa Select currently only exists online, but plans to reopen a physical space are set for Summer 2021.

tiwa-select.com

Casa Ahorita

Photography: Maureen M. Evans

Before moving to Mexico City, the writer-curator and poet Su Wu, together with her artist/husband Alma Allen, lived in Joshua Tree together. It’s hard to imagine where one would go after living in such an expanse of natural beauty, but Wu and Allen found a 1920s former theatre in the Roma neighbourhood, which they now call home. On the ground floor, Wu has opened a gallery/design store named Casa Ahorita – a word that is used in Mexico City to mean ‘now-ish’. ‘As I’ve experienced it, the word ’ahorita’ means the imminent not-yet present, and also crucially, the maybe never,’ explains Wu. ‘This is a word for a loose experience of time, especially for a design shop that is very much about having no idea what I’m doing, but getting to do it with very talented friends.’

Every corner of Casa Ahorita’s rustic interiors are filled with an exquisite object, be it bronze self-portrait bookends by the blind Oaxacan potter José García Antonio, anthropomorphic bean and stew pots by Alberta Sánchez Mateo, or fluffy zero waste sheepskin huaraches sandals, which are made traditionally by reusing rubber tires as their soles. Despite not currently having an online store, Wu does entertain purchase requests via Casa Ahorita’s Instagram page. Distance is no deterrent here. Orizaba 193, Mexico City, by appointment only

instagram.com/casaahorita

Banema Studio

Banema, one of the leading purveyors of wood products in Portugal, recently opened a sumptuous concept store in the heart of Lisbon. Designed in collaboration with Campos Costa Architects, the eye-catching space is both sophisticated and welcoming, with a well-heeled collection of books, fragrance, lighting and furniture, including several brands that are making their Portuguese debut for the first time. Occupying 300 sq. metres, the new Banema space is elegantly divided into two spaces; Banema Studio, where visitors can leisurely discover new objects, and Banema Lab, an ideas laboratory designed to bring together the local creative community architects, interior designers, design students and private clients through a series of gatherings and seminars.

Spread over a single floor, the space’s interior is defined by an unexpected installation of decorative panels made from green melamine and acrylic stone. In such playful environs, visitors can experience scents from Maison Marie Louie, stationery by Papelote, textiles from Slowdown Studio and best of all, collectible design objects by Portuguese icons such as Álvaro Siza Vieira and Eduardo Souto de Moura. Rua Coelho da Rocha, 27C, Lisbon. Photography by Francisco Nogueira

banemastudio.pt

Ogata

Photography: Marvin Leuvrey

Behind a sober wooden door, on a quiet back street in Paris’ Marais, lies an exquisite slice of Japan, a contemporary shrine to its design and food traditions. Occupying a 17th-century hôtel particulier, Ogata brings together the art of tea, fine cuisine and craftsmanship, as well as culture and hospitality, edited and reinterpreted by founder Shinichiro Ogata. A product and interior designer as well as restaurateur, Mr. Ogata’s design studio Simplicity has created one perfectly formed culinary destination after another in Tokyo, such as confectioner Higashiya and restaurant Yakumo Saryo, and his interior design portfolio ranges from Andaz Tokyo Toranomon Hills to stores for Aesop Japan. You might also already be familiar with Wasara, his celebrated collection of compostable tableware. Ogata, a multi-level, 800 sq. m platform for his vision and aesthetic, is his first project outside Japan.

At the project’s heart is a desire to relate Japanese culture to daily life. Beyond the entrance hall, where a monolithic stone basin is intended to purify visitors’ spirits, are three small boutiques. The most important showcases teas and tea accessories, and acknowledges the tea ceremony’s influence on the Japanese aesthetic. The adjacent space is dedicated to wagashi (Japanese sweets), and nods to the four seasons. The third space, the Atelier, carries tableware and utensils, mostly from Simplicity’s S(es) line, along with a small selection from Kimura Glass. Throughout, each item has been selected, conceived or designed by Mr Ogata. Downstairs, the sabō (tea salon) offers an opportunity to sample and admire the products in a fitting environment. 16 rue Debelleyme, Paris 3e. Writer: Minako Norimatsu

ogata.com

Form Atelier, Brooklyn

Photography: Avril Nolan

Looking for the unexpected connections between art, objects and furniture is the grounding philosophy behind Form Atelier, a Brooklyn showroom and creative consultancy founded by Quy Nguyen and Avril Nolan. Nguyen, who’s also currently the Director of Style at Ralph Lauren Home, is a seasoned antiques dealer in his own right, while Nolan brings a unique appreciation for vintage and antique pieces through her experience in the fashion industry and personal travels. The duo left their Manhattan showroom for a larger space in Brooklyn this past September, enabling them to expand their offering to include furniture for the first time.

At Form Atelier, Japanese Noh theatre masks from the 1930s are given equal reverence as Rud Radmussen oak dining chairs from the 1940s. ‘We search for antiques and objects that have influenced or informed modern art and design,’ says Nolan. ‘We also love motifs that eliminate the idea of ownership, belonging to everyone and no one at the same time. There is equal beauty to the checkerboard pattern that runs from a Moroccan hand woven Taznakht rug, to a Josef Hoffman interior, to a Jean Dunand lacquer and inlaid eggshell cigarette box.’

Some of the Atelier’s notable highlights include an Ethiopian carved wood chair by the Jimma people, originating from the first half of the 20th century, which is made without the use of joinery, glue or nails, and its extensive collection of lithograph prints of Hiroshi Sugimoto’s Seascapes series, taken between 1980-1991. An ideal design shopping stop for the individual who already seems to have everything. 349 Scholes Street, Suite 203, Brooklyn, NY

form-atelier.com

WallpaperSTORE*

It would be remiss of us not to mention our own Wallpaper* Store. Filled with all our longtime favourites, as well as the special creations that have resulted from our efforts on behalf of Wallpaper* Handmade over the years, the store is filled with design objects big and small, affordable and downright audacious, essential and indulgent. We recommend taking a wander and reacquainting yourself with something you may have spotted once upon a time.

store.wallpaper.com

Older’s Blade Runner-inspired furniture has an agenda

Tue, 26 Jan 2021 16:58:15 GMT

In 2013, Letizia Caramia and Morten Thuesen launched Older, a brand that would turn the concept of hospitality uniforms upside down. The pair, Italian and Danish respectively, who had met while working at Alexander McQueen in London, joined forces on the project to explore a new approach to fashion. ‘Older was born as a result of us having grown tired of a fashion system we believed lacked ideology, sustainability and the ability to make us dream,’ say the designers. ‘As we are both very interested in architecture, gastronomy and wine, we were thinking how we could merge these fields. The answer became uniforms.’

Their first commission came from Restaurant 108 in Copenhagen (part of the Noma group). More soon followed, and Older is now known across the industry for its asymmetric silhouettes, the quality of its materials, well-considered details such as fastenings and pockets, and a pragmatic approach to functionality. The pair work with a smart bio-cotton fabric they have developed themselves, and sustainability is a strong focus throughout the design and production processes.

From left, Older’s Letizia Caramia and Morten Thuesen in their live-work space in Milan, with Danish artist Alexander Vinther

So far, their clients include art institutions such as Copenhagen Contemporary and Tate Modern, as well as restaurants ranging from the Snøhetta-designed Under, to Massimo Bottura’s Refettorio. For Fjordenhus in Vejle, Denmark, Olafur Eliasson’s first building project, containing offices and public exhibition space, they designed not just bespoke uniforms but ‘objects to accompany the spatial experience of the building’, including textile sculptures and specially engineered napkins that roll and fold into a neat design. They cite the project as the highlight of their journey so far and the inspiration for their next chapter. ‘Through this collaboration, we were catapulted into the idea of opening up our design universe even further,’ they say.

Caramia and Thuesen have a particular passion for the political and revolutionary approach of radicals such as Superstudio and Archizoom, the postmodern simplicity and poetry of Afra and Tobia Scarpa’s pieces, Carlo Mollino’s eclectic approach to craftsmanship, and the Gesamtkunstwerk ideas of Joe and Gianni Colombo.

These influences collide in their latest project, a debut design collection, titled Wide Eye, that includes furniture and objects created in collaboration with Danish artist Alexander Vinther. As they were developing the collection, they reached out to Milanese curator Valentina Ciuffi (whose Studio Vedèt works regularly with Nilufar and is the driving force behind the Alcova group shows in Milan, among other things) to help them present the project through an exhibition and a book. ‘What convinced me is their incredible know-how of the fashion system, with a detached approach towards the fastpaced rhythm of its industry,’ says Ciuffi, ‘and their impressive architectural culture – the way they work is strongly linked to the architecture of the place; they conceive garments as wearable architecture.’

‘Wide Eye’ sofa, upholstered in green Limonta nylon, the same washable fabric used to produce Older’s uniforms

Now Caramia and Thuesen have inverted this approach, notes Ciuffi. Starting from their uniform designs, together with Vinther they have created sculptures as well as functional furniture. The human body and the way it is dressed is a factor throughout the collection: the ‘Wide Eye’ sofa, for example, is upholstered in the same textile that is used for Older’s uniforms, and the ‘Zhora’ chair wears a PVC covering inspired by a Blade Runner character. Other objects bear anatomical references, such as the discreetly phallic ‘Papi’ table.

The design duo have developed an obsession with craftsmanship. ‘All the marble artisans we work with are up-and-coming,’ they say. Tuscany-based Francesco Basini Gazzi makes all their marble pieces, while for the sofa they found a manufacturer that had previously produced Tobia Scarpa furniture.

They also recently made the move from Paris to Milan, where they live and work in a hybrid space. The apartment will serve as the backdrop for the Wide Eye collection when it is launched on 29 September, with a set designed by curator Joseph Grima featuring raw materials to let the pieces’ forms speak.

‘Zhora’ dining chairs, with steel frames and inflatable PVC upholstery

For Ciuffi, Caramia and Thuesen are a perfect representation of the young creatives who are helping shape Milan as a cultural and creative capital. But the pair also work within a distinctively European context. The collection itself is meant as a pro-European statement: its title, Wide Eye, is based on the ancient Greek etymology of the word ‘Europe’, while a nylon band that encases the sofa bears the slogan ‘Wide Eye Wake Up’, something of a mission statement. Inspired by the results of the 2019 European elections, during which many populist parties gained power, the pair ‘wanted to create furniture that had a political agenda, reclaiming a tolerant, open and united Europe’. §

Chanel’s 2021 high jewellery collection launches at Paris Couture Week

Tue, 26 Jan 2021 15:59:14 GMT

Chanel looks to materials or motifs woven throughout its history for chic and often playful high jewellery. Last year, the ubiquitous Scottish tweed was knitted in diamonds; the year before, the intricately embellished Coromandel screens which inspired Gabrielle Chanel were rethought in precious gems.

This year, it is one of Gabrielle Chanel’s favourite destinations, Venice, which becomes the focus of the Escale à Venise collection. Composed of 70 pieces and divided into four sets, it reinterprets the city’s most famous features. In the La Sérénissime set, the architecture is reflected in a diamond framework, the facades of the palace and marble floors of the churches becoming rich patterns of diamonds interlaced with a bold hue of gems.

In Gran Canale, the nautical world of the gondolas is drawn in lapis lazuli; in a play on colour, the diagonal stripes of the red and white mooring poles are drawn in red spinels and diamonds. The bold colours carry through to the Isole Della Laguna set, which looks to Gabrielle Chanel’s favourite flower for its inspiration. The camellia, its asymmetrical outline reproduced in carnelians and fire opals, makes a vivid foil for a rock crystal and yellow gold ring.

The spiritual head of the city, the lion, takes centre stage in Spirito di Venezia. It is a theme we have seen before – nodding to Gabrielle Chanel’s star sign, the lion was the focus of 2013’s high jewellery collection. Here, it is cast in profile and set with pear and shuttle-cut diamonds, grandly presiding over a necklace and bracelet. §

All aboard! Immersive design museum on a cruise ship celebrates Italian icons

Tue, 26 Jan 2021 15:00:00 GMT

Designer Adam D. Tihany has created a new look for Italian cruise ship company Costa Smeralda, and his latest project for the brand includes a museum of Italian design aboard a ship. And while we might not find ourselves aboard a cruise ship in the very near future, we can dream of our next trip with a side of design.

Tihany and his team worked closely with the Italian company as well as with a series of international designers such as David Rockwell and Rodolfo Dordoni, to bring the theme of ‘Italy’s Finest’ to life. The team selected furniture from Italian manufacturers from Poltrona Frau to Flos and Kartell, to enhance what Tihany calls the ‘Made in Italy sensibility’ of each space aboard the ship.

The design museum’s displays include icons of Italian design from Alessandro Mendini, Ettore Sottsass and Marco Zanuso, among others

Alongside the sophisticated interiors, the ships will feature the museum displays, celebrating iconic italian design. The displays feature legendary items from Italian design history, from fashion and furniture to film and transportation, with featured brands including Paola Lenti, Molteni, Moroso, Cassina, Emu, TechnoGym and more. ‘The CoDe collection is intended as a tribute to the history of Italian-made excellence, celebrating the ongoing global influence of Italian creativity. The museum exemplifies the ship’s theme, Italy’s finest, showing guests some of the most iconic moments in Italian design history,’ reads a Costa Smeralda statement.

Italian architect Matteo Vercelloni, former Professor of History of Design at Milan’s Politecnico, is curating the displays, devising a space that is an interactive ‘walkthrough’ installation to captivate visitors.

An example of Tihany’s sleek, futuristic set for the design museum aboard the Costa Smeralda cruise ship

‘Unlike any other passageway onboard, the museum’s highly contemporary stainless steel portal meets the unique design challenges of the space with a series of arches lit from the inside,’ commented Tihany. ‘As the rings of the tunnel separate, guests can veer off the pathway to explore the exhibition spaces to the right and left of the arches. Whether just passing through or lingering over the collection, the CoDe will enrich the guest experience by celebrating Italy’s Finest in design.’ §

Compact London apartment renovation draws upon Scandinavian minimalism

Tue, 26 Jan 2021 13:30:18 GMT

A touch of Scandinavian minimalism has turned this compact flat in a typical Victorian terraced house in North London into a blissful haven of simplicity. Designed by emerging architecture practice Studio Hallett Ike, the project involved the one-bedroom apartment renovation for a private owner, including an extension towards the rear.

Named ER Residence, the home now features two bedrooms and an open and bright living space at the front. The extension’s English larch cladding was charred on site by hand to create a tactile, rich textural effect. ‘Doing this, rather than painting or staining, allows the texture and grain of the larch to feel very present, and to age and patina over time,’ explain the studio founders Madeleine Ike and Jonty Hallett. This also helps the volume to feel natural and blend organically with the garden’s foliage.

Inside, neutral colours in light tones – predominantly in white and birch shades – compose a calming interior. This is enhanced by original floorboards, which were ‘retained and sanded to reveal the natural grain,’ in the manner of Scandinavian minimalism. Stained Douglas Fir is used in various areas in the house, such as the kitchen cabinets and wall panelling, becoming a recurrent feature. Terrazzo in the kitchen and bathroom adds a discreet, playful note.

‘The overarching design approach was to carry out a small number of strong but simple moves that are consistently applied, sitting at the heart of every design consideration,’ say the architects of the apartment renovation. ‘These come together to create an overall impression that is minimal and timeless, exuding an assured and understated elegance.’ §

WeTransfer wins Best Digital Platform: Wallpaper* Design Awards 2021

Tue, 26 Jan 2021 05:00:00 GMT

It didn’t take long for WeTransfer to become a cornerstone of modern creative business. The online file-sharing firm was founded in Amsterdam in 2009, just as big tranches of digital data were becoming way too unwieldy for emails and the ‘couriered hard drive’ was already as archaic as the stagecoach.

From the outset, the start-up prioritised ease of use and wasn’t afraid to put its primary revenue – ads – bold and centre stage. WeTransfer rapidly became essential, and the big visual hit of its full-screen campaigns transcended the banality of the pop-up and the banner ad. By 2014, the company was ramping up support of its creative ecosystem, with side projects including a bursary scheme for Central Saint Martins students.

These days, WeTransfer’s free ethos remains, albeit bolstered by a premium subscription service that adds functionality and a suite of helpful tools and apps for subscribers. Co-founder and chief creative officer Damian Bradfield has overseen an increased emphasis on presenting new work, with three million people clicking through to the ever-changing roster of WePresent portfolios every month.

WeTransfer’s tools, Collect, Paper and Paste (which help to create a cross between a grown-up version of Pinterest and a simplified Photoshop), are perfect for ordering the digital paper chain of inspiration that we gather as we move around the web. The company is also a vocal supporter of good causes, regularly giving its high-profile ad space over to both emerging creatives and activists, such as gun control advocates. If that’s not enough, WeTransfer cements its place as a piece of ‘curatorial infrastructure’ with an annual Ideas Report, especially useful for getting a handle on how others have dealt with the creative blocks imposed by the pandemic, for example. With 60 million users sending around 1.5 billion files a month – most probably including substantial chunks of the magazines you read and the websites you browse – WeTransfer is a vital creative backbone. §

Barozzi Veiga create contrasting monochrome apartments

Mon, 25 Jan 2021 17:39:20 GMT

Alberto Veiga and Fabrizio Barozzi of Barcelona-based architects Barozzi Veiga, have been behind internationally acclaimed work such as Tanzhaus, a dance theatre and incubator in Zurich, and Chur’s Bündner Kunstmuseum. Their style is defined by clean, almost minimalist designs with an emphasis on light, clever use of materials and a sense of calm. Now, the dynamic duo is inviting us into their newly completed homes in Barcelona, a pair of monochrome apartment interiors that appear contrasting – Veigas’ is dark and moody, while Barozzi’s appears brighter and lighter – but in reality, share common ground. The two architects have joined us to discuss their concepts, interiors work versus building architecture, their project at the Greenwich Peninsula Design District, and more.

W*: You share a professional life; did you have any influence over the design of each other’s apartment?

FB: Not really. You might notice that there is a similar working method, but they are very different projects – we both worked with our respective partners.

AV: Of course, we have been working together for more than 10 years and there is a certain natural affinity in what attracts us – certain similarities in what we like or in how we would solve a problem – but our apartments were designed independently.

W*: Could you tell me a bit more about the designs?

FB: In my case, the apartment is small but it’s well positioned, so it gets sunlight throughout the day. The goal was to emphasise the light and bring luminosity to the innermost part of the space. In parallel, we pursued the idea of a fluid, continuous, open-plan layout to maximise the sq m available.

AV: The original typology of my apartment is a very typical one here in Barcelona. It consists of a sort of elongated, fragmented plan, and my goal was to transform this into a cohesive, expressive interior. The renovation pivots on the idea of getting the most from each fragment, to create a well-defined and bright series of rooms, with specific interventions to enhance the experience of the space.

Photography: José Hevia

W*: What materials did you use?

FB: We used a subtle material palette and light grey tones to create a sense of spaciousness. All the slabs have been structurally refurbished and resin cement was used to finish the heated floor. The vertical areas are characterised by slightly textured plasters or mirrored surfaces, which reflect the sunlight brought in through floor-to-ceiling windows.

AV: We chose materials and textures that created the simplicity and comfort you need from a live/work space. The apartment’s atmosphere is defined by painted wood and a continuous micro-cement floor. Some reflective surfaces are used to symmetrically mirror the main spaces, and different light gradients and grey nuances are the results of the dark sheer curtains, which can be used to divide the main rooms.

W*: Had you designed your own space before?

FB: No, this was the first time I have designed a space for myself and my partner, Cecilia, who carried out a substantial part of the work.

AV: It’s the same for me. Maria and I developed the first phases of the project together, and then she took care of the whole construction phase.

Photography: Adrià Goula

W*: Are there any parallels in the two apartment projects?

FB: Both the apartments belong to the same district of the city – amid the classic block architecture of Eixample. Apart from that, they differ. My apartment faces the street on a chamfered corner of the block, whereas Alberto’s crosses the block, facing both the exterior and the courtyard.

AV: Both projects represent an emerging trend here in the city – the transformation of the classic Eixample residential typology to contemporary live/workspace. The two designs have practically nothing in common, but they both begin by drawing on the main features of the building – such as the structure and the disposition of holes in the façades – to obtain a flexible space, characterised by these principal architectural elements.

W*: I can see similarities in the approach, even as they appear different, almost direct opposites. How does that translate into your joint work?

FB: Both the spaces are quite neutral, with different features determined by the size and the type of plan. While working here at the office, we sometimes have divergent opinions but we always look for a certain balance between our different approaches.

AV: We often have different points of view but we always start from a shared vision, a common ground that guides us throughout all the conversations about our projects and steers our decision making.

W*: The apartment interiors feel different, but there are common themes there – would you agree?

FB: Through a series of precise and clean interventions, my apartment design seeks to resolve the different inclinations of the corner typology to create a simple, neutral space where light is the dominant element. In that sense, I agree – there is something there reminiscent of our work at the office.

AV: Our choices about the definition and materiality of the space are rooted in the objective of taking full advantage of the typology. In my case, reflective materials, continuous surfaces and homogeneous tones are responses to the aim to emphasise light and maximise the dimensions. The two apartments might have some similarities because they start from similar problems, but in the end, each design is always a new and different story.

Barozzi Veiga’s two buildings at the Greenwich Peninsula Design District

W*: Do you approach differently interiors to larger architectural work, such as the projects coming up in the Design District?

FB: I don’t think the approach is very different. There are always some common themes and a common way of proceeding in the development stage of all our projects. Each time, what makes the difference are the client and the context in which we’re working.

AV: If it’s about designing an interior, rehabilitating an existing building, or presenting a new construction, there is always the same challenge: proposing a space with the appropriate character.

W*: Speaking of the Design District, when is it completing, and what else do you have coming up?

FB: Despite all the difficulties associated with Covid-19 that have characterised the past year, our two buildings in Design District are indeed due for completion and we are looking forward to visiting the new development as soon as we can travel again. They are due to open in spring, and we’re delighted that one of the buildings will be home to Ravensbourne University’s new Institute for Creativity and Technology. We are also working on other projects in London – still confidential, I’m afraid – and we’re hoping to keep on working on more exciting commissions in this special city. In parallel, our office is currently developing cultural projects in Belgium and in the United States, as well as participating in competitions all around the world. §

Loewe celebrates the fanzines and pansies of queer artist Joe Brainard

Mon, 25 Jan 2021 15:00:00 GMT

Loewe’s Jonathan Anderson uses the silhouettes and shapes he creates for the Madrid based house, to celebrate the creatives that have inspired him. These range from ceramics pioneer Ken Price, who pushed the frontiers of form and fabrication, to artist and AIDS activist David Wojnarowicz, who was a prominent figure in the 1980s New York art scene, documenting an epidemic raging around him with his radical aesthetic output. For A/W 2021, Anderson was captivated by the work of Joe Brainard, the Tulsa-raised multi-hyphenate artist, who moved to New York in the early 1960s, and whose visual and literary work included collages and miniatures, and I Remember (1975), a form-breaking autobiography encapsulating stream of conscious memories, that flitted across time and subject matter. Brainard died from AIDS-related illness in 1994.

For Anderson, the forms Brainard experimented with were wonderfully suited to Loewe’s signatures techniques, from hand knitting to leather marquetry. Brainard’s pansy-focused collages were of particular focus in the A/W 2021 offering, which featured his delicate floral formations reimagined as tactile knits or swathed across accessories using an intricate intarsia process. In a video accompanying the collection, Anderson spoke of the ‘textural engagement’ that he had created between Brainard’s work and clothing.

Elsewhere, as a take on performance art, tent-sized trousers could be elongated to reveal Brainard artworks, small motifs from his fanzines, like cartoonish gemstones, were blown up with central focus and snippets of text from his literary works were featured as slogans on bags. Anderson was also keen to celebrate wider subcultural silhouettes, and alongside the rave-inspired tent trousers, there were punky buckle-swathed leather trousers, and hippie-centric shearling coats.

‘When Joe was a teenager his ambition was to be a fashion designer, so Jonathan Anderson using Joe’s art brings things full circle,’ says American poet and close friend of Brainard, Ron Padgett. Their friendship began in high school, and Padgett is the author of a memoir dedicated to Brainard, which was published in 2004. Also in a literary leaning, Anderson created a volume to celebrate the release of Loewe’s A/W 2021 collection. An evolution of his lauded ‘Show in a box’ S/S 2021 concept, which was created in lieu of a physical fashion show, editors received a hard cover book featuring images of Brainard’s early fanzines, wrapped up inside a harness inspired by old fashion straps for holding books.

In celebration of the collection, Loewe has also released three videos exploring Brainard’s aesthetic oeuvre, available to view through the label’s IGTV channel (and on @wallpapermag). This triptych features conversations between those who knew him best, including friends, family and fans from the worlds of art, film and literature. In the third film, available to view here, writer Paul Auster speaks to filmmaker Jim Jarmusch about Joe Brainard’s writings and the lasting impact of his groundbreaking memoir.

‘Joe Brainard’s art work and writing have a relevance not only to today’s world but to the future too, because people everywhere are delighted and encouraged by his openness, kindness, and courage, as well as the pleasure he took in sharing his work with his friends and admirers,’ Padgett explains. ‘Then there’s his artistic genius, which never goes out of style.’ §

Anna Karlin and Rafael de Cárdenas create interiors for Manhattan architecture icon

Mon, 25 Jan 2021 12:54:44 GMT

The Belnord apartment building has been one of New York City’s legendary residential buildings, ever since it was first built in 1908 on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Known for being amongst just a handful of apartment buildings in the city to span an entire block, the expansive residence has been revered as much for its classical Italian Renaissance architecture as it is for its private courtyard garden, which boasted a marble fountain and a surrounding driveway, while housing stables underneath.

After years of masterful restoration and renovation of the original Hiss and Weekes-designed building, The Belnord has unveiled a revitalised look featuring interior renovations led by Robert A.M. Stern, thanks to the developers, Westbrook Properties. A new model residence, imagined by designer Anna Karlin, along with enviable amenity spaces designed by Rafael de Cárdenas, together exemplify how effortlessly such iconic environs can be easily brought up to date.

A private dining room by Rafael de Cárdenas for the residents’ communal areas. Photography: Evan Joseph

In the breathtaking, 3,000 sq ft four-bedroom, four and a half bath model apartment, Karlin has filled the space with an individualised mix of vintage and custom-designed pieces. Working in a predominantly neutral palette of cream, wood tones and burnished metal finishes that accentuate the building’s historic pre-war features, Karlin reserved the use of more vibrant shades to bring pops of dynamism to each room.

‘The beauty of this home lies in the balance of antique and vintage to contemporary and custom. The building has its own layers of history and so too must the interior,’ Karlin reflects of her approach, which saw her infusing elements of surprise around the home. Unexpected, yet harmonious combinations, such as Afra and Tobias Scarpa dining chairs in the dining room with Karlin’s own Sketch lighting hanging above, as well as her floor-to-ceiling light sculpture, Face Light, which stands opposite a vintage sofa in the living room, all work together to pay tribute to the building’s past and present.

A bedroom in the 3,000 sq ft model apartment, designed by Anna Karlin. Photography: Adrian Gaut

This rich sensuality continues in Rafael de Cárdenas’ vision for the private residents’ lounge and dining spaces. Unexpectedly filled with cool, saturated tones, the long lounge space has been configured into several discrete seating areas that provide privacy (and social distancing) when necessary.

‘In broad strokes, the spaces are meant to feel both homey and not – welcoming yet elevated, familiar yet beautifully dressed-up. They invite a casual treatment to a more buttoned-up environment,’ says de Cárdenas. ‘There are doors that can be used to divide the lounge into two isolated spaces, facilitating social distancing, but this was all designed before we recognized the need.’

A view of The Belnord’s legendary courtyard from one of the Rafael de Cárdenas-designed amenity spaces. Photography: Evan Joseph

He continues, ‘The project as a whole, having multiple lobbies and these lounges, with direct access from the courtyard, do lend themselves to the ways we currently approach being together: small groups of people in a space that behaves with the familiarity of your home, but with less hassle.’ §

Interior design books championing shelf love

Mon, 25 Jan 2021 09:00:00 GMT

Whether you’re looking for a compendium of everyday designs, radical ideas for a more sustainable future or interior design inspiration, leaf through our edit of titles that span historic environments, contemporary experimentation and works created by the world’s most celebrated designers.

U-JOINTS – A taxonomy of connections

Following a 2018 exhibition at Fuorisalone, U-Joints – A Taxonomy of connections is a new tome exploring the world of joins, ‘from the technical to the poetic.’ Curated by Anniina Koivu and Andrea Caputo, with an extensive taxonomy of 1300 joints by Eleonora Castellarin and design by Graphic Thought Facility, the 900-page book is the most comprehensive publication on the topic. The was fully backed on Kickstarter and will become widely available in 2021. Writer: Rosa Bertoli

u-joints.com

Wasted: When Trash Becomes Treasure

Ludion, £25

‘This is a book about waste,’ says design writer and critic Katie Treggiden, whose latest effort explores the way trash can be repurposed through design. Treggiden explores a vast array of waste, from coffee grounds and denim offcuts to leftovers swept off the floor of recycling centres, and how these have become new imaginative materials through 25 case studies (pictured above, Charlotte Kidger’s tables and vessels made of polyurethane foam dust). The book forms an important tool for exploring the future of design materials and their potential. ‘Craft, design and creativity have an incredible power to bring about positive social change, and perhaps nowhere more so than when it comes to the existential threat to the environment currently facing the world’s population,’ adds the author. ‘There is hope in the solutions proposed by a new generation of optimistic designers and makers. Indeed, they are perhaps the only hope we have.’ Writer: Rosa Bertoli

katietreggiden.com

Design Commune

Abrams, $60.00

Since 2004, Roman Alonso and Steven Johanknecht of design studio Commune has developed an aesthetic firmly rooted into its Californian heritage, creating a striking visual language that has garnered cult status among contemporary interior design. This new book forms a visual archive of their projects across various creative disciplines, from private and commercial spaces, artist collaborations, products, packaging, and graphics.’The design of the book is based on the stream of consciousness process we embark on with every project, explains Johanknecht. ‘[It] has no chronology or parameters, we juxtaposed images focusing on ideas and the way we look at things. It is driven by emotion, the power and relationship between images and the diversity of the work.’ Writer: Rosa Bertoli

abramsandchronicle.co.uk

tat*

‘As an art student in the early 1980’s I stumbled across a fading newsagent in my home town of Warrington, that was clearing out its old stock. Amongst the dusty shelves were quirky musical birthday cards, tiny comics, B-movie jigsaws and cheap plastic novelties; I eagerly purchased two bags for next to nothing.’ recalls art director Andy Altman. ‘As I admired my new haul of graphic treasure strewn across the bedroom floor, my mum enquired “What are you going to do with all this rubbish?” – now I finally have an answer for her.’ His book of ‘tat’ is just that: a personal collection of images that range from the nostalgic to the intriguing, gathered over three decades and including a lot of printed ephemera, old-school typography and what Altman affectionately calls ‘graphic nonsense’. Writer: Rosa Bertoli

Design in Asia: The New Wave

Thames & Hudson, £40.00 published on 22 October

‘A dynamic array of approaches that’s shedding new light on the possibilities of furniture, product and interior design in an ever-shifting global landscape’ – this is how curator Aric Chen describes this tome of 97 furniture pieces in his forward – the pages spotlight talents mainly in their 20s-40s spanning from Korea, China and Japan to Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and India. Realised by the editor-in-chief of publication Design Anthology, Suzy Annetta, this book of discovery divided into territories, with works from the likes of Bingqi Lee from Beijing to Nikita Bhate from Sār Studio in India.

Leafing through, we get personal accounts of how these individuals became designers, but Annetta says there is a more important message to be shared here about identity. ‘In these changing and in some cases postcolonial times, many of the countries we’ve featured are still challenged by what it means to be, for example, Indonesian or Korean. The endeavours of many young designers become an opportunity for them to explore these questions through their work and how they bring materials, traditional craft techniques, colours and forms into the 21st century’. Writer: Sujata Burman

The Little Book Of Colour: How to Use the Psychology of Colour to Transform Your Life

Penguin Books, £10.99. Courtesy, Philipp Shurev/Shutterstock

A feast for the eyes as well as the mind, Karen Haller explores the power that colour has in improving your happiness, wellbeing and confidence. Her knowledge in applied colour psychology aims to guide the reader in redefining their relationship with colour. The book highlights historical ways of seeing colour, notably featuring Issac Newton’s discovery of the rainbow of light. Vibrant inside and out, the book futher intensifies the importance of colour in everyday life. Writer: Tilly Nathan

thelittlebookofcolour.com

The Iconic Interior: 1900 to the Present Day

Thames & Hudson, £24.95

Inspired by over 100 years of changing design, journalist and writer Dominic Bradbury and photographer Richard Powers have created a sophisticated tour of exceptional domestic spaces from the early 20th century to now. From Coco Chanel’s Parisian apartment to Henry Moore’s Hertfordshire estate, the tome travels different styles and movements to feed the imagination. Leaf through for remarkable craftsmanship, animated essays, unique compositions and vibrant photography. Writer: Tilly Nathan

thamesandhudsonusa.com

Pierre Yovanovitch: Interior Architecture

Rizzoli New York, £35. Photography left, Matthieu Salvaing. Right: Jose Manuel Alorda

Our 2019 Wallpaper* Designer of the Year’s oevue is full of rigour, whimsy and humour, and now we can experience this in a new tome. Drenched in Yovanovitch’s bold style, including exclusive shots of his own property in Provence – ‘this book marks an important milestone in my career.’ Delve into a theatre of the Parisian master’s work, from a remodelled mansion in Ixelles Ponds in Brussels (right) to Fabrègues castle in Provence (left), right from your sofa. Writer: Sujata Burman

rizzoliusa.com

The Design Lab: Galerie Kreo

Flammarion, £65. © The Design Lab: Galerie kreo

For the past two decades, Galerie Kreo has been dedicated to producing limited-edition contemporary pieces by design visionaries such as Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, Virgil Abloh, Hella Jongerius, Jasper Morrison, Marc Newson, and Konstantin Grcic. A showcase of its 120 exhibitions, this illustrated retrospective unravels with a narrative of its design history. Not only does the volume include an interview with the gallery’s founders, Clémence and Didier Krzentowsk, but it also includes tributes from the likes of philosopher Christian Schlatte and artist Bertrand Lavi. The Design Lab is sure to spark inspiration for experimentation in form and technique. Writer: Katie Meston

editions.flammarion.com

Liaigre Creation

Rizzoli New York, £60. Photography: Mark Seelen

This is a window into the extraordinary world created by Parisian designer Christian Liaigre, whose sophisticated aesthetic is chronicled through five key residential projects he created before his departure from the company in 2016. A Japanese house overlooking hot thermal springs; a modernist palazzo in New Delhi; a villa in St Moritz; a Parisian mansion and a Bavarian-style project in Munich (pictured) were all created in collaboration with the current creative director Frauke Meyer, who was tasked with taking the maison’s heritage into the future. Also featuring in the book is a ‘behind the scenes look into the company’s creative laboratory,’ which includes an essay by French art historian Françoise-Claire Prodhon alongside captivating photography – a small window into this incredibly rich visual universe. Writer: Rosa Bertoli

rizzoliusa.com

Junya Ishigami designs vast, undulating pavilion in Kanagawa

Mon, 25 Jan 2021 07:00:00 GMT

Created as a communal, outdoors break-out space for the Kanagawa Institute of Technology, as well as an architectural experiment around notions of versatility, the KAIT Plaza’s minimalist pavilion has just been completed. Designed by Junya Ishigami, the project follows on the architect’s previous work for the university, the Workshop building, which completed in 2008.

Addressing the question of how to create truly multi-tasking spaces, here, Ishigami explores versatility in terms of spatial experience rather than function. Seeking to create a ‘room’ for the students to sit and relax, the architect started without a prescribed function or form in mind. Instead, he tried to imagine the different ways the structure could be used.

The result is a low volume that feels closely connected to the ground, its roofline rising and falling with the terrain’s topographical curves. Inside, a bright, white interior, as crisp and cloud-like as the exterior, is equally ‘hilly’, lit by 59 square openings of varied sizes on the roof.

The floor’s ‘slopes’ and ‘valleys’ invite users to appropriate them in their own way. Students can sit on the ground to have their lunch; meet friends; take a nap; use it as a sheltered space to play sports on rainy days; set up temporary stalls during campus festivals; or display thesis projects during end-of-year shows. The interior is entirely column-free, making the undulating floor and ceiling slabs even more impressive.

The minimalist pavilion structure is protected from the elements by its extensive roof, but remains visibly open, without a wall or glass pane in sight. ‘The pavilion should express and mirror the characteristics of the existing environment, and then supplement those with architectural elements,’ explains Ishigami. §

Best Use of Material: Wallpaper* Design Awards 2021

Mon, 25 Jan 2021 05:00:00 GMT

In a quest to manufacture better, designers, established brands and start-ups alike have channelled their efforts into material research, pushing toward a more sustainable and circular way of producing furniture. These are our favourite examples.

&New

In its most responsible form, plastic is recycled and recyclable and can be moulded into stackable modular shapes. &New’s ‘Jää’ bench, designed by Jo Wilton and Mirka Gröhn, is made from 100% recycled post-consumer landfill waste.

‘Jää’ bench, £7,295, by Jo Wilton and Mirka Gröhn, for &New
andnew.co.uk

Magis

Konstantin Grcic’s monobloc chair for Magis is created out of a patented polypropylene recycled from waste produced by the automotive industry and from the company’s own factory, and its design is ideal for stacking.

‘Bell’ chair, £67, by Konstantin Grcic, for Magis
magisdesign.com

Plasticiet

Dutch studio Plasticiet’s bold claim, ‘plastic is the new gold’, is backed up with a collection of building blocks resembling natural stone or mother-of-pearl, made from plastic waste.

‘Mother of Pearl’ chair, €5,500, by Plasticiet
plasticiet.com

Studio ThusThat

Moving beyond plastic recycling, designers are exploring other alternative ways to fabricate. Studio ThusThat (a collective exploring industrial waste) has been experimenting, among other things, with overlooked copper byproducts, in particular with the impurities that get expelled during the material’s purification process. It created a strong, black geopolymer from slag with a carbon footprint that’s about 77 per cent lower than cement, and can be used to create furniture and objects.

’Sparkly Black’ chair, price on request, by Studio ThusThat
thusthat.com

Studio Ryte

Hong Kong-based Studio Ryte’s experimental flax stool uses a material that behaves like carbon fibre while being fully biodegradable. Light and stackable, it was created with modern nomads in mind. They say, ‘Faced with climate change and globalisation in the current era, the world needs new solutions to transform our current way of using resources and using products.’

‘Triplex’ stool, price on request, by Studio Ryte
studio-ryte.com

Supernovas

Taking plastic recycling one step further is Supernovas, whose recycled plastic objects and furniture (the latest created in collaboration with Odd Matter) are available on a ‘stream’ model, and can be returned at the end of its life, or swapped for alternatives.

‘Afterlife’ crate, £360, by Odd Matter, for Supernovas
supernovas.world

Inspiring education architecture around the world

Sun, 24 Jan 2021 20:00:00 GMT

The Skinners’ School, Royal Tunbridge Wells, UK

Photography: Killian O’Sullivan

Established in 1887, The Skinners’ School was founded by its namesake London livery company in response to local demand. Now, again responding to the changing demands of the area, Bell Phillips Architects has added a refined brick building that sits alongside the 19th-century schoolhouse. The expansive main stairway and the double-height library are lined with Red Grandis timber creating a warm and captivating learning environment.

bellphillips.com

Sharana Daycare Facility, Puducherry, India

Photography: Javier Callejas

Built to nurture social progress as well as promote education among disadvantaged groups in the city of Puducherry in southeast India, the Sharana Daycare Facility’s design is as holistically considered as its ethos. Designed by Anupama Kundoo Architects, it features porous terracotta screens that aid natural ventilation and filter in light. With lightweight partitions, the centre is highly adaptable and easy to maintain.

anupamakundoo.com

School by a School, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

Photography: Jordi Huisman

Designed as a series of learning clusters, School by a School is a project in the northern Netherlands. Each classroom feels connected to its neighbours. At the heart of this education building is the brickwork façade of an original structure designed in the 1920s and a timber-lined atrium. Catering for a wide age-range, the design by De Zwarte Hond and Studio Nauta emphasises transparency, connection and collaboration.

dezwartehond.nl; studionauta.com

Erdu Primary School, Deqing, China

Photography: Wu Qingshan

Spread across a vast campus of 8,864 sq m, the Erdu Primary School by architectural designers Qiu Jiayu and Paul Mok, is highly modular, with units formed of a teacher’s office and a conjoined classroom. The units are all linked by a sinuous, open circulation system. Located in Deqing, a rural town near Hangzhou, the school serves as a model for how affordable, but high-quality education spaces could be introduced to rural China to serve smaller communities.

paul-mok.com

Universidad Carolina, Saltillo, Mexico

Photography: Cesar Bejar

Encircled by walnut trees and pines, Universidad Carolina emerges from a small wooded plot. The design by Taller Arquitectónico and Roma212 with Yolanda Ceballos includes an exposed concrete structure and infill panels in a deep russet-toned brick. Celebrating its lush surroundings in Saltillo, northern Mexico, the stepped mass was arranged according to the positions of trees on onsite. The play of light through the leaves adds to the sensory pleasure of walking through arcade, which threads across the main façade.

roma212.com; tallerarquitectonico.com

David Brownlow Theatre, Berkshire, UK

Photography: Nick Dearden

Commissioned to enhance the arts curriculum at the Horris Hill School in Newbury, Jonathan Tuckey’s David Brownlow Theatre is a play in three parts: refinement, utility and sustainability. The 160-seat auditorium is clad in earthy-red wood fibre panelling and its entrance is framed by a grand, double-storey timber portico. The stripped-back interior features exposed CLT framework interspersed with beech battens of varying depths. Every part of this passively ventilated education building was considered to reduce wastage, keeping in check the project’s overall carbon footprint.

jonathantuckey.com

Natuzzi and ByBorre’s Mediterranean-inspired upholstery fabrics

Sun, 24 Jan 2021 19:00:00 GMT

Italian furniture company Natuzzi and Dutch textile specialist ByBorre have launched a new line of upholstery fabrics with a sustainable spin.

Pasquale Natuzzi Junior and Borre Akkersdijk met in Milan in 2019, and immediately became good friends. ‘This is how I usually develop my collaborations,’ says Natuzzi. ‘We started to interact, share visions and opinions, brainstorm and dream together, and we finally developed the “Water” textile collection.’

Akkersdjik, who studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York and then the Design Academy Eindhoven, founded textile innovation company ByBorre in 2010. He produces a range of sportswear, clothing and accessories, often from futuristic and innovative textiles, and has collaborated with the automotive and luxury industries.

Natuzzi has dedicated himself to the family furniture operation, most recently expanding its creative reach through designer collaborations. As the company’s chief creative and marketing officer, he has overseen projects with Fabio Novembre and Marcel Wanders, among others. This new collaboration marks a departure for the Natuzzi brand. Known for its leather upholstery: a collection of textiles feels somewhat disruptive. ‘Leather is one of the most important coverings for Natuzzi, and in a way it symbolizes our tradition and our DNA; on the other hand I believe there is a way to integrate tradition and innovation,’ he explains.

The collection is inspired by the Mediterranean sea: for Natuzzi, it was important to show Akkersdijk and his team Puglia where the company originated. ‘We travelled a lot throughout the region to discover the nature, the landscape and the architecture, so they could breathe the same air which inspires us,’ explains Natuzzi. The collection developed organically: ‘we took some 3D shots of the sky and of the sea bed in black and white. From there we started developing a graphic pattern, which is what you see on the fabric.’

The collection’s textures mimic the movement of the waves, created through a combination of traditional knitting techniques and new technologies, using a yarn that mixes high quality wool and recycled PES to create what Akkersdijk calls a textile ‘landscape’. The tactile fabrics are available in five colours (olive green, orange, blue, anthracite and light blue), and will be initially presented on three new pieces designed by Paola Navone, Marcantonio and Mauro Lipparini. An important aspect for Natuzzi was the material’s durability: ‘Borre said to me, “this fabric will be even better in 10 years’ time” which, ironically, is what happens with leather.’

The ‘Water’ collection is the first step towards what Natuzzi hopes is a long-term collaboration, integrating tradition and innovation through creative cross-pollination. §

A toile de Jouy jungle showcases Dior perfume

Sun, 24 Jan 2021 18:00:00 GMT

When Christian Dior opened his first store on 30 Avenue Montaigne in 1947, his close friend Christian Bérard advised him to decorate the small boudoir-boutique almost entirely in toile de Jouy fabric.

Bérard – an artist best known for his whimsical fashion illustrations, including for for Chanel and Schiaparelli, and the set design of the 1946 film version of Jean Cocteau’s La Belle et la Bête – worked with the designer to create an aesthetic that would become immediately recognisable as the house’s own.

Oud Ispahan is one of three Dior fragrances distinctively packaged as part of the house’s limited-edition Toile de Jouy collection

Bérard understood that the pattern, typically associated with the rococo extravagance of the 18th century, could in the contemporary context of a Parisian boutique be used to create a modern, sumptuous aesthetic that was well-suited to the newly opened couturier. As Christian Dior later wrote of Bérard’s vision, ‘it was he who advised us to hang the boutique with toile de Jouy and to scatter hat boxes bearing the name of the house everywhere, on top of wardrobes and in every corner. Beneath this semblance of disorder, he had created life.’

Since that first appearance in at Avenue Montaigne, toile de Jouy has become a familiar motif in the Dior canon, revisited over the years in collections by the likes of John Galliano, Gianfranco Ferré, and more recently Maria Grazia Chiuri, to name just a few.

An archive image of the perfume table at Dior’s 30 Avenue Montaigne boutique, where toile de Jouy was used for the décor

Yet the pattern has a particularly strong association with the house’s perfumery, as it was used to decorate the fragrance section of the boutique well into the 1950s. As a celebration of that heritage, Dior has launched the limited-edition Toile de Jouy fragrance collection, in exquisitely illustrated packaging.

The fantastical rendering of a jungle landscape teeming with lions, tigers, and monkeys among bountiful trees adorns three of the brand’s classic fragrances – Gris Dior, an olfactory expression of classic Dior’s classic grey hue; Lucky, a delicate lily-of-the-valley fragrance; and Oud Ispahan, a piquant blend of smoky wood and unusually spicy rose.

The new collection’s toile de Jouy jungle landscape, seen here as a backdrop to its Gris Dior perfume

The collection represents an original take on a classic design, much like Christian Dior’s approach to the historic fabric back in 1947, and is a fitting homage to the brand’s heritage. §

Jaeger-LeCoultre brings technical precision to guilloché dials

Sun, 24 Jan 2021 17:00:00 GMT

Decorative horology techniques can sometimes come across as a luxury add-on, a veneer of value to an otherwise ordinary watch dial. But the truth is, manual methods can produce results that programmed machines just can’t match. Guilloché – a very precise form of patterning – is one such art. This is why watchmakers such as Jaeger-LeCoultre, in Switzerland’s Vallée de Joux, are so careful to nurture experts whose particular feel for centuries-old crafts can make all the difference.

At the company’s Rare Crafts Atelier, in its HQ village of Le Sentier, up to 30 experts are collaborating at any time on a range of craft techniques, including enamelling, engraving, gem-setting and guilloché work. This last technique uses heavy, engine-turning lathes, set up to cut repetitive patterns. The skill comes in the maintenance of a perfectly regular cut, which depends on the operator having an acute feel for the material under the cutter; the regularity is achieved by making constant, almost imperceptible adjustments of pressure as the tool bites. The size and weight of the machines ensures absolute stability, and because each plate or dial has minute, unpredictable variations, the process relies on experience gleaned over years at the job. It takes almost unreal levels of concentration.

Complete accuracy is everything in cutting this dial’s sunray pattern, with the blade controlled by a ‘ligne droite’ guillochage machine from the 1920s to achieve a perfectly uniform depth for each groove

Guilloché relies on tools that have been refined over time to cut with total control and precision. They can be adjusted to the finest tolerances and react to the slightest change in force from the operator. The required combination of steadiness and sensitivity can take years to truly master

However, Murielle Romand, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s in-house – and sole – guillocheur, is nonplussed by the respect accorded to her work. ‘I find it relaxing,’she says. Romand joined Jaeger-LeCoultre in 1997 and, having previously studied micromechanics, took the decision to focus on the guilloché technique five years ago. Today she also trains an apprentice. Fine watchmakers such as Jaeger-LeCoultre are working hard to attract young people to rare artisan ateliers, lest skills such as Romand’s disappear with time.

She works between two traditional, restored machines, one of which is set up for circular cutting and the other for linear patterns. The designs emerge from a collaborative process between the watch designers, technicians and fellow craftspeople: guilloché is often overlaid with enamel, for instance, another time-consuming technique that requires master precision from all involved.

Nevertheless, Romand has responsibility for the precise size and pattern and is the ultimate designer of any guilloché pieces the house produces. The special edition ‘Hybris Artistica Ivy’ watch, for which she applied the guilloché to the dial’s micro-miniature leaves, highlights not only the level of her skill but how far the watch house will go to make use of its talent.

‘What craftspeople like Murielle achieve in a material is all about personal feel,’ says Stéphane Belmont, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s director of heritage and rare pieces. ‘We can’t get that with [an automated] machine.’ And he should know. Belmont admits that, some time ago, the house tried to automate the guilloché process for a watch design in an attempt to control enamel over-owing the dial during ring.

‘Using a machine, we could control the enamels onto the edge, but the decorative effect was flat – the surface of the dial was not shiny enough, the impressions were not good, and the light effect was poor. We noticed that the older [manually controlled] machines were better, and so we did trials and saw very different results.’ So, while the focus returned back to the craft machines, the watchmaker focused on developing a laser-cutting solution to trim the excess enamel where needed (the tolerances required to ensure water-resistance being fractions of a millimetre).

When Romand is at the wheel, Belmont says, the result is consistent: ‘Murielle’s technique means the result is the same every time – she cuts the same line three times, the pressure and speed is her own. The results are unique.’

There’s also a life in the finished dials that reflects Romand’s passion, ‘I’m happy to work on beautiful, fascinating machines. I’m proud to be the only one.’ §