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Play-Tech
Whether using innovative technologies or found materials, the latest crop of
furniture from Europe shares a sense of adventure.
By Paul Makovsky
October 2003
Visit European trade shows such as the Salone Internazionale del Mobile,
in Milan; the Cologne Furniture Fair; or the Salon du Meuble and Maison
et Objets fairs, in Paris, and you will inevitably be surprised by something
new. During the past 15 years the Italian manufacturers Zanotta, Cappellini,
Magis, B&B, and Driade, among others, have developed reputations for
using technologically advanced processes and innovative materials to mass-produce
designs. Air and rotational molding are
just two examples of the advanced production techniques these manufacturers
employ; they're also experimenting with materials like polycarbonate, titanium,
and Technogel.
The innovative designs on show this year ranged from chairs by Ron Arad,
Richard Sapper, Enzo Mari, and Marc Robson, all using carbon fiber--which
is lighter and stronger than steel--to more low-tech projects, such as the
Campana brothers' Favela chair made of wood collected from Brazilian shantytowns.
Most impressive is the forward-thinking company Segis, which uses cutting-edge
industrial technologies to make high-quality chairs at competitive prices
according to sustainable practices. The company opts for energy-saving technologies
and production processes, and fully recyclable materials; reuses all packaging;
and prints most of its literature on recycled paper.
Here are just a few examples of the innovative materials and processes we
found at the trade shows this year.
FAVELA CHAIR, HUMBERTO AND FERNANDO CAMPANA
A celebration of the low-tech and the vernacular, the Campana brothers'
design for Edra is constructed from the wood used to build favelas. The
boards are glued and nailed together by hand.
www.edra.com |
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1 LINEN-CLOSET HOUSE, JURGEN BEY
Bey transforms ordinary things, such as old furniture and blankets that are
nonfunctional or simply not being used, with waterproof coating to give them a
new life outdoors. The project was a finalist in this year's Rotterdam Design
Prize.
www.designprijs.nl |
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2 BRASILIA CHAIR, ROSS LOVEGROVE
Lovegrove's lounge chair for Zanotta--inspired by Oscar Niemeyer's architectural
forms--has a hard polyurethane frame and is finished with embossed
scratch-resistant paint.
www.zanotta.it |
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3 SEGESTA CHAIR, ALFREDO HÄBERLI
Häberli's stacking armchair for Alias has a shell of composite plastic
that performs like plywood. The wide cut in the backrest offers the sitter
increased flexibility.
www.aliasdesign.it |
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4 TOKYO-POP STOOLS, TOKUJIN YOSHIOKA
Yoshioka's Tokyo-Pop indoor-outdoor stools for Driade are made from rotational-molded
plastic. The sculptural shapes look like squashed cylinders.
www.driade.com |
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5 WEER PAINT NR 03, LI EDELKOORT
Last year Edelkoort, über trend forecaster and chair of the Design Academy
Eindhoven, devised this paint series for Moooi. It's meant to be used for
revitalizing secondhand objects. Last year's strong yellow was designed to
"bring some sunshine into your life." Nr 03 was inspired by "the
heavy orange of a sweltering day ended with the racket of a thunderstorm."
www.moooi.com |
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6 606 ONE PROTOTYPE CHAIR, BARTOLI DESIGN
This prototype for Segis looks hard at first glance, but it's actually quite
soft to sit on. The new injection-molding technology produces the stiff skin
and soft interior simultaneously.
www.segis.it |
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7 FLY CHAIR, MARK ROBSON
The stackable Fly chair for Zanotta consists of a single piece of polyester
fabric stretched over a molded, clear varnished carbon-fiber frame.
www.zanotta.it |
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8 SMOKE CHAIR, MAARTEN BAAS
Baas makes his chair for Moooi by hand-burning wooden furniture and applying an
epoxy finish to create a new kind of customized object.
www.moooi.com;
www.maartenbaas.com |
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9 ROPE 04 CHAIR, PAOLA LENTI
Lenti's Rope 04 collection of furniture and flooring, which was shown in Milan
and made its North American debut at Karkula in New York this spring, is made
from a synthetic rope similar to the kind used by rock climbers. It's
nonallergenic, nontoxic, antibacterial, washable, and UV-colorfast, which makes
the furniture and carpets suitable for both indoor and outdoor use.
www.paolalenti.it;
www.karkula.com |
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All images courtesy of the manufacturers |
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