Newsletter 04.2011

Dear Readers,

The Salone del Mobile and Euroluce in Milan mark the end of the spring fair marathon in what is turning out to be a very promising 2011.

In this issue of our newsletter, we've put together for you our impressions from the Milan fair.

Here are the contents in brief:

- The Milan Four: Jean Nouvel. The first of four interviews from the Salone del Mobile 2011
- Impressions from Milan: Architonic's photo galleries on Architonic@Facebook
- Clerkenwell Design Week: The second edition of this charming design festival kicks off soon
- Our insiders' tip: Belgrade Design Week
- ARCH MOSCOW: The international showcase of architects and industry

Be inspired!

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

In the first of four interviews from the 2011 Milan Salone Internazionale del Mobile with four very different figures from the creative world - an internationally celebrated architect, a grand master of Italian design, a strongly concept-led designer and a leading manufacturer - Architonic meets Jean Nouvel, Pritzker-Prize-winning architect of such projects as the Torre Agbar in Barcelona and Paris' Fondation Cartier, as well as designer of a growing body of highly considered furniture and lighting pieces.

And the award for the most star-like entrance at this year's Milan Furniture Fair goes to... Jean Nouvel.

Anyone who's visited this mother of all design events will know that fixed appointments are about as realistic as the colour of Silvio Berlusconi's hair. So vast and hectic is the Salone that rarely does anything start, or end, on time. If, indeed, it actually happens. So I wasn't too surprised on arriving at Italian manufacturer Pallucco's stand to find out that the internationally renowned French architect wasn't there yet. 'Mr Nouvel may be a while,' I was told.

When he did turn up, he arrived with an entourage and a camera man. (Naturellement.) Dressed in black, he wandered around the stand, accompanied by his assistant, casting what looked like a critical eye at the products on show. Centre stage was an installation of his new, strikingly sculptural 'Micro Telescopic' lamps, which, through their ability to be extended, engage directly with architectural space. A few small canapés and some water later, Nouvel (who turned out to be rather congenial) was ready and I sat down with him for what seemed like a very short ten minutes to discuss his new design, the specificity of creating objects as opposed to buildings, and why he hates to repeat himself.

What? You mean you weren't one of the 300,000 visitors to descend on Milan last week for the mother of all design fairs, the Salone Internazionale del Mobile? Fear not. We were there and have captured a vast amount of what was on show for your pictorial research and pleasure. Even if you were there, you might want to check our photo galleries to aid you in your post-fair professional work. With over 2,000 images, inspiration is guaranteed.

Featured manufacturers include Arper, Artek, Kartell, Ligne Roset, MDF Italia, Minotti, Moroso, Vitra and many more.

Every day our www.dailytonic.com blog brings you brief reports on the latest interesting projects in the fields of architecture, design and materials. Here you will also receive an overview of a number of exciting exhibitions, new products and projects on show at this year's Milan Design Week. Be updated!

Having received 18,000 visitors in 2010, this year's Clerkenwell Design Week, running from 24 to 26 May, once again takes place in the charming Clerkenwell district of the British capital. Not only do well-known British labels open their showrooms for the event every year, a large number of international brands do as well, showing their latest creations. The various shows are accompanied by a fringe programme of panel discussions, workshops and talks.

Participating this year, among others, are: Ahrend, Wilkhahn, Steelcase, Orangebox, Haworth, Kusch+Co, Strata Tiles, Boss, Hands, Modus, Silverline, Bene, Triumph, B-loose, Knoll, Girsberger, Brunner, Forbo, Desso, Koleksiyon, Poltrona Frau, Interstuhl, Hettich, Vitra, Moroso, Milliken, Lammhults and Bulo.

A new, very special venue will be featuring this year: the House of Detention, an underground, Victorian prison, hidden right in the heart of Clerkenwell. This unique building, normally not open to the public, will be home, during CDW, to installations by independent designers.

As media partner, we strongly recommend a visit to Clerkenwell Design Week.

What is (still) an insiders' tip among design festivals takes place from 23 to 28 May 2011

Belgrade Design Week will be taking place for the sixth time from 23 to 28 May - and Architonic will be there on your behalf. It may perhaps still be a tip for insiders, but according to Italy's "Il Sole 24 Ore" Belgrade is one of the "must sees" of 2011.
Parallel to comprehensive exhibitions by international manufacturers during Belgrade Design Week, the FUTURE² conference will feature contributions from Stefan Diez, Studio Snøhetta, Mike Miré and not least from the two founders of Architonic, Tobias Lutz and Nils Becker.
At the same time the city centre will be the setting for events under the name of "BDW DizajnPremieres" in the showrooms of international brands and temporary locations, together with workshops and master classes, the BDW DezajnLabs and the "BDW DezajnNights", an evening programme planned as an urban music festival.

As media partners and participants in the Design Week we can strongly recommend a visit, and look forward to meeting you in these fresh surroundings. Belgrade rocks!

The 16th edition of ARCH MOSCOW takes place in the Russian capital's Central House of Artists from 25 to 29 May 2011. The exhibition of exemplary architecture projects as well as over 200 architecturally and design-relevant companies attracted more than 20,000 visitors last year. Covering five areas - architecture, interior and exterior design, furniture design, lighting design and details - architects and industry present their latest offerings and products.

Alongside the theme 'Spanish Architects', ARCH MOSCOW is also focusing this year for the first time on emerging design: NEXT! is an exhibition of particularly successful graduation projects, accompanied by conferences, talks and master classes.

As media partner of ARCH MOSCOW 2011, we highly recommend a visit to this very promising event.

architekten martenson und nagel theissen

Kazunori Fujimoto Architect & Associates

Boyd Cody Architects

BNKR Arquitectura

Arjen Reas

Precision Casting from the Witch's Kitchen: the Berlin based studio Formfjord

When designers and leading industrial enterprises put their heads together, it usually gets exciting. While such a collaboration allows industry the possibility of demonstrating its special capabilities in a completely new context, its manufacturing processes, conversely, provide an unexpected treasure trove of new design solutions for creative minds. This is what happened in the collaboration between SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH Guss Gruppe and the Berlin-based design studio Formfjord.

Switched On: Benjamin Hubert

'Awards come and go,' says Benjamin Hubert. 'They're not a mark of good design, that's for sure.' You'd be forgiven for thinking that there's more than a touch of false modesty or disingenuity at work here, given the celebratory press coverage the young British designer received a couple of years ago, not to mention the numerous plaudits. But not so. In a recent interview with Architonic, Hubert reveals himself to be as pragmatic and self-aware as he is creative.

Messerückblick ISH Frankfurt 2011 - Leben im Bad

The bathroom is an environment which doesn't only adapt constantly to the changes dictated by design and fashion, but has also been revolutionised in a technical sense. For the Romans it was normal to get together in the communal 'thermae', but since then people have primly enclosed themselves in solitude in their private bathrooms, with the dressing room and dressing table located in a separate space. In the last century people's personal hygiene habits changed, thanks to the availability of hot and cold running water, while changes in social attitudes also introduced a more relaxed way of dealing with physical intimacy within the family...

Yorgo Lykouria: Industrial Poet

It's somewhat fitting, given the almost lyric quality of his name, that Canadian-born designer Yorgo Lykouria should be interested in reintroducing the poetic into everyday life. His latest product for premium bathroom brand Alape is a wash basin that eschews preconceived ideas of what such an object type should look like in favour of designing the actual experience of washing, one characterised by quietude and wonder. Meeting up with Lykouria at the recent ISH fair in Frankfurt, Architonic got its hands dirty with some serious design discussion.