Shedding New Light on Soft Architecture

APERTURE

 A crevice or rupture may be perceived as a severe imperfection in need of repair, as jagged edges and unpredictable angles often suggest sudden and undesirable friction.  Flos's 'Wall Rupture' may be the antidote for this notion.  Designer, Thierry Dreyfus instead highlights the "break" with LED lighting luring your attention and drawing you in.

 above | photography by Riaad Algarei

above | Flos "Wall Rupture' commercial installation | Designer: Thierry Dreyfus | Light Source: LED 

above | Flos "Wall Rupture' | Designer: Thierry Dreyfus | Light Source: LED 

above left | Glas Italia 'Trim' Tables

INTERTWINED

In order for living and even non-living things to be effective they must relate to one another and connect.  Ron Gilad has hit the mark with his demonstration of connecting and interrelated elements.  The 'Wall Piercings' from Flos illustrate the interaction and dynamic relationship between architecture, lighting and the latest LED technology.  With individual rings interlacing, these simple forms take on a whole new life.

above | Photomicrography by William Mark

above | Flos 'Wall Piercings' | Designer: Ron Gilad | Light Source: LED

top | Kartell 'Masters' Chair

middle | Living Divani 'Bolle' Table

bottom | Paola Lenti 'Spun' Rug

A SPROUTED CEILING

As a young boy, Marcel Wanders would stare at the ornamental molding on his bedroom ceiling and conjure up ways of creating a magical reality that may only live in dreams.  That magical reality came to fruition cleverly disguised as a lighting concept in collaboration with Flos.  The 'Skygarden' is available as an integrated recessed fixture or a bold suspension lamp.

above | Flos 'Skygarden' Recessed | Designer: Marcel Wanders | Light Source: Halogen

    top | Flos 'Skygarden' Pendant | Designer: Marcel Wanders | Light Source: Halogen

   bottom left | Moroso 'Fergana' Tables

  bottom right | Moroso 'Hello Lovely' Mirror

SOLAR LED ECLIPSE

A solar eclipse is a beautiful and rare occasion, yet it is not advisable to fixate your stare.  The carefully designed   'G-O' from Flos will delicately light your path without distracting your attention or burning your retinas. Suitable for indoor and outdoor applications. 

above | Flos 'G-O' | Designer: Jorge Herrera | Light Source: LED

 

second from top | Living Divani 'Tube' Table

 bottom | Glas Italia 'Round' Tables

                                      

MOONSHINE

The moon is magnetic; a loyal nightly backdrop for our multi-faceted lifestyles and relationships. Flos has struck a cord by introducing the USO Cove.  The soft inset glow of the Cove, applicable to the wall or ceiling, will leave you moonstruck.

above | 'Moonwalk' filmed by Bryan Smith

 Earth's moon can be generously shared by all, but wouldn't you love to have one all to yourself?

 above | 'Private Moon' by Leonid Tishkov and Boris Bendikov

above | Flos USO Cove | Designer: Flos | Light Source: LED

above | Flos USO Cove - commercial application | Designer: Flos | Light Source: LED

above | Flos USO Cove 

above left | Paola Lenti 'Zoe' Rug

above right | Paola Lenti 'Shell' Pouf

ILLUMINATE

With ingenuity, quality materials and low environmental impact Flos has introduced a brand-new approach to lighting our environments.  Flos's soft architecture demonstrates the powerful relationships between innovative technology and architecture with extraordinary possibilities.  Take the plunge and light up your world.  The future is bright.

above | 'Alternative Landscapes' photography series by Benoit Paille

By Nicolyn Alarcon

                      

A Chair for the Lair

Super villains need furniture too. In fact, the chair, the desk  or lounge chair they choose can do a lot to help assert their evil authority on minions, and intimidate  good guys (not to mention compensate for any possible shortcomings).

Evil doctor, uniform dresser and cat lover Ernst Stavro Bloefeld is one of the most memorable Bond bad guys. With wings masking his face as Bloefeld slowly pets his white Turkish angora, and a built-in swivel for dramatic effect when he decides to reveal his scared face, Moroso’s ‘Take-a-line-for-a-walk’ (in the tight leather finish) is the perfect chair to plot world domination in.

In space lightness is key, which is why the carbon fiber ‘Surface’ table by Established and Sons has the force with it, and is an obvious choice for the Death Star. With plenty of the ‘high-tech’ cred necessary for a futuristic evil space ship, it is as black as the surrounding galaxy and Darth Vader’s heart. 

A long ago, a neutral Moroso chair fell into a vat of radioactive goop in an altercation with a bent-wood Alvar Aalto piece, and came out a whole different mutation. In a bright green finish, the ‘Shadowy’ has a certain throne-like gravitas with a light funky side, not unlike The Joker’s famous sudden mood jumps. 

Modern on the outside, traditional on the inside, the ‘Dessous Chic’ table by Zanotta is the opposite of the Cardinal de Richelieu, nemesis of Dartagnan and the three Musketeers. Meaning ‘chic underthings’, it has the Cardinal’s crimson color and hidden perversion and would fit seamlessly in a Louis XIII interior.

 Just an arm in a steel glove and chintzy punk jewelry, Dr Claw remains forever hidden by a chair arm and back. A sleek update could be Flexform’s ‘Boss chair’, the arms of which would perfectly support Dr Claw’s visible limb.

Comic super villain ‘The Dictator’ portrayed by Charlie Chaplin is out to take over the world with is associates, Herr Garbage and Herr Herring. As the Dictator tries to be intimidating but often ends up clumsy, The ‘Heart Cone’ chair grand presence yet playful heart shape befitting to the character.

A despicable yet fragile Swiss villain, ‘Le Chiffre’ likes luxury and enjoys comfort. A good place to take a break and have a refreshing drink and pshitt of inhaler, the ‘Grand Tour’ by Zanotta and Maserati helps an evil mastermind relax in style.

Glas Italia’s ‘Merci Bob’ is as beautiful and uncomfortable as Narnia’s Ice Queen. It has the feeling you would get if she peered straight at you, completely stiff and see-through.

by Claire Toussaint Abbiyesuku

Artful Chairs

Art and furniture design have been closely linked for a very long time (e.g. Rietveld’s ‘Mondrian’ chair, or Dali’s ‘Mae West’ installation featuring a sofa in the shape of lips). The permeability of the two cultures goes beyond referencing each other, and has become innate.

Here are a few examples of creative cross-contamination…

 

 Maarten Baas’ ‘Plain’ collection of painted clay furniture has skinny, uneven and wobbly limbs, much like the painted bronze sculptures of Giacometti.

Ron Arad’s ‘Spring’ collection has the bright colors, rounded shapes and cartoonishness of Keith Haring’s street to gallery art.

Much like Theo Jansen’s moving sculptures, Zanotta’s ‘Reale’ table seems like it might go strolling down the beach with only the wind in its structure. 

Comic book clouds are printed in small dots on the top of Nendo’s ‘Cloud’ table, which is reminiscent of the pop-art works of Roy Lichtenstein (in a quiet Japanese sort of way). 

You can somewhat recreate the reflective nymphea-like effect of Buren’s Grand Palais installation in your living room, thanks to Nendo’s ‘Pond’ tables which even include the artist’s famous stripe (although not at 8.7cm wide).

Made of hundreds of little rings stuck together to create the shell of a piece of furniture, the pieces of the ‘Engineering Temporality’ collection by Tuomas Markunpoika Tolvanen bare a strong resemblance with the works of Tara Donovan, who covers large walls with polystyrene cups, metal rings or cut straws to impactful, organic effect.

With functionality being the only separating factor, Duchamp and Castiglioni’s ready-mades directly correlate to each other. Castiglioni assembles three pieces to create a seat, while Duchamp adds a wheel to a seat to create art.

Moroso’s ‘Muebles Amorosos’ armchair looks like it’s evolved from Sol Lewitt’s primordial soup. 

By Claire Toussaint