Innholdsfortegnelse for July - August 2017 i Frame

You’ve done some research . . . MAYA PINDEUS: Yes. By 2020, 40 per cent of workers will be relying on temporary assignments, and 60 per cent of all jobs could be at least partially automated. These figures point to a global trend that is already disrupting human interaction within work environments that extend beyond the traditional physical office. I was inspired to develop a new language for a global workforce that operates in both the digital and the physical worlds. What’s the result? A portable workplace that integrates a virtual work environment and a physical device. Together they enable people to collaborate physically from remote locations within the human cloud. Is that realistic? Absolutely. There are multiple technologies that make this system possible and allow for mixed-reality experiences, like…

TOKYO – The Roppongi district in Tokyo is renowned for its trend-conscious spirit. A mecca for bar-hoppers and restaurant-goers seeking new concepts, it’s also a battlefield; only the fittest venues survive. Contemporary restaurants in Japan tend to fall on extreme sides of the spectrum, from elaborate and eye-catching to simple no-frills spaces. Aware that anything ordinary or commonplace won’t pull in many pedestrians, architect Ryoji Iedokoro carved an expressive two-storey interior for the Nikunotoriko restaurant. Located near Tokyo’s Midtown Tower, Nikunotoriko specializes in yakiniku (grilled meat). ‘Barbecue is primal,’ says Iedokoro. ‘It’s been served ever since our ancestors began to hunt. Here, diners can return to their roots, eating game surrounded by trees or in a cave. The experience locks in customers; they can’t resist coming back.’ Iedokoro delivers both…

AMSTERDAM – ‘People are so used to working indoors, but it’s not natural,’ says Joost Baks, one of four founding partners at Amsterdam studio Space Encounters. ‘Studies show that we work best outdoors, en plein air.’ The outfit took the theory to heart for the Amsterdam office and showroom of pushchair brand Joolz, after the latter moved from a historic canal house in the city centre to a former machine factory in up-and-coming industrial area Amsterdam Noord. The fast-growing company’s 1,600-m2 space isn’t subdivided by standard partition walls or modular screens but by a living, breathing rainforest. Workstations are offset by a trio of lush greenhouses – or ‘jungles’, as the designers call them – which double as concentration zones and meeting rooms, offering employees something, ahem, outside their daily…

CHENGDU – More than just a bookstore, the Yan Ji You flagship in Chengdu, China, sprawls over an area of 4,000 m2 and comprises nine functions under one roof, including a café, restaurant, presentation space, beauty salon, kids shop and crafts store. ‘Yan Ji You is totally different from the average bookshop,’ says Zero Wong of Kyle Chan & Associates, the design team responsible for the project. ‘But we used books as a glue to bind the various functions together.’ flagship’s space feel both public and commercial – precisely the atmosphere that Kyle Chan & Associates wanted. The whole extravaganza, which builds upon the lavish ‘book cities’ recently unveiled by the likes of X+Living (Frame 116, p. 92), pays tribute to the status of books in contemporary China. Titles are…

BERLIN – India Mahdavi’s redesign of the womenswear floor at Berlin’s KaDeWe is a sign of the department-store zeitgeist. In many Western metropolises, luxury department stores are welcoming customers into more coherently designed spaces that express a sense of place. ‘Our starting point was the geometric and graphic quality of the Bauhaus,’ says the designer. ‘This iconographic identification of Berlin takes KaDeWe out of the realm of traditional department stores and allows us to create something unique and relevant to its location. In Mahdavi’s scheme for an environment that doesn’t compete with the various brands on offer, shoppers enter the womenswear section over a path of composite-stone tiles. On either side of the walkway, fashion displays rest on vieux rose carpeting. Branding is subtly indicated above a label’s zone and…

KARIN GUSTAFSSON, creative director of Cos, first encountered Studio Swine’s work when researching for a collection. Grabbed by the design duo’s poetic film for Sea Chair, a product made from plastic salvaged from the ocean, the Swede says she was intrigued enough to task the studio with the latest in Cos’s series of highly anticipated Milan Design Week installations. And so began Studio Swine’s own research process. ‘We always design with a sense of place in mind,’ says Alexander Groves of Studio Swine. After investigating palazzos, Murano-glass chandeliers and post-war Milanese industrial design, Groves and partner Azusa Murakami paused to consider timing. ‘Knowing it would be shown in the spring and only for a week, we wanted something similar to cherry blossoms – an ephemeral moment you can share with…

WE’RE ON A HEALTH KICK that goes beyond treadmill desks in contemporary offices. The success of athleisure in recent years marks the merging of health, wellness and style, but the trend is only one proof point of a far broader shift towards personal transformation as a luxury commodity. Whereas luxury once meant the latest handbag or gold-logo-encrusted sunglasses, it is now just as likely to signify an investment in experiences that build a ‘better you’. Consumer demand is increasingly drawn to an introspective, inside-out purchasing desire; it’s less about “what I have” and more about “who I am”,’ says Anni Hood, founder of the Wellness Business Consultancy and cofounder of Well Intelligence. ‘Creating emotional connection is vital for brand sustainability in what is becoming a much more esoteric consumer environment.…

Tell us about the concept behind your design of Macaron. LUCIE KOLDOVA: It all started with the idea of X-raying a stone. Brokis makes handcrafted lighting out of glass. As the brand’s art director, I like to connect glass with other natural materials, and I felt that stone could add a precious touch to our portfolio. While searching for a technical yet aesthetic way to capture onyx between glass, I chose the shape of an iconic French biscuit: the macaron. Can you explain a bit about Macaron’s production process? The largest of the three models has a diameter of 55 cm, a challenging size for glass-blowers. Because it needs to be strong enough to hold the heavy stone, the glass has to have the same thickness and the same quality…

Consciously and unconsciously, we are influenced by the effect that light has on our surroundings. More than a catalyst and supporting element of interior design, light is a creator of atmosphere and sometimes even a conductor of human movement and activity. The number of architectural-lighting solutions that rely on technology to achieve results with a substantial impact on spatial design is remarkable. The magic word? LED. Professionals who’ve been slow in integrating LEDs into their projects are catching up quickly, because the market prognosis is clear: ‘LED lighting will emerge as the major revenue contributor in the architectural sector by 2021.’ The statement appears in ‘Global Architectural Lighting Market 2017- 2021’, a report mentioned on various websites, including marketwatch.com. Thanks to technological transitions, ‘consumers are inclined towards the product enhancements…

3 types of tiles are used: for speaker, amplifier and acoustic dampener 44 speakers form the largest individual setup 10 colour options allow for experimentation within a composition 6 is the minimum number of tiles needed for a BeoSound arrangement 8 iterations of the hexagonal prototype preceded the final design 2.3 kg is the combined weight of a speaker tile and its fabric cover…

American photographer GENE GLOVER operates a studio in Berlin, Germany. Specialized in portrait and reportage photography, Glover has contributed images to publications such as Die Zeit, Stern, Geo, Wired, Lufthansa Exclusive and Der Spiegel. For this issue, he photographed British architect David Chipperfield, who shares life lessons in the section ‘What I’ve Learned’ (see p. 44). Berlin-based writer and curator ANJA NEIDHARDT travels between countries to explore the fringes of design. She has a master’s in Design Curating and Writing from the Design Academy Eindhoven and has worked as an editor for German magazine Form, for which she continues to write. Other clients include the German Design Council, Slanted, The Weekender, Timelab, Fictional Journal and Designabilities. Turn to page 120 to read Neidhardt’s story on India Mahdavi’s redesign of the…

PANTER & TOURRON’s clever combination of innovation and practicality led to Frame’s selection of this Italian-French design duo for ‘The Challenge’. You’re not fans of crowded offices and co-working spaces . . . STEFANO PANTEROTTO: While it can be helpful to be surrounded by colleagues and friends with whom you can have a quick exchange or a moment of relaxation, we often find shared spaces difficult environments for concentrating and multitasking. Will this get worse in the future? ALEXIS TOURRON: We believe that people won’t be attached to one workplace but immersed in an ever-changing environment of different people and situations. This new way of working will create a need for eliminating noise and stress in such surroundings. Other concepts for ‘The Challenge’ suggest that we might travel mainly via…

Frame invited CLEMENT BALAVOINE to take part in ‘The Challenge’ after noting the spirit of innovation that radiates from his design and production processes. Your concept is rooted in technology and sustainability, terms not normally associated with fashion. Did you make a deliberate attempt to design something revolutionary? CLEMENT BALAVOINE: Yes and no. I love traditional techniques like embroidery, pattern-making and stitching. I hope these handicrafts will always be a part of fashion. But my goal was a concept that could eliminate the negative aspects of the current fashion industry. Tell us about your Proto-Unit. It allows the designer to prototype or produce a garment very quickly, without touching a piece of fabric or a sewing machine How does it work? The first step is to make a body scan…

HANAM – ‘New thinking, new possibilities’ is a big mantra for a single retail interior, but Suh Architects’ Hyundai Motorstudio in Starfield Hanam, a high-end megamall outside Seoul, is almost infinitely larger than its 482-m2 footprint suggests. The interior introduces Hyundai’s affordable model, the Ioniq, in one of the brand’s new experiential stores. Suffused with music, art and video installations, the carmaker’s Motorstudios began with a location in Gangnam in 2015. In designing the latest outlet, Suh reconsiders the goal and programme of a flagship store, says partner Kyungen Kim: ‘Most automobile showrooms feature cars parked in the centre flanked by salespeople armed with statistics, products and pamphlets. Motorstudio offers visitors a chance to travel.’ To facilitate the journey, the designers removed all shutters and thresholds before cladding ceilings and…

SINGAPORE – With global spending on robotics growing by 17 per cent a year, what does the age of automation mean for designers? The answer must be complex, to say the least, but Ministry of Design’s new facility for robot manufacturer PBA Singapore gives us a few hints. Called Race (Robotics Application Centre for Excellence), the space aims to further the introduction of robots into industry by providing an arena for demonstrating their potential and for educating robot engineers and ‘mid-level career-changing professionals’. The interior needed to be as flexible as the robots themselves, forming a single space but conducive to hosting several small groups, explains MOD’s Colin Seah. A ‘second skin, deconstructing the ceiling and wall planes into an array of dazzling facets’, achieves the required balance. The aluminium-tube…

AMSTERDAM – It’s not often a pop-up shop blatantly does what its name suggests, but Noman treated its design for Esprit x Opening Ceremony as if it were a pop-up book. ‘Before the site was even chosen, we were asked to make a space within a space by creating a Plexiglas box,’ says Lara Tolman of Noman. ‘Our initial plan was to have a box on the ground and cut out shapes from the material that could function as racks and tables – the way a pop-up book or card works.’ But during the process – and after seeing the final location, a spacious refurbished industrial interior bathed in natural light – Noman decided to slice things up. ‘The box we initially had in mind would have been too much…

LONDON – It’s increasingly hard to keep up with Es Devlin. As you may remember, the last time we saw the British set designer (Frame 114, p. 114) we reviewed her first solo installation. Since then she’s carried on splitting her time between the biggest names in pop music and projects for the world’s leading theatres and opera houses. One day you e-mail her to learn that she’s in Vienna preparing for an opera at Theater an der Wien; the next morning her set for Lorde at Coachella in California pops up on Instagram. Indeed, the popular photo-sharing app might be the best place (with the honourable exception of these pages) to get a handle on Devlin’s prodigious output. The only problem is that phones and tablets don’t come near…

‘SAMSUNG WANTED to communicate the theme of “unconfined design” and the mantra “no borders, no boundaries”,’ says Mike Hughes, creative director of Universal Everything. He’s standing amid dancing digital patterns projected on futuristic curved screens – distinctly Zaha Hadid – in Milan’s Zona Tortona. The two firms united – Zaha Hadid Architects delivering the physical elements and Universal Everything tackling the digital realm – to communicate the release of Samsung’s Galaxy S8 during design week. The phone’s curved silhouette, as well as the motif the brand uses to promote it – two brackets that suggest the screen’s frame – drove the look and feel of the installation. Using phones, which provided immediate interaction with the physical product upon arrival, visitors created avatars based on the motif. The characters bounced onto…

EVERYONE’S OUT to raise brand awareness at Milan Design Week – even more so when you’re in the shadows as one of the names behind the big names. Aisin manufactures automotive parts for the likes of Toyota, MINI and BMW, ‘but few people know who they are’, says Mizuki Deguchi of Tokyo-based Trunk. Her studio collaborated with young Japanese designer Satoshi Yoshiizumi of Takt Project on the installation at La Triennale di Milano. ‘A car is made of 30,000 parts, and Aisin makes nearly half of them. This year we wanted to make sure that people would know who they are by creating an auto-themed exhibition.’ Sure, it’s a logical objective. But since Aisin manufactures only parts, not stage-worthy products, the design team highlighted one aspect of what the brand…

CONTINUING THE BRAND’S expansion beyond high-end retail, Dsquared2’s headquarters in Milan saw the addition of a luxury spa and gym earlier this year. ‘It’s the latest stage of an overarching restoration of the historical Enel building,’ says Storage Associati cofounder Michele Pasini, who undertook the design for Dsquared2. ‘We’re creating a total lifestyle, moving from nutrition to health to fashion. It’s a very personal project based on what [brand founders] Dean and Dan Caten enjoy most in life. They like a nice place to have dinner with friends, so we have the restaurant on the roof. They like to look after their bodies, so we have the gym and spa. It’s all about what the Catens see as quality moments. They want to empower people to live a better life.…

IN THEIR EFFORTS to attract and retain talent, tech companies have long offered all kinds of perks – with fitness and wellness programmes frequently centre stage. At 9,300 m2, the coming Apple Park fitness centre by Foster + Partners probably wins the award for the most gargantuan facility, but Google’s new 6 St Pancras office in the King’s Cross area of London takes the biscuit for in-your-face visibility: its fitness space occupies the second floor, fronting the atrium, and can be clearly seen from the entrance and street. ‘It’s in a very public position,’ says Ceri Davies of Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM), the architecture office responsible for the fit-out of the 11-storey space. ‘This fitness space is not hidden away in the basement as corporate gyms always used to…

You’re putting misunderstood microorganisms under the microscope. Yes. ‘Bacteria’ has been a dirty word for a long time, despite the fact that less than 1 per cent of all bacteria have a harmful impact on the human body. I would like to paint a picture of a new organic world, where the cultivation and management of microbes provide many of our basic energy, health and material needs. What impact will your project have on the workplace? These developments go hand in hand with the way in which our connected, always-on world is already changing the way we work. Automation is eroding a lot of mid- and low-level jobs, but I’ve created three professions that would be immune to this threat. What are they? The first is a plumber who maintains…

COLOGNE – Supermarket interiors are invariably white and clean. Yet, as it won’t have escaped your notice, Solera is decked out in black. If Spanish design consultancy Masquespacio is to be believed, the Cologne-based project could mark the start of a new blueprint – or should we say blackprint – for retail interiors We wanted to add some colour to create emotion, without the overall design becoming childish,’ says project art director Ana Hernández. ‘Black was perfect for providing the “serious” touch and forming an interesting contrast with the scheme’s more vivid colours. A brighter colour would have led to visual disorder when combined with the wide range of packaging in the store.’ Perhaps even more surprising than the colour itself, black is closely linked to the cash-and-carry superstore’s Spanish…

NEW YORK CITY – Known for sleek, high-production-value art installations, Red Bull Arts New York launched its first exhibition as a rebranded entity earlier this year, transforming its crisp white gallery into a derelict multilevel department store. The Casual Pleasure of Disappointment, conceived by Norwegian artist and designer Bjarne Melgaard in collaboration with Babak Radboy, brought to life Melgaard’s ongoing ‘fashion’ project of the same name, a violent depiction of the negative nature of fashion and consumerism. The unisex clothing collection aggressively addressed the contemporary fashion landscape that Melgaard regards, according to Red Bull Arts’ website, as ‘a vague nothing at the intersection of a subject and an object – between inadequacy, self-deceit, victimization, ethical compromise, intellectual humiliation, financial/romantic entanglements and corporeal decay – driven by an infinite cycle of…

MONTIGNAC – In 1940 a boy and his dog discovered Lascaux, a prehistoric cave in the Dordogne decorated with Palaeolithic cave art that had been protected from the eyes of the world for nearly 20,000 years. After opening to the public in 1948, attracting flocks of eager tourists and archaeologists, and falling prey to the inevitable deterioration of the art, the site was sealed in 1963. Now this wonder of history, science and culture has been re-created from scratch with the help of scenographer Casson Mann Lascaux IV is an immersive facsimile that not only has the physical and visual features of the original cave but also brings to life the experience of its rediscovery in 1940. The complex occupies the International Cave Art Centre, which is directly above the…

‘BIG COMPANIES rarely allocate enough room for experimentation. Everything they make has to produce an immediately evident result, even though basic research – especially in industry – can lead to new developments and innovations with a big impact,’ says Sanne Schuurman, cofounder of Dutch design collective Envisions. Underpinning her words was an installation that occupied a room in Milan’s 17th-century Palazzo Clerici during Milan Design Week. The project was a collaboration between Envisions and Finsa, a Spanish manufacturer of MDF. Dozens of samples with special surface treatments and reworked wood fibre – contributed by 12 designers – formed what Schuurman refers to as a Gesamtkunstwerk. ‘We turned Finsa completely inside out, from process and technique to materials, adhesives and by-products,’ says cofounder Simone Post. ‘Our strategy enabled us to give…

WHEN CHINESE property developer Yintai asked Powerhouse Company to design a ‘ski and sports experience centre’ for its luxury shopping mall in Beijing, the Rotterdam-based architects responded with a dynamic fitness space that fuses immersive experiences with recreation and retail. The brief included fitness areas that transform into dance floors and easy access to food and beverages for consumers on the move. Powerhouse came up with a destination that speaks to the active lifestyles enjoyed by busy Beijing shoppers Known as inSports, Yintai’s fitness initiative coincided with an increased interest in the body images, style trends and designer backdrops that characterize a fashion industry in search of wider retail engagement. Healthy bodies factor into purchasing decisions made by consumers around the world, who regard active leisure as a key to…

AMONG THE REGULARS at Amsterdam’s new Vondelgym Oost are its interior designers, Tommy Kleerekoper and Sanne Schenk. ‘We believe a healthy body increases fitness and creativity,’ says Schenk, of local office Tank. ‘Tommy has a personal trainer at the gym, while I go to a morning class that combines high-intensity training with Pilates and yoga.’ Her class is a good example of a fitness trend that’s gained wide currency in recent times: the hybrid workout. But the interior of the 1,100-m2 Vondelgym Oost also illustrates another kind of hybridism, with social spaces blending into an expansive area where individual disciplines, from boxing to yoga, coexist in one open, transparent layout. Housed in a former newspaper office yet independent of The Student Hotel Amsterdam City, another occupant of the building, this…

According to lighting.philips.com, part of the Smart Retail section of the electronics company’s vast website, leading industry analyst Gartner predicts that ‘70% of new commercial buildings will have smart lighting by 2020’. The source of the forecast is Gartner’s ‘Market Guide for Smart Lighting’, which also reports that apart from saving energy, smart lighting ‘has the potential to act as enabling infrastructure for the Internet of Things’. It’s a topic that was explored at Milan Design Week, where a discussion featured Philips Lighting’s own smart system, Hue, which delivers wireless ambient LED lighting that can be personalized – Hue’s wide range of settings include shade and intensity – and operated with any smart device. Apps and devices that support the ‘connected home’ are nothing new. Popular examples are Amazon’s Alexa,…