At this years DMY Berlin, Daniel Lorch presented his latest project: Split Chair. It’s a combination of traditional tube bending with the newest 3D laser-technology. The result is exactly how I like it: smart and simple.
A Stacking Hommage is a great garden version of that o so famous chair. It was designed by Dirk Winkel.
found at trendbeheer
Itay Ohaly question the function of packaging (to protect a product in transit) and came up with the Unpacking concept. He uses the packaging of the product to manufacture the product itself. The packaging of this stool is also the mold of the object. It defines and influences its form and surface. In this case the manufacturer doesn’t open the mold anymore but the consumer. As you can see in the pictures, it’s practically impossible to remove the PU foam completely. Itay also developed some vases with this unique packaging & production process. Very cool!
found at designboom
The Chippensteel 0.5 is a chair designed by Oskar Zieta. This chair is made with exactly the same production technique called FiDU as his stool Plopp. FiDU is an abbreviation for German “FreieInnenDruckUmformung” – the Internal Pressure Forming. It means that two shapes cut from steel sheets are welded around their edges and inflated into a 3d object under high pressure. I really like the simplicity of this technique and Oskar seems to push its boundaries to the limit.
The Daylight Entrance by Daniel Rybakken is all about the illusion of daylight. It’s an light installation in the entrance and staircase of an office building. Both don’t have any natural light, but these panels give you the positive sensation of sunlight. The back of the panels were hollowed by CNC-milling and then backlit with a lot of LED’s.
You might also want to have a look at his “Subconscious Effect of Daylight” sidetable.
found at yatzer
“Ventricle Vessel” is a heart shaped, glass vase, designed by Eva Milinkovic.
Who wouldn’t like to have some marble furniture? Marsotto Edizioni is a collection of 30 different products made in white carrara marble, designed by 6 designers. Each item is made using a CNC machine and finished by hand. Here are my 3 favorites from the collection.
Sultan by Konstantin Grcic
Melt by Thomas Sandell
Tilt by Thomas Sandell
At the beginning of the month, the Lifestyle & Brand Communications department of Mercedes-Benz invited a group of bloggers to Stuttgart, Germany, for a 2 day Mercedes-Benz Brand Workshop. It was quite a mixed group, from strict car blogs to fashion blogs. The design blogs were represented by NOTCOT, MoCoLoco, Lost At E Minor, Nowness, The World’s Best Ever … to just name a few.
On the first day we all met at the Mercedes-Benz Museum. We first got an introduction to the brand by their futurologist Alexander Mankowsky, he gave us a short trip through history and explained to us why Mercedes-Benz is an ambassador of European luxury.
The guided tour through the museum made is very clear what an impressive heritage the brand has. The collection is just amazing. But also the architecture by UNStudio is actually worth a visit. The obligatory wining and dining also took place at the museum and was very Mercedes-Benz like.
The first half of the second day was the highlight for me: a visit to the Mercedes-Benz Design Centre in Sindelfingen. There was a strict no phones, no cameras policy at this location, but I don’t think that we saw anything that hasn’t been published yet.
Steffen Köhl, the head of the worldwide Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design Studios, gave us a presentation on the design department and its processes. Other brands often use the names of their designers in their communication, not at Mercedes-Benz. For the designers at Mercedes-Benz there isn’t a bigger reward than to see their designs in streets, on TV or in movies.
A second presentation by Alexander Mankowsky, introduced us to sustainable mobility and what kind technical and social innovation. He actually talked about mobility devices and not about cars, but what kind of concepts Mercedes-Benz is working on, was not revealed.
Then we had a short visit to the Colour and Trim department where Martin Brehmer talked about trends in the interior design. Mercedes-Benz is a global brand which means that the Colour and Trim designers have to be familiar with certain cultural differences. Not every colour or material has the same meaning in every country.
The last stop at the Design Centre was the presentation hall P1, where a whole line of cars were lined up. Steffen Köhl presented us different E-Class models and their unique features. There were also two 1/4 clay models and 1/1 model of the new SLS AMG. A few climbed behind the steering wheel and most of them bumped their head against the gullwing doors while getting out. Speaking of an over 50 year old design flaw.
The last few cars where show cars like the F700, the Concept Blue Zero and the F800 Style. These cars aren’t only about their design but also about what’s under their hood. But I have to admit that the F800 Style is a really, really good looking car.
In the afternoon we were transferred to the Mercedes-Benz testing ground in Malmsheim. Here they had lined up a fleet of their cars for us the try out. We could test drive an E 63 AMG or an E-Class convertible, but also a Smart electric drive or a zero emission F-Cell and many others. The funny thing was, that I don’t drive cars. Indeed, I do have a drivers license but I don’t drive. I’m a front seat passenger par excellence. So I drove along with a very fancy E-Class and a demonstration of the Pre Safe Brake system.
Those were the 2 days at the Mercedes-Benz Brand Workshop. I would like to thank the whole team for this experience, every detail of those 2 days was on par with the brand itself.
During the Salone del Mobile in Milan, Tom Dixon presented his Etch collection, which was part of his Flash Factory. Visitors could buy a light or candleholder at the stand, or made of brass or stainless steel. The parts were made by employing an industrial process used to produce electronic products, including circuit boards. The patterns were directly etched on the thin metal sheets. This production technique allows the designer to produce a small bath of high-tech products in a very short time. But also the distribution model at the Flash Factory was quite interesting. The objects were offered in 3 versions: a pre-assembled one by one of the Flash Factory workers, or you could assemble it yourself at the stand and the last option was to buy a flat packed one and assemble it at home.
photo by MenthaArvensis
photo by MenthaArvensis
