Designerblock

60 UK & International Designers over Four floors, 1750 square meters in the heart of the West End.

imm cologne 09: 'hendekagram' by qed*

alexander rybol and michael neubauer from qed* presented their new product 'hendekagram'
at the imm cologne. 'hendekagram' is an extension of earphones, it can be connected to
various portable audio equipment such as an mp3 player, an ipod and a computer.

imm cologne 09: 'composite lounge' by stephen burks

at the imm cologne fair stephen burks displayed his installation 'composite lounge',
addressing the impact of the global furnishings industry and issues such as ecological
crisis, and political instability. using pieces donated by italian brand moroso, burks
turned furniture on its head, arranging it like discarded pile-ups in an abstract urban setting
complete with streetlights and dumpsters in a 'sit where you can' lounge like environment.
streetlights are illuminated and strapped together providing an amalgamation of seating
possibilities. the bar is constructed from strapped together plastic milk crates adorned with
pillows set inside one of the displaced dumpster interiors. screens on the dumpsters juxtapose
stills of burks’ various developing world projects with slick moroso promotional footage,
which highlights the complexity, contradictions and pluralistic voice of the global
furnishings industry.

'the composite lounge is intended to call into question the over 70,000 new products
introduced each year and what happens to them. are we as an industry considering
the life cycle of production? this furniture may have been born in the factory, but just
like everything else, will ultimately end up in the dumpster!'

'light sock' by diller scofidio + renfro

the new york based architecture studio diller scofidio + renfro will be presenting their 'light sock' as part of the
swarovski crystal palace exhibition at this year's design miami 07. it will be on show at the moore building from december
7-9, 2007 as part of the miami based festival. the studio has deconstructed the traditional chandelier, creating a
mesh sock filled with hundreds of swarovski crystals. the light buried in the crystals illuminates them to create
a single glowing orb. the installation will feature 48 'light socks' installed in a pitch black room, creating a landscape
of lighting.

designboom featured the 'light sock' when it was unveiled at milan design week 2007 and also wrote about the
'the blur building' by diller scofidio + renfro in 2002.

‘chen zhen: the body as landscape’

chen zhen, born in shanghai in 1955 and deceased
in 2000 in paris, is considered the leading representative
of the chinese avant-garde. the show is the first
anthological exhibition on the artist held in italy,
following his tragic and premature death.

the exhibition shows a rich selection of works and
installations from international museums and private
collections, but also a complete section dedicated to
unfinished projects, hitherto unseen -
paintings, drawings, models, photographs, sculptures
and installations created by chen zhen in more than
10 years of work, between 1989 and 2000.

the homage to this extraordinary artist, curated by gerald
matt and ilse lafer, was produced by mart rovereto
in collaboration with the kunsthalle in vienna, where it
was on show from may 25th to september 2nd, 2007.
http://www.kunsthallewien.at

chen zhen
chen zhen’s study of ivory engraving at the shanghai
school of fine and applied arts (1973-76) provided
him with classical training in drawing, painting,
and sculpture. during his undergraduate study in
stage design at shanghai theatre academy (1978-82),
he further developed his sense of three-dimensional
space that proved to be the core of his plastic
explorations in years to come.

after training as an artist in the period of the chinese
cultural revolution, he moved to paris in 1986, and
studied at l'ecole nationale supérieure des beaux-arts
and at l'institut des hautes etudes en arts plastiques,
subsequently teaching at both.

the essential spirit of his work is encapsulated in the
notion of ‘transexpérience’, and is a fine example of
pluralism in art.
constantly traversing boundaries, chen zhen operated
in an area between eastern and western thought,
privileging synergy rather than clear-cut choice
and rigid classification. his art deals with many issues,
ranging from international politics to the life of the
individual, and in his artistic practice he searched
for a visual synthesis which clearly expressed,
especially from an aesthetic point of view,
the need to be understood in a world with different
perspectives from those that had surrounded him
as he grew up, and the desire to mix chinese culture
with that of the nations he was becoming familiar with.
it was for this reason that chen zhen, who was
initially oriented towards painting, later began to
concentrate on installations.

chen zhen asked questions like ‘are dialogue and
agreement ever possible among nations?’
and ‘if the pursuit of complete understanding
or real communication is not possible among cultures,
how can we put in place a structure that will
prevent conflict and injustice among nations and
cultures?’

he stated ‘you can only arrive at your objective
opinion by understanding the east and being
involved in the west. observe the world by
examining yourself!’
according to chen zhen, despite persisting
‘eternal misunderstandings’, there are people who
want and try to understand the culture, desires
and aspirations of other people.

for those people chen zhen worked and started to
assemble everyday objects like beds, chairs, tables,
chamber pots, cots and mattresses, which he rescued
from oblivion and reconverted, giving them a new life.
however, in contrast with their original function,
the objects were no longer practical for human use.
the spirit shaping these works is rooted in ancient
taoist philosophy – where yin and yang represent two
sides of the same whole -, and he explored the
path of buddhist spirituality without, however,
ignoring the scientific and rational culture of the
western world. his attitude towards migration and
exile, and his far intercultural dialogue, clearly document
the ‘unspeakable’ that translated spirituality and healing
power into the materiality of sculptures.

chen zhen’s work has been previously exhibited
extensively around the world, with shows at the
new museum of contemporary art, new york, 1994;
center for contemporary art, kitakyushu, japan, 1997;
guggenheim museum soho, new york, 1998;
venice art biennale, venice 1999;
ludwig museum, cologne, 1999;
GAM, turin, 2000;
MOCA, zagreb, 2000;
serpentine gallery, london, 2001;
P.S.1 contemporary art center, new york, 2003;
palais de tokyo, paris, 2003;
galleria continua, san giminiano, 2005;
shanghai art museum, shanghai, 2006.

for further information on the artist
see http://www.chenzhen.org
and
galleria continua, san gimignano / beijing
http://www.galleriacontinua.com

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images featured on this page:

‘no way to sky, no door to heaven (homage to duchamp)’
shows a panel made of mesh in which on one side
there is a cover of rags, and on the other side there
is a cover of ashes from burned paper.
this panel can swing between two door-frames
that have no openning.
on one it says ‘no door to earth’ (the rags), and on the
other side it says ‘no way to sky’.
it’s a door to nowhere.
chen zhen's work betrays a sly knowledge and
confidence, and once one can enter through no door
the rest of the works betray their ironic roots.

‘la chose plus importante’
(the most important thing in art is to first show the artist’s
piece of identification)
chen zhen said ‘the most important thing is that the
cultural hybrid is no longer limited only between two
cultures, but among the many cultures and civilisations’.

‘la voix du sommeil’ -
(sleeping tao)
and
‘table de diagnostic’

holyoke cabin

built from two joined shipping containers, this cabin houses 4 occupants. the designers salvaged the shipping
containers and connected them to increase the home’s living area. one of the containers houses the home’s
living room complete with a wood burning stove.

your Beck's bar

BECK'S BOTTLE BAR People who are coming to this BECK’S BOTTLE BAR don’t want to get just a beer but a BECK’S from the bottle. Using only the colours, bottles and high quality ingredients of BECK’S as designing elements, you can enjoy your BECK’S in a real pure BECK’S WORLD.

'place of rest' talca, chile by macarena avila burdiles

the maule valley in talca chile is an area renowned for its varied concentration of vineyards.
macarena avila burdiles created this a 'place of rest' there for locals through recycling,
of about fifty barrels that had already ended their life as wine containers and become waste.
the re-use of french oak became the main subject for the development of the design phase.





























the barrels are deconstructed and reassembled as the ceiling to an open-air pavilion creating
a space where workers in the vineyards can relax or the owners can enjoy the ambiance in
the shade. the rest of the furniture of the plaza itself was carried out with staves, arming them
with a new configuration of the ground.




this project helped the architects obtain their diploma from the school of architecture, university
of talca in chile. it involved all phases from design and management to actually building a work
of architecture which contributes to the public.

the hippie library bus 93 miles north of the arctic circle

By Cheryl Janis on November 14th, 2008

Or we could simply refer to it as the modern hippy love library bus designed for the town of Kiruna, Sweden where it serves as a beacon of bright light for its citizens. That’s an important asset for a place where the sun “disappears” at the end of November.

Peter Thuvander and Martin Hedenström of Swedish design group Muungano have won the Swedish Library Bus of the Year award for this library bus.

The Swedish Librarian Society gave the award to the design group who created this fabulous art car. The library bus offers listening stations, a library, internet access, a place to watch movies and hang out, a beautiful view of the landscape and bright, bright colors.

















Daytime view of the exterior of the bus. What a wonderful creative piece of art that gives back to the community and stimulates education, music and the arts.

Designer Peter Thuvander remarked about the bus, “except from distributing media the bus will also function as a place for people to communicate on the web and enable meetings between different groups in the community. Because of the lack of sunlight during most of the year in the north the bus will be like a lantern when dark to attract people and light up the surroundings.”

Inspiring indeed and absolutely magnificent.