Apertures by B+U. photo: Joshua White

Within the discipline of Architecture, the discussion of fields, networks, and smooth transitions has dominated the dialogue over the past 15 years. Rooted in philosophical models by Deleuze, systems theory, and parametricism, it has influenced many generations of architects. Parametricism promotes a relational ontology in which entities have no autonomous reality and are based on “continuous differentiation;” everything is connected, everything flows.

This position of an architecture rooted in dynamism and deterritoriali-zation is being opposed by a radically different approach, giving way to a contemporary design practice working with discrete figures that cannot be entirely understood through its pristine digital relations. This position is one that is obsessed with capturing qualities that would appear to be incongruous by incorporating analog features into a digital design process. The installation Apertures, designed for the SCI-Arc Gallery, is firmly positioned within this approach.

Apertures are the architectural catalysts for the installation design, being defined as objects within a larger building object that differ from its host in terms of morphology and performance. They are disruptive features to the overall building mass, but are able to interact with their environment, focusing on a symbiotic relationship between nature, building morphologies, and material expression.

Apertures have been an ongoing topic in our work, challenging the notion of an architectural opening as a static object by re-defining the DNA of a window, both in terms of its appearance and materiality, as well as its nature as an object in continuous flux, responding to its environment through movement or sound.

The 16-foot-tall, thin shell structure was designed to solely rely on its extremely thin surface (1/8”) as support, requiring no additional structural elements. Structure and surface are collapsed into a single component supported through its shape, creased surfaces and material strength only. Each one of the 172 panels is unique in terms of its shape. They are CNC milled from polyurethane foam, heat formed out of thermoplastic polymer resin, and then laminated together into a single object.

Unique to this project is the proposal of building as organism, challenging how architecture can interface with its users and its environment in a much more intuitive way. This entails both the use of technology to augment its performance and a design aesthetic that is incongruous and can incorporate analog features into a digital design process.

The project also offers a radically new design approach to sustainable design, emphasizing an Architecture in-between nature and technology that can operate as an interactive building organism where multiple discrete features operate simultaneously and independently. In this case sound is used to bridge the gap between the natural and the artificial, allowing the visitor to experience their own biorhythms.

Baumgartner+Uriu (B+U) Herwig Baumgartner and Scott Uriu, the founders of Baumgartner+Uriu (B+U), are an internationally recognized design duo operating at the forefront of contemporary design. Their design process can be described as driven by digital techniques and advanced computation that utilizes new technologies and material resources. B+U’s work consistently pushes the boundaries of architecture and urban design, experimenting with new spatial concepts, and intensifying existing urban landscapes in pursuit of a visionary aesthetic that encompasses all fields of design.

B+U recently exhibited at the FRAC Center in Orleans, France; the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France; the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles, California; and the 12th Architecture Biennale in Venice, Italy.

Two monographs have been published on Baumgartner and Uriu’s work. It has also been widely published and discussed in books, magazines and newspapers. The firm was recently awarded with the Maxine Frankel Award for design research, the AIA national award for emerging professionals and the Architizer A+Award for sustainability and the Graham Grant for advanced studies in Fine Arts. Read the rest of this entry »

Acapulco Chair 60th Anniversary Limited Edition

The Acapulco Chair is one of the most iconic chairs of the 20th Century. This year The Common project is celebrating the chair’s 60th Anniversary with a very special Limited Edition. The 60th Anniversary Edition consists of a chrome-plated frame with a translucent shell. The choice of materials evokes refinement and sophistication and brings the classic design into the 21st Century. It has been transformed from a fun patio chair into luxury indoor and outdoor seating. Only 600 chairs were produced.

The Common Project produces the authentic classic born in 1953 in Acapulco, Mexico and highlights its rich history in the world of design. The chair is also available in the 4 classic colors: black, white, mustard, and turquoise.

The 60th Anniversary Acapulco Chair is available for a limited time at The Common Project. Read the rest of this entry »

Rodwood

Celebrating 40 years of enduring partnerships and commitment to bringing the best in contemporary design to the public, Luminaire is honored to host the internationally renowned architect and designer Piero Lissoni.

The co-founder of Lissoni Associati, as well as the creative director of Living Divani, Glas Italia and Porro, Mr. Lissoni has brought forth a mastery of proportion and insightful sensibility to all his designs.

Lissoni has established himself as one of most notable names is contemporary design for his clean, industrial aesthetics while collaborating with many of the world’s most notable design companies. His approach begins from a humanistic vision which, for him, is the only one that would make sense to a true designer no matter the medium. Lissoni approaches his work with a mastery of proportion and an acute sensitivity for the subtlety that distinguishes the common from the insightful; clear lines, subtle forms and an eye for special materials surround his designs with sophisticated simplicity.

Piero Lissoni, as main interpreter of Porro design, year after year studies new eye-catching compositions of the company’s three systems – Modern day system of containers and suspended tops, Storage system of wardrobes, open wardrobes and walk-in closets and System day system of bookcases and equipped walls – and revamps the codes of esthetics for the living area and sleeping area enriching the brand’s collection with new products. Among them, some of the company’s iconic pieces, such as the Reflection Mirror, Tiller and the brand-new table Ipe, are exhibited inside Luminaire showroom.

Porro stands out for its essential and immediately identifiable language, with minimal geometries and shapes, without forgetting its unique company philosophy: simplicity above all. All Porro products are the result of a subtraction and derive from a progressive simplification process. Even the systems, which are complex in themselves, are the result of a very simple aesthetic vision, based on consistency and simplification without forgetting the highest quality.

Inspired by the pure geometry of the square, Piero Lissoni’s Modern is a diverse and versatile storage system based on the movement of the square through space. By utilizing a module that repeats itself to generate objects different in materials, colors and functional purposes, Modern becomes an adaptable and modular system. These functional aspects are combined with Lissoni’s mastery of proportion and detail, ensuring that the resulting designs – no matter the combination of elements – remains consistent and harmonious in form. From wall units to free standing storage, Modern is appropriate for every habitat.

In the designing process of mirrors, furniture, accessories, shelves, bookcases, tables and low tables, Glas Italia avails itself of the collaboration of renowned designers who – experimenting in full freedom on the technologically advanced productive plants made available by the Company – can express their creative talent, pointing out the inexhaustible potentialities of such a pure, noble and refined material as glass. Lissoni designed truly magnificent mirrors with Murano glass frame, achieved through a complex and refined hand-made production process, making each piece unique and unrepeatable.

With an attentive eye to materials, form and proportion, Piero Lissoni’s designs represent a form of modernism. His Verglas Table for Glas Italia, constructed from boxed transparent tempered glass, builds upon his trademark aesthetics. Thanks to a complex gluing and manufacturing process, the table has a visual lightness which dissolves the boundary between sculpture and furniture. The result is a table of great strength and formal purity and at the same time characterized by the great volumetric presence.

Piero Lissoni approaches his work for Living Divani with modularity and subtlety. His mastery of proportion distinguishes the common from the insightful; clear lines, subtle forms and an eye for special materials surround his designs with sophisticated simplicity. The Extrawall sofa has a distinctive, regimented style featuring a square design and prominent corners. The seats, backs and arms of sofa are innovatively dimensioned and form the elements that can be freely mixed and matched to shape and outline the product. The island-like design of the Extrawall astonishes for the many combination and covering possibilities that make it hugely adaptable and versatile, able to show its endless faces with elegance and refinement.

Piero Lissoni and Luminaire have joined forces on a new collaboration, initially started many years ago. The exhibition “1:1 PIERO LISSONI” will introduce Lissoni architectural and design language to United States, bringing a section of the Milanese studio to Chicago. Read the rest of this entry »

Social networking just got amazing with a new mobile app: Tower. Tower helps you form communities where you live, work, and play. Visit today to get more information on this amazing app or to become a beta tester.

Tower App

Tower App

Take the mundane out of your workspace with the innovative Tetra Light designed by Brooks Atwood of POD design. Inspired by the highly stylized retro-futurism of Bladerunner, this geometric neon desk lamp features a brilliant daylight-inspired glow and a dimmer function that helps to enhance any type of mood.

I think the balance between ‘craft’ and machined parts is very beautiful. It creates intrigue and mystery. I want to elevate the mundane into something magical. Traditional neon signs are everywhere. They seem to procreate like rabbits. Neon signs seem to have lost their own beauty because they are used for mundane announcements like “open” or “beer.” I love re-seeing what you take for granted all around you. Neon is so exciting because it’s mysterious and mundane at the same time. I want to take the ordinary desk light and transcend that function into one that has impact not through excess but through subtraction. It’s the ultimate minimum, the reduction to zero. Read the rest of this entry »

Body Raft

The story of New Zealand-based designer David Trubridge is that of a man discovering, experimenting, and understanding nature. David’s professional journey is linked to his ongoing relationship with the landscape as a source of energy and inspiration.

Trained as a naval architect in England, David Trubridge began his career as what he describes a “craftsman-designer-maker” submerged in the study of materials properties and capabilities. His first furniture designs borrowed from the admiration of artists like Brancusi and the Art Noveau movement – a period in his career of interpretation and translation rather than experimentation.

In 1981 David set sail around the world to finally settle in 1985 in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. The five-year experience transformed his vision as a designer; he started to focus on the concept and process behind a product rather than the final outcome. This is the story of one of his most celebrated designs, Body Raft, which borrowed from his nautical background. The rocking chaise lounge fabricated in steam-bent American ash and Australian Hoop Pine plywood was exhibited in 2001 in Milan, Italy becoming an instant success among the media and critics. Italian design powerhouse, Cappellini, licensed and began manufacturing the design, which put Trubridge on top of the international design scene. Read the rest of this entry »

Award-winning Swedish designer Jangir Maddadi unveiled his new collections for 2014. The first design is the Captain – an extremely comfortable chair with a clean and refined lines. The second design is the Grace table which comes in different diameters and two types of legs. Grace is an elegant piece that revives the legacy of Swedish traditional yacht-making.

Captain Chair

It took us two years to create something so simple – yet fascinating – when all we had to do was to sit and feel. We created Captain for people that sits down all day, in all positions: meetings that never end, hotel lobbies and coffee shops with that perfect espresso.

The curved back and high armrests relieves shoulders and arms of any strain. Its wide seat makes it easy to find a comfortable position. Or five. Captain’s main body is composed of an antibacterial surface ABS plastic. Genuine leather upholstered version available on request. Soft cushioned seating available in leather or fabric.

Natural oak legs. Steel reinforcement. Read the rest of this entry »

A cross between a vending machine, PEZ dispenser, and automated parking structure the Zipcar Dispenser inserts architecture into the implementation of high density shared automobile technologies. Conceived by Moskow Linn Architects, and touted recently by Build a Better Burb as part of their research into contemporary parking design, the core design principles of the proposal are to make Zipcars more fashionable and accessible while reclaiming urban lots along eastern seaboard communities. Read the rest of this entry »

The ‘Blindspot Initiative‘ is a group exhibition in Los Angeles, being funded via a Kickstarter campaign. The exhibition will showcase work by cutting edge interdisciplinary designers based in Los Angeles.

Backers of the campaign can attend up to 10 workshops, which are being offered by each of the participating designers. Each workshop aims to share the techniques and ideas at play in the production of the work. They include: fabrication, gaming, programming, 3D printing, data visualization and much more.

The exhibition has been conceived as an alternative means of design production to the traditional competition that designers frequently enter to develop and show new work.

The 10 exhibiting designers have come together to produce new work with a strong commitment to sharing their knowledge and production techniques, through the exhibition, catalogues and most significantly, workshops. Read the rest of this entry »

Red Dot Design Awards

For almost 60 years now, Red Dot stands for belonging to the best products from various areas of the industry. A new round is about to start for evaluating which products are ground-breaking in an international comparison and will receive the sought-after quality seal. The starting signal for the Red Dot Award: Product Design 2014 will be given on 11 November 2013 – companies and designers are encouraged to enter their current achievements.

In the Red Dot Award: Product Design 2013, designers, architects and manufacturing companies from 54 countries submitted almost 4,700 of their best products – clear proof of the international relevance of the competition. In 2014, a total of 23 product categories ranging from interior design to “Babies and children” and consumer electronics cover the entire spectrum of modern design.

To stand out from the crowd, every participant has to fascinate the international Red Dot jury with outstanding design quality and innovative solutions. In a conscientious jury session, the more than 30 experts discuss and evaluate every single product live and on site in Essen, Germany. Only the most convincing projects receive the renowned Red Dot and play in the top league of design.

Red Dot initiator and CEO Prof. Dr. Peter Zec: “The importance of a competition is defined only by its credibility. Clear criteria for granting awards, jury members with integrity as well as excellent framework conditions for product presentation are the characteristics of the Red Dot. With the great reliability that these factors ensure, our award has been uncovering design excellence in all conceivable product areas for a period of almost 60 years now.”

The laureates of the Red Dot Award: Product Design 2014 will gain the respect of the international design scene as well as the highest degree of attention for outstanding design quality: On 7 July 2014, Red Dot will officially honour the best achievements during the traditional Red Dot Gala in Essen’s opera house. Afterwards, all products will be presented in the four-week winner exhibition “Design on Stage – Winners Red Dot Award: Product Design 2014” in the Red Dot Design Museum Essen. Surrounded by the historical industrial architecture of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Zollverein, they will be put in the spotlight against an impressive backdrop.

Red Dot Award: Product Design 2014 – Dates and Facts

Early Bird: 6 December 2013
Regular: 28 January 2014
Latecomers: 5 February 2014

Jury session: February 2014
Awards ceremony: 7 July 2014
Special exhibition of the award-winning products: 8 July – 3 August 2014

Further information and registration