In a time where space grows more and more limited and people increasingly spend time at home, flexibility presents itself as an underutilized strategy of interior design. With flexible furniture, residents can optimize square footage and easily reshape configurations according to specific requirements and shifting needs. Below, we discuss the benefits and variations of furniture on wheels, closing with 7 example projects illustrating their creative and practical application.
The second edition of EDIT Napoli, dedicated to independent designers, ran from 16 to 18 October 2020, in Naples, Italy. The first onsite fair of the country during this pandemic era was created by curators Domitilla Dardi, design curator of the MAXXI museum in Rome, Architecture sector, and Emilia Petruccelli, buyer and entrepreneur, in collaboration with the Assessorato alla Cultura e al Turismo del Comune di Napoli.
An emerging design trend is filling the gap between furniture and architecture by shaping space through objects at the intersection of the two, creating a dynamic and highly adaptable environment. Either a consequence of the increased demand for flexibility in small spaces or the architectural expression of a device-oriented society, elements in between architecture and furniture open the door towards an increased versatility of space. Neither architecture nor furniture (or perhaps both), these objects operate at the convergence of the two scales of human interaction, carving a new design approach for interior living spaces.
After a prolonged closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Farnsworth House reopens its doors with a new exhibition entitled “Edith Farnsworth Reconsidered”, a temporary refurnishing of the country house to reflect its 1955 appearance. Focusing on Dr. Edith Farnsworth’s life and times, the exhibition aims to highlight the untold story of this woman.
In her Sesc Pompéia theater, architect Lina Bo Bardi designed a central stage revealing the structure and all the functions of the theater's program, and renouncing traditional theater seating. Her seats were not upholstered, were close to each other, and encouraged a more aware, attentive, and upright posture among the audience, thus honoring, according to her, the ancient art of theater.
In the same way that the characteristics of architectural spaces alter our mood, feelings, concentration, and learning, so does the integral design element of furniture, which must be taken seriously when considering comprehensive user experiences. Regarding schools and learning environments in particular, the same attention given to teaching materials is often not conferred on furniture and physical structure.
Dissociating architecture from furniture is almost impossible. As Le Corbusier parking contemporary cars in his project photos suggests, the objects that decorate a domestic space demonstrate the wealth and lifestyle of the user who lives in it. From the moment that humanity ceased to be nomadic, there has existed records of rudimentary furniture. In an excavated site dating from 3,100 to 2,500 BCE, a variety of stone furniture was discovered, from cabinets and beds to stone shelves and seats. Since these early examples, furniture has always been used to express ideas: be it the exclusive and luxurious furniture of Ancient Egypt, meant to demonstrate the power and wealth of the empire, to the functional and simplified designs of the Bauhaus, meant to reconstruct rationality in the world, studying the evolution of furniture design is instrumental to understanding architectural styles.
Nowadays, the advancement of technology and the internet has made changes develop faster and faster, making them even more difficult to assimilate and follow. Furniture follows this trend, be it in the way of designing, manufacturing, or even selling products. Below, we outline some ways in which technology has impacted this field:
It is a student's right to be educated in a safe, healthy, and even aesthetically appealing environment, especially young students for whom these factors are even more important. For example, it has been shown that when the ergonomics of chairs are inadequate, they can greatly affect levels of concentration and the development of skills such as calligraphy. At the same time, the effectiveness of traditional teaching methods is increasingly being questioned and the quality of alternative methodologies increasingly being considered. In other articles, we discussed in more detail the design of Montessori schools and the atmosphere of Waldorf interiors.
Today, we will cover the importance of choosing furniture and address some aspects to consider when organizing them in classroom design for the schools of the future.
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In light of the coronavirus pandemic affecting the entire world, the board of the Salone del Mobile. Milano has decided to postpone the 2020 edition of the annual fair until next year. The international event will, therefore, take place from the 13th to the 18th of April 2021.
Outdoor space, whether large or small, deck, porch or patio, is increasingly becoming the place to fully enjoy the seasons, almost an extension of the indoor space and, no matter what you call it, worthy of the same careful design consideration. Outdoor furnishings, which have reached new heights in terms of performance and durability, have achieved the perfect blend of elegance and comfort. The challenge can lie in choosing just which furniture is the best fit for your outdoor space.
Flexform, a company with decades of experience in manufacturing high-end furniture, is now launching an outdoor collection that includes seating systems, sofas, armchairs, tables, chairs, and many accessories. The line features pieces from designers with whom Flexform has a history of collaborating, including Antonio Citterio, and outdoor reinterpretations of products designed by Mario Asnago and Claudio Vender. Continue reading for a quick guide of possible factors for consideration when furnishing an exterior space, with examples from the Flexform outdoor collection.
As walls and slabs, furniture may delimit and define a space. However, opposite to constructive elements, which distinguish the rooms in a more permanent way, furniture may create useful boundaries between one space and another in an easily adaptable way.
AZURE announces the opening of submissions to the 2020 AZ Awards!
Now entering its 10th year, the AZ Awards celebrates the best in architecture and design from around the world. Each winner will receive the AZ Awards trophy, get international exposure through our media partners, and have their achievements recognized by AZURE in print, online and at the AZ Awards gala in June 2020.
Over the past decade, tiny houses and micro-apartments have gained an immense amount of popularity as affordable and environmentally-friendly options for modern living. With compact architecture growing increasingly preferable or necessary for many, spatially-conscious furniture design is becoming increasingly relevant as well. One of the most critical areas for space-saving is the kitchen, where the multitude of functions and necessity of storage can make it difficult at times to make efficient use of space. Below, we outline several examples of space-saving furniture designs to make the best use of a small kitchen.
Architecture and design studio Hello Wood have created a line of "smart" outdoor furniture for educational institutes and public communal spaces. The two furniture pieces, Fluid Cube and City Snake, re-introduce modular public structures in a contemporary and sustainable way.
Architectural design of a space and the furniture chosen to fill it can work together to define a room's function, set a certain vibe, and make a statement. While an architect or designer may want specific furniture to create a certain look at the time of design completion, versatility is also important over the course of a building's life. Not only do the needs of building programs and inhabitants shift over time, but owners of commercial and public spaces often want the ability to react to both aesthetic and social trends to keep up-to-date.
As the week comes to an end, Milan Design Week wraps up yet another successful year of creativity and innovation. Thousands of design companies displayed their creations to more than 200,000 visitors hailing from different countries, demographics, and career backgrounds. Although the design fair gravitated towards the world of interior design, many renowned architects participated in the week-long exhibition and joined their forces with interior and furniture design experts.
Along with the impressive collaborations that these architects created with lighting companies, take a look at how they used their expertise in forms and structures to develop unique furniture pieces.
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Designers at this year's Milan Design Week drew inspiration from everything and anything around them. Many were inspired by the serenity of nature, some by picturesque vintage pieces, and others by tokens from their youth. Although inspiration often comes unannounced in the most unexpected places, the inspiration behind Sancal’s pavilion at this year’s Salone del Mobile, was encouraged by one simple, very common mistake.
During the 2017 Milan Design Week, the Spanish brand’s eccentric duo Esther and Elena made a wrong turn on Milan's metro station, ending up at the Turati station. That is when the light-bulb illuminated, and the duo found the backdrop for their upcoming collection, emerging from none other than the depths of Milan's underground systems.
Let's suppose you need a bookcase. Years ago, you would probably search the furniture stores or antique shops in your town. Today you are more likely to open dozens of tabs on your web browser to compare prices and models. But there is another option that is becoming increasingly popular: open source furniture.
It's simple; you download the design of a piece of furniture and send it to a CNC machine (a mill that cuts wood from a digital file). It’s more or less like sending a PDF to print. With the pieces cut, you just assemble it. We used a bookcase for example, but it could be a chair, a table, a cupboard, a bench. Opendesk, one of the current open source furniture platforms, brings together about 30 pieces of furniture available for download. There the user can download a project and cut the furniture in a FabLab or personal workshop, or use the site to connect with a joiner who makes the cuts.
It is officially the time of year when the streets of Milan flood with design enthusiasts, eager to explore cutting-edge innovations and intricate Italian craftsmanship exhibited during Milan Design Week. From the 9th till the 14th of April, ArchDaily, along with 300,000 visitors hailing from countries all across the globe, will exchange ideas and indulge in the most recent furniture, product, and interior design technologies.
As part of Milan Design Week, Salone del Mobile, the most anticipated furniture and interior design event of the year, will be hosting more than 2,000 exhibitors at the Milan Fairgrounds in Rho, ranging from renowned architecture studios and architects to upcoming designers who are debuting their creations for the very first time. The list of acclaimed architecture studios participating in the Salone includes Zaha Hadid Design, Renzo Piano, John Pawson, and UNStudio to name a few.
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