Innholdsfortegnelse for Spring 2024 i Frame

materialbank.eu Irregular lines graduate into complex geometric forms on KYVOS’s IMPACT ACOUSTIC panelling. Carved into Archisonic – a sustainable acoustic absorption material made from upcycled plastic bottles – these patterns harmonize with nature-inspired and industrial interiors alike. Poor acoustics in extra-high rooms are no match for ECHOTORRENT® acoustic dividers. The playful, circular ECHOJAZZ designs can be positioned at individual heights within spaces that have ceilings up to 4 m, thanks to tensioning elements and connecting ropes. Acoustic protection, graphic design and sustainability come together with WOVEN IMAGE’s ECHOPANEL® EMPIRE wall coverings. Available in a wide range of colours, the panels are crafted from 12- or 24-mm EchoPanel®, which is manufactured from recycled PET bottles. Conceived with wellbeing in mind, DBCOMFORT SCURE makes it seamless for a user to adapt a…

Connection, community and the experience of togetherness are central to the Sámi people and their identity – an Indigenous group inhabiting the region of Sápmi, which encompasses large northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Kola Peninsula in Russia. Joar Nango not only seeks to build awareness of the tribe’s history, culture and ethos, but also to decolonize the built environment. ‘My point of departure in everything I do is my Sámi identity,’ he explains. ‘We don’t build monuments in landscapes, and our idea about space is a very lightweight, ephemeral one. I think that the types of values that my ancestors practised are very meaningful for us to learn from and to reintroduce to a contemporary form of architecture or design.’ Nango’s work isn’t only grounded in educating…

TRACEY As experiential retail has entered the mainstream, brands the world over have tried to jump on the bandwagon with over-the top installations, many of which can feel superficial, soulless and ultimately unengaging. What do you consider to be the key drivers behind this evolution of experiential retail? And how can retailers go deeper? Wendy, let’s start with your view as someone living and working in China, where experiential retail has really taken off. WENDY As you know, online shopping here is extremely sophisticated and convenient. Same-day deliveries and cheap return pick-ups by well-managed external courier systems create a seamless experience. What’s more, small, medium and large businesses can easily tap into the digital broadcasting world by using one of multiple live-streaming platforms to provide sales, branding and production information…

stages of activism In their reinterpretation of Gaetano Donizetti’s opera Il Diluvio Universale at Teatro Donizetti in Italy’s Bergamo (also pictured on previous spread), Riccardo Frizza, Masbedo, Mariano Furlani and 2050+ aimed to amplify the voices of today’s ‘unheard prophets’, addressing urgent issues like the climate crisis and social and political instability through the metaphor of the opera’s flood. When arriving outside the theatre, audience members encountered demonstrating high-school students dressed as climate activists and equipped with portable objects designed by 2050+. On stage during the ‘real’ show, a performative machine by 2050+ served as both an ark and a dinner table. Its industrial aesthetic aligned with the opera’s apocalyptic themes and – along with the brightly coloured costumes and digital backdrop – contrasted starkly with the classic theatre house.…

1 tell a (real) story Brands are advised to lean on storytelling to forge an emotional bond with their audience, but they should be wary of spinning a yarn. Younger generations tend to shy away from the inauthentic, and instead seek out companies that align with their identity and allow them to stay true to themselves. To effectively amplify specific emotions, brands must have a deep understanding of their audience and what will resonate with them. 2 take a leaf from nature There’s a reason the biophilic movement is still growing. Working with nature and natural elements in interiors is reported to improve clarity and creativity while decreasing stress, ultimately creating more comfortable experiences that support wellbeing. Designers of spaces for fostering relaxation and those that typically induce stress –…

Enter a warehouse or factory from the 1960s and chances are you’ll find seamless flooring underfoot. It was in this decade that industrial epoxy floors – with their long list of touted benefits including durability, cleanability and quick application – hit the ground running. But for all its practicalities, the flooring derived from petrochemicals, posing environmental and health risks. Any innovation in the sector had waned after the 1980s, and what remained was an unsustainable flooring solution. ‘This is what I wanted to change,’ says Senso founder David Bols. It was 2004, and the 24-year-old Dutchman decided to sink his small savings into an alternative. From a one-bedroom apartment above a bar in Amsterdam, Senso was born. ‘My dream was to develop a product that was both beautiful and long-lasting…

Rotterdam-based designer Dennis Vanderbroeck started his eponymous studio in 2018, drawing from his background in performance art and time at Central Saint Martins and Bureau Betak to take scenography to new heights and create meaningful spatial experiences that fit within today’s wider design agenda. Those spatial experiences are highly physical – their tactile nature, as well as the encounters happening within, playing a pivotal role. The experience of being on stage himself has gotten entangled with Vanderbroeck’s creative intuition. ‘I am obsessively fascinated by the physical presence of people in a space, how they interact with a designed space, and how that influences how they interact with each other or what’s presented,’ he says. When it comes to audience engagement, Vanderbroeck and his team take what you could call a…

cultural hub In alignment with the country’s ambitious tourism intentions and the megaproject The Line, renders of Saudi Arabia’s newest airport showcase a hyper-modern biophilic urban complex (also pictured on previous spread). The centre comprises ‘cities’, each with its own diverse microclimate stretching from the desert to the sea. Conceived by Kalbod Design Studio, NEOM City airport will function not only as a transit centre, but also as a cultural hub. The complex will include museums, galleries and exhibition spaces, attracting both locals and visitors. The transportation experience is often thought of as a liminal space between here and there – a temporal write-off deemed dull and mundane at best and stress-inducing at worst. Transforming spaces for such means into destinations involves incorporating a people-centric approach that recognizes human nature’s…

MASONPRINCE STORE LOCATION Guangzhou, China FLOOR AREA 500 m2 MAIN MATERIALS Beige travertine, metal keel, gradient glass, woven carpet, wooden flooring TECHNICAL SUPPORT Shenzhen Botoo Construction Digital brands taking to physical retail spaces need to generate a reason for their loyal online base to pay an in-store visit. This is especially true in the post-pandemic era, where people have grown accustomed to the convenience of online shopping. Digital-native fashion brand Masonprince took on that challenge, commissioning Tomo Design to dream up its first brick-and-mortar outpost in Guangzhou, China, kickstarting an ongoing collaboration (a Shanghai store opened in January 2024). The Shenzhen-based creative practice set out to create a narrative-driven spatial voyage that provides an experience that can only be had in person. ‘As new consumer groups emerge and consumption concepts…