May 4, 2020

Wartime art: one hundred chairs for one hundred victims

Filed under: Art,History by Orangemaster @ 5:44 pm

At the end of WWII, 140 men were shot by the German occupiers at Rozenoord in Amsterdam South district, many of which were resistance fighters. The history of Rozenoord is particularly painful since the men were shot so close the liberation.

Located in the Amstelpark in Amsterdam South district, the Rozenoord monument saw the light of day thanks to an initiative of local residents. Artist Ram Katzir designed the new monument to give all the victims a worthy memorial place. Instead of one monument for 100 people Katzir gave every person their own monument.

Anchored in cement with names on plaques, one hundred chairs are spread out over a green space as if they were barely sat in and positioned randomly. However, the chairs were actually placed according to information about the way the victims were shot. There’s also plaques for those who could not be identified.

The space between the chairs invites visitors to walk around and see who these people were. They can also be sat on, as the piece is meant to be interactive. By sitting down, one can see the other ‘victims’ around them, turning the visitors into participants.

(Link and photo: monument-rozenoord.nl)

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March 30, 2016

3D printed chair created on a cellular level

Filed under: Design by Orangemaster @ 8:10 pm

Gradient-chair_front-1500x889

Here’s another super scientific 3D chair by Joris Laarman who created some revolutionary chairs back in 2010 using algorithms.

This aluminum gradient chair on display in New York in 2014 was the second in a series of three chairs that researched microstructures for furniture. According to Laarman, it was designed and directly laser sintered in aluminum, basically creating a lightweight aluminum foam that is engineered on a cellular level to address specific functional needs for different areas in the object. The solid cells in the design create structural strength and rigidity while the more open cells create material reduction and lightness, all within one printing technique.

(Link: www.designboom.com, Photo: www.jorislaarman.com)

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January 7, 2016

Cool bulb shades and hot cardboard furniture

Filed under: Design by Orangemaster @ 3:02 pm

Bulb shade

Stalaclights are bulb shades that look like famous buildings designed by Dutch designer David Graas. A play on words with the mineral formations ‘stalactites’ (stalagmites are the ones on the ground pointing upwards), these bulb shades are 3D printed and resemble some of the first skyscrapers of New York, Chicago and more. The shade can be placed over the bulb, as the lighting is LED and therefore doesn’t burn through.

Graas also makes street furniture you can laser cut and 3D print out yourself. The “I’m Too Sexy For The Sidewalk” series consists of three different furniture designs you can download for free and produce yourself using cardboard found on the street.

(Link: www.neatorama.com, Photo: www.davidgraas.com, one of the Petronas twin towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)

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June 26, 2012

Eames inspired garden chair Mal 1956

Filed under: Design by Branko Collin @ 12:38 pm

A new, Eindhoven-based label called Mal has introduced this Eames inspired chair called Mal 1956, intended to be used outdoors.

The specifications note that the chair is fitted with “a subtle drainage system to prevent stagnant water from collecting in the seat” and that it “can be cleaned using water along with common household cleaning products”.

A set of chair and stool will cost you 900 euro.

(Link: Bright. Photo: Mal.)

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November 7, 2011

Mobile restaurant modelled after apple crates

Filed under: Design,Food & Drink by Branko Collin @ 8:42 am

One of this year’s Eindhoven Design Academy’s graduation projects was Ardie van Bommel’s Pure Nature.

The project consists of a group of tables, chairs and kitchen islands that were all made to look like they were made out of apple crates. Van Bommel originally wanted to use actual apple crates, but that approach did not lead to the desired results, Man and Public Space Magazine wrote.

Van Bommel even made, it seems, a diorama of her apple crate restaurant inside—you guessed it—an apple crate. Her website suggests that this restaurant was made for the Philips Fruittuin (a former job creation project initiated by the local electronics giant), although it’s not clear to me whether the set-up has ever been in actual use.

Via the Pop-Up City which has been running a series showcasing “ten great designs spotted at the Design Academy’s graduation show“.

See also: Mirrors that look like holes in the wall and other Eindhoven Design Academy graduation projects.

(Photo: ontwerpstudiobomm.nl)

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April 11, 2011

3D printed chair by Bram Geenen designed using the same methods as the Sagrada Familia

Filed under: Design by Branko Collin @ 10:14 am

Writes Bram Geenen:

Designed using the same methods […] Antoni Gaudi [used], who made models of hanging chains [which, when viewed] upside down, showed him the strongest shapes for his churches. […] The chain models […] combined with a software script are used to generate the structure of the ribs. This is necessary because of the complexity of the forces in a chair’s backrest.

This video shows you what this means:

The chair can be bought from its printer, Amsterdam-based Freedom of Creation, who have over ten years experience with 3D printing. The measly sum of 15,977 euro, making the chair not as cheap as a CatCase, will ensure this treasure becomes yours. Not a word on whether you get complimentary new car smell with that order.

(Link: Bright. Photo: Studio Geenen. Video: Vimeo / Studio Geenen.)

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January 5, 2011

A new look at wooden chairs

Filed under: Design by Orangemaster @ 12:19 pm

Dutch designer Sjoerd Vroonland gives classic wooden chairs new twists and turns. His goal is to re-examine what chairs are today, what their function is, how hey are used and designed, with an emphasis on how craftspeople made chairs in the 19th and 20th centuries.

(Link: dezeen.com, Photo: Sjoerd Vroonland)

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November 19, 2010

Folding an envelope into a chair

Filed under: Design,Sustainability by Orangemaster @ 1:13 pm

If you like innovative Dutch design that saves space and looks cool, you have to check out the Flux Chair. Imagine stacking 77 chairs in no more than a one metre space, with one chair taking 10 seconds to unfold. The Flux Chair has just hit the market, comes in a variety of nice colours and has been throuroughly tested for up to 160 kg. Graduates from the Delft University of Technology, designers Douwe Jacobs and Tom Schouten have won awards for their innovative design.

Watch the trendy video on how they do the unfolding and folding it back.

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May 30, 2010

26 letter shaped chairs by Roeland Otten

Filed under: Art,Design by Branko Collin @ 12:19 pm

Designer Roeland Otten hopes to mass-market these alphabet chairs, writes Bright. He can see them being used by elementary schools.

The so-called ABChairs were made possible thanks to a grant by Fonds BKVB, the rich government sugar daddy for the visual arts. Otten, a 1999 Design Academy Eindhoven graduate, calls the Naked Alphabet by his teacher Anthon Beeke an inspiration. He is looking for a manufacturer to help him mass produce the chairs in plastic.

Unfortunately Otten uses one of them newfangled and unlinkable Flash sites instead of a real website, I would have linked to his work earlier if he had not. If you go there, see under “recent stuff / transformatie-transformatorhuisje” how he let an ugly electrical substation disappear from his Rotterdam neighbourhood.

(Photo: Roeland Otten.)

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May 17, 2010

Rocking chair meets cradle

Filed under: Design by Branko Collin @ 1:14 am

The Rockid is a combination of a rocking chair and cradle by Ontwerpduo (‘design duo’). This isn’t apparently a new idea, as it is based on the so-called nanny rocker.

According to Bright, one of Ontwerpduo’s happiest customers is the duo’s daughter, Jasmijn. The Rockid can be had with a separate sideboard, for when the cradle is no longer needed, and can be had for 850 euro.

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