ArchiExpo decided to check it out. We began the morning walking along historic corridors of the famous Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), visiting the design office of Gunadi Lamere Design, founded by designers Joel Lamere and Cynthia Gunadi. We interviewed them and found out about their upcoming furniture solo exhibition, continuing the success of their out...
Today his award-winning portfolio includes tables, chairs, lights, art objects and installations. While a rising profile has brought a burgeoning workload, the Montreal native still imbues his creations with a sense of handcrafted solidity and permanence. ArchiExpo caught up with Malouin for a quick chat in his Hackney-based studio. ArchiExpo: When it comes to desi...
These childhood encounters, combined with the influences of his father, José Zanine Caldas—a world-famous landscape designer, model maker, sculptor, furniture maker and self-taught architect—showed him his life and career path. With a master’s degree in industrial design behind him, Zanini de Zanine has already received 21 national and international awards and was chosen...
The apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. The Brazilian designer was raised by a designer mother who crafted objects such as jewelry or miniatures, and an engineer father who transformed apparatuses such as a wax machine into a pewter casting machine for the miniatures. This parental combo results in his 3-D-printed jewelry project made with ABS plastic by using a CG...
He turned it into a huge success and then sold his share to focus on his Compostela Project in the Philippines. This village project helps former residents of a dumpsite build sustainable lives. All information can be found in his memoirs Not for Sale! A young boy from a poor part of Worms, Germany wound up founding and running one of today’s most celebrated outdoor f...
Take a stroll in an enchanted wood a stone's throw away from Milan's Duomo. The Forest is the name of a new installation designed by the Japanese architect Kengo Kuma inside the Valextra flagship store. It takes up one of his favourite themes: bringing nature into the heart of the city. Here, 136 rough-hewn planks of Lebanon cedar (sliced tree trunks with bark but withou...
When her daughter, Angela, stepped up to take over the Missoni empire, the founder happily stepped away. But she quickly realized that retirement was not for her and returned to manage the Missoni Home collection. This was in 1997. Seventeen years later, she is over eighty years old and still running Missoni Home. She emphasizes that Missoni is not just a brand, it’s ...
We could go on for hours about how much we love the work of Studio Drift. In fact, we already have. Their phenomenal lighting creations are often soft, always inspired and sometimes ethereal. While we can’t say that we could picture their work adorning houses in the neighborhood, each piece provokes an emotional nostalgia that definitely fits the season. We decided to as...
Established in 2011, Egg Collective is a Brooklyn-based design company founded by three friends: Stephanie Beamer, Crystal Ellis and Hillary Petrie. With emphasis on local craftsmanship and sophisticated design, Egg Collective is one of the shooting stars of the American design world. They received the distinction of “Best New Designer” at ICFF in 2012 and were part of a...
Studio Drift revisits ordinary beauty, putting it out of context and reworking it. A dandelion suddenly becomes a radiant object of wonder, while a stagnant lamp becomes a changeable flower. Indeed, Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta’s creations awaken their audience, provoking strong reactions with common inspiration. After their graduation from the Design Academy Eindhove...
With thirty years of design experience under his belt, Ross Lovegrove is one of the more prominent designers of his generation. He works at the crossroads of technology, material research and organic inspiration. His products frequently take their form from nature, yet are executed using innovative technology and interesting applications of materials. We had the priv...
Walking into Piet Hein Eek‘s studio is rather like walking into a living ecosystem of art and design. Located in a disused Philips factory, the space is veritably buzzing with restaurants, shops and galleries, a hub of refreshing liveliness in Eindhoven. And the space also makes it abundantly clear that Piet Hein Eek is more than a designer. He’s a (very successful) busi...
Philippe Nigro makes fabulous designs that also feel somehow accessible. After completing studies in the Decorative Arts at La Martinière and Ecole Boulle, he became a freelance designer, working closely with renowned Italian architect and designer Michele De Lucchi until 2012. Indeed, Mr. Nigro has worked with some of the biggest names in the industry, including Ligne R...
Formed in 2011, Pelle is the design studio of Korean-American designer Jean Pelle and German designer Oliver Pelle. Their very first collection debuted at ICFF 2013 to warm reception. Currently based in Brooklyn, New York, the couple originally met at the Yale School of Architecture and both have extensive experience working in architecture. Oliver spent seven years a...
We’re not yet two months into 2014, and the Stockholm-based architecture and design firm Claesson Koivisto Rune has already presented a plethora of new projects! We caught up with them at the Stockholm Furniture Fair to have a little chat about friendship, inspiration and their design philosophy. Mårten Claesson, Eero Koivisto and Ola Rune met at university and were ...
The Brazilian architect founded Studio MK27 in 2001 and has since swept more than 50 architectural awards around the globe. The firm’s well-rounded and multidisciplinary approach certainly contributes to their success. In fact, the firm’s vast pool of knowledge extends to design, urban planning, cinema, economics, politics and art, all of which provide a clear source of ...
No one can say that Rudy Ricciotti is lacking in principle or resolve. One only has to watch an interview with him to understand the extent of his character. The Algerian-born architect studied engineering in Geneva before returning to his Mediterranean roots to study architecture in Marseille and investing himself in the region. As an ardent defender of local traditions...
Keeping one foot firmly planted in the future while respecting the past, MAD Architects seeks to create works of individual expression while being mindful of community needs. Indeed, “tension” perhaps best describes the firm’s futuristic designs. Headed by Ma Yansong, the firm’s founder, and principal architects, Qun Dong and Yosuke Hayano, MAD Architects flawlessly inte...
We loved 2013! We got to travel the world and meet amazing talents that are producing contemporary design icons. What could be better? Out of the many faces and plethora of fantastic designs, three particular characters left their mark in our memories. RON GILAD Perhaps unsurprisingly, Israeli designer Ron Gilad left his impression on us. Wallpaper Magazine and Elle...
Born in Kurdistan and based in Sweden, Jangir Maddadi creates objects that flawlessly marry function and form. He formed the Jangir Maddadi Design Bureau in 2008 and has since been producing consistently sleek and modern designs that manage a wink of fun. All of his designs are 100% made in Sweden, and Maddadi ensures that his products are manufactured by the best of the...
Ionna Vautrin has everything of the pure French designer. She’s part of this upcoming generation of designers that are no longer focused on the future and able to acknowledge their origins. She proudly claims her French heritage, a culture tangling between engineering and art. These two notions perfectly sum up her distinguished Bicnic lamp. A small lamp designed for Fos...
American designer Jason Rens takes familiar objects and makes them new again. How? By using unexpected forms and shapes to construct objects with a vague resemblance to things that we recognize as a useful. His Rason Jens collection is populated with geometric, structured objects that could perhaps be practical but perhaps not. The use isn’t always quite clear, which som...
Our latest e-magazine is out! Don’t miss our interview with Jakob Lange of Bjark Ingels Group! Not yet forty years-old, Bjarke Ingels is a certified starchitect. Known for his innovative projects frequently flout architectural conventions, Bjarke has gathered cross-continental acclaim. In 2004, he received the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale, the ULI Award for Exce...
If you haven’t heard of nendo, you probably don’t get on the internet much these days. Oki Sato’s brand is absolutely everywhere. In 2013 alone, nendo has presented almost fifty products and projects, ranging from lighting to cutlery to dog toys. Of course, fifty already seems like a lot, but the Japanese designer has admitted to working on over two hundred projects at o...
Luca Nichetto loves to say that he is more Venetian than Italian, an understandable distinction considering the rich cultural, linguistic and even culinary history of his beloved city. Not to mention the fact that he received his Industrial Design degree from the IUAV in Venice and even began his career as a Murano glass designer for Salviati before launching his own stu...
Love Kenneth Cobonpue? We examine even more craftsmanship from the Philippines in the latest edition of our e-magazine. Check it out! Kenneth Cobonpue seems to be contemplating his next move after years of accumulating international design awards. When we say Kenneth is looking ahead, we do mean that this world-renowned, Filipino designer, creative director of Desig...
Despite the numerous awards hanging from his proverbial belt, Karim Rashid is curiously approachable. He states that he has “let go” of his ego, removing his attachment from prizes and accolades. It’s true that he manifests a certain removal from his success, a distance that, at times, flirts with a careful self-deprecation. The Egyptian-born designer walks a delicat...
Noé Duchaufour Lawrance functions outside of the realm of limitations. That much is clear. Rather than restricting himself to one specific aspect of design, he works across fields and takes on projects ranging from industrial design to scenography and everything in between. His philosophy does not limit objects as such but rather views them as organic forms that grow an...
More than a simple name, British designer Christopher Guy is a brand. Since selling his first mirror frame at Harrods in 1994, the designer’s signature style has become synonymous with elegance and luxury. And his clear, unwavering vision of a globally attractive design offering is certainly a key element of his success. Christopher Guy was born in Britain but raised ...
With the latest generation of designers, the working model of the entire industry is evolving. From conception to fabrication, more and more designers are taking the design process into their own hands. London-based designer Benjamin Hubert is one of the forerunners of this trend. Case in point: his new Tenda lights. The studio will be manufacturing and distributing them...
Atelier Areti is comprised of Gwendolyn and Guillane Kerschbaumer, sisters with impressive credentials and loads of talent. Greek for virtue, goodness, righteousness, Areti represents the team’s design philosophy – a philosophy which eschews the importance of objects to focus on the importance of beautiful and well-designed objects. Their goal is not just to create but r...
With their ability to make traditional objects new again, Stockholm-based Front is a design trio that has our (and everyone else’s) attention. Consisting of Sofia Lagerkvist, Charlotte von der Lancken and Anna Lindgren, the group met at Stockholm’s School of Arts, Crafts & Design where they were studying industrial design. Ten years after they first presented at the Stoc...
Sitting across from French designer François Azambourg, it quickly becomes clear that he is actually one part designer and two parts whimsical inventor. His intense fascination with materials consistently drives his creative process, leaving a studio populated with prototypes and the remnants of experiments – projects that are, were and never will be. As the perfect e...
Stockholm-based design studio Form Us With Love was formed in 2005 by three former product design students at Kalmar University. FUWL could be defined by its refusal to view design through a microscope. Founding trio John Löfgren, Jonas Pettersson, and Petrus Palmér insist on examining design as an entire process, from the idea’s conception to its (mass) production. In f...
Leonardo Da Vinci once said he felt paintings were more valuable than written descriptions and never finished any literary works. Ferruccio Laviani thrives from drawing and creating, and is less interested in explaining a design piece in words. And so he excels! Collaborating with Studio De Lucchi, KARTELL SpA, Cosmit and so many more since the early 1980s, he never c...
Fabio Novembre certainly is an unconventional designer. A quick look at his work is enough to understand the issues he raises aren’t limited to a question of use or comfort. Through his interpretation, design and architecture become a way to express every aspect that creates our condition as human beings. Each object has to tell a story. And if man is the central core of...
