Newsletter 03.2010

Dear Readers

'The Essence of Things: Design and the Art of Reduction' is the name of a new exhibition at the Vitra Design Museum. In conversation with the show's curator Mathias Schwartz-Clauss, Architonic has discovered the thinking behind this wonderfully presented selection of pared-down everyday objects and design classics.

From window to glass wall. We present a number of projects whose glazing systems offer architectural transparency.

For the two forthcoming design fairs light+building in Frankfurt and the Salone del Mobile in Milan we've once again put together our super-handy Architonic Guides. You can either pick them up at the fairs themselves from all the stands listed in the guides, or download them from this newsletter.

Let yourself be inspired!

Your Architonic Team
Zurich | Milan | Berlin | Barcelona | Copenhagen | London | Miami

Rather than being a recent development in response to global economic and environmental concerns, 'The Essence of Things: Design and the Art of Reduction' suggests that the desire for a pared-down product culture is nothing new. Architonic visits the show and talks to its curator, Mathias Schwartz-Clauss.

'Simplicity does not just happen. The evolutionary trend is the other way round.' For Edward de Bono, the author who has made a career out of telling us how to think (it was he who invented the term 'lateral thinking' in 1967 with his book 'The Use of Lateral Thinking'), the further society progresses, the more complex its systems become. His manifesto-like book 'Simplicity', published in 1999, functions as a call-to-arms to rationalise the way that we imagine our world, both in terms how we think about it and the way in which shape it materially. Complex ideas can always be expressed simply, he asserts. (I'm not so sure. Sometimes tricky ideas require complex language to do them justice.)

A new exhibition at the Vitra Design Museum entitled 'The Essence of Things: Design and the Art of Reduction' suggests that, when it comes to design at least, there is and has always been a desire to do things as simply as possible. Featuring such diverse objects as Vernon Panton's 'Barboy' drinks trolley, a scale model of André Waterkeyn's 1958 'Atomium' structure for the Brussels World's Fair, an iPod Shuffle and a Maggi stock cube, the show attempts to show how the idea of reduction, be it visual, material, technical or discursive, can be identified across a number of authored and authorless designed products.

The organisational structure of the exhibition (the objects are displayed under a series of headings that include 'Compaction', 'Lightness', 'Geometry' and 'Abstraction') works to communicate the plurality of means of reductive expression in design. Naturally, given the current economic and environmental times we're living in, the idea of material simplification is an appealing one. If ever there was a need for a bit of the old Miesian 'less is more', isn't it now?

I put this to the exhibition's curator Mathias Schwartz-Clauss. 'The economic crisis and the subsequent professional and public discourse about lasting values and the longevity of certain designs was the initial reason we thought of this exhibition,' he says. 'Cheap economic solutions in terms of production and well as for the consumer.'

Mies van der Rohe's axiom of 'less is more' was, Schwartz-Clauss tells Architonic, the working title of the show. Does that mean that there's some political motivation to the exhibition? 'I don't think so,' answers the curator simply, before going on to qualify his statement. 'Here and there there are points where you could easily detect a slight political statement, but in general the subject is of such broadness, historically as well as geographically, that I could hardly say the show is making a political statement.'

In ancient times, windows would be covered with animal skins or fabrics to keep the elements at bay. It was only from the 12th century onwards that glass was used in windows. Large expanses of glazing have only been possible, however, in the industrial age, during which time the technological development of glass has been closely linked with architecture.

New materials, such as steel and reinforced concrete, and modern methods of construction, namely skeleton construction, have allowed the possibility of large areas of glazing. The classic window as simply an opening in a wall was displaced by the glass as a wall element in itself: the glass façade became the epitome of modern architecture.

Glass as a buidling material is no longer unthinkable. Modern types of glazing offer an uninterrupted view, which blur the boundaries between inside and out. Prerequisites for this architectural transparency are narrow sections and frames, whose limits are continually tested. Panes of glass measuring 3m x 6m are easy to realise these days, but their weight and how they are to be installed call for new systems. Architonic presents some innovative companies who have solid answers.

Vitrocsa is a company with headquarters in French-speaking Switzerland, whose guiding principle must be music to the ears of architects who like Modernism: 'Our window sections are derived from our passion for Californian architecture of the 1940s and equally for Modernist architecture.' In projects where Vitrosca windows have been used, it's as if the extremely elegant series of Case Study Houses have been brought back to life.

Two key events in the international design calendar are just round the corner: Light+Building, one of the most important trade fairs worldwide for lighting and building technology, gets underway in Frankfurt in a couple of weeks' time; three days later, the design fair to end all design fairs, the Salone del Mobile, opens in Milan.

Once again, we've published our (almost) indispensible Architonic Guides to both fairs, which, as your trusty, easy-to-use companions, will lead you through the exhibition jungle to where you want to be. This means you can plan your visit to the fair in advance, saving valuable time.

Architonic at Light+Building: Hall 1.1. / G30
We warmly invite you to visit us at Light+Building in Hall 1.1. / G30. Here you'll discover our stunning and innovative Concept Space III, designed by renowned architect and process designer Oskar Zieta. Drop by for a chat and let our team show you the lastest product offerings from Architonic.

Architonic at the Salone del Mobile: Corso Italia / Box 45
Our Architonic design scouts will also be scouring the Salone del Mobile for the best new products. Visit us at our stand in the Corso Italia / Box 45, by the entrance to Halls 9-11.

We look forward to seeing you.

C18 Architekten BDA

CAPD

Murphy / Jahn

Karhard Architektur + Design

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