Design Pier capture the preciousness of time and the fragility of a moment
Design Pier returns for Designart Tokyo 2020, compiling a selection of high-end design objects that capture the preciousness of time and the fragility of a moment and compels them to experience life to its fullest. The selection includes unique and precious pieces that challenge commercially made objects' homogeneity and brings a refreshing perspective, creating an emotional attachment between products and users.
Design Pier returns for Designart Tokyo 2020, compiling a selection of high-end design objects that capture the preciousness of time and the fragility of a moment and compels them to experience life to its fullest. The selection includes unique and precious pieces that challenge commercially made objects' homogeneity and brings a refreshing perspective, creating an emotional attachment between products and users.
DAZINGFEELSGOOD (DFG) is a Singapore based design practice founded by Kiat Ng and Karen Chiam in 2015. Guided by design fundamentals, the practice reflects on rational and reduction approaches to explore, design, collaborate and create works that span across furniture, graphic and spatial design disciplines.
The practice has led DFG to produce works that are represented at international art and design platforms including Art Stage (Singapore), Maison&Objet (Paris), SaloneSatellite (Milan), and received recognition from A’ Design Award (Italy), Asia Design Prize (Korea) and Bolia Design Award (Denmark).
Objet is a series of modular planes in the expressions of geometric shapes connected in a methodical arrangement to create assemblages that function as lighting.
Title: Objet
Year: 2020
Dimensions: 500 x 500 x 500mm each (A series of 3 artworks)
Material: Acrylic with dichroic film
In my work I try to find a good balance between what is made and what is found. I want to submit to the nature of fired-clay, and keep certain evidence of my existence. That is my pride as a maker. I like boundaries and rules. Craftsmanship is very important to me.
I make vessels sometimes. Sometimes, I create an object with the intention of creating a vessel. When I take various kinds of minerals, clay, and different parts of Earth, arrange them in a specific way then heat them in my kiln and I feel like I am making a new type of rock in a very short time. The actual rock cycle in nature goes on for millions of years. In my lifetime I hope I can illustrate the process through my practice and bring it into the domestic settings and environments for people to experience.
Pim Sudhikam (1973/ Thailand): Pim holds a Bachelor of Industrial Design from Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, and a Master of Fine Arts from HDK Gothenburg University, Sweden. Since 1998 Pim has been working with clay as her primary medium, investigating pottery as material, process and content. Her works include collections of objects, sculptures, and large-scale, site-specific installations. The works explore a balance between what happened and what being made while she tries to bring natural phenomena into the domestic context in the form of vessels. Pim has taken part in exhibitions, symposia, and residencies in Thailand and abroad. She has received “Awards of Excellence in Arts and Crafts” from the Ministry of Culture, “National Invention Award” from the National Research Council of Thailand, and an Honourable Mention from the 39th Ceramic Competition Gualdo Tadino, Italy. Pim is a board member of the Thai Ceramic Society and elected Council Member of The International Academy of Ceramics (IAC). Her studio is built among trees and gardens in the middle of Bangkok.
The Slim table, available in different sizes and heights, was designed by Matthias Demacker for Sovet. The designer sought the perfect balance between elegance and minimalism to create a model that can surprise the lines' lightness. Offering a selection of finishes that can fit any environment, Sovet's expertise in using materials added value to the model.
About Sovet: Sovet blends the Italian glass art tradition and the contemporary design inspiration to create furniture that speaks an original, elegant and versatile language. The company provides innovative material inspirations, combining elegance, sustainability and minimal design, focusing on the quality of the materials and the craftsmanship, the versatility of the project and the sustainability of the production process. Sovet is a new culture of living for home & contract spaces.
StudioEJ is a Seoul based design studio focusing on furniture and interior design.
“We try to make scenes of space that are created through unique relationships among objects and space.”
Printed Light 2020 is a shelf containing poetic moments drawn with natural light found in interior spaces. The light which is common in everyday life-light coming through the curtains in the morning, red light coming through the blind in the late afternoon and always nice rainbow (prism effect) on the wall-are applied to the spaces of different sizes to induce a warm light experience.
Happy Pixel intends more active and dramatic conversations with objects, which is interaction by applying a mirror to the lenticular as a pixel. If you apply a mirror to the naturalized pixelated image and reflect it on the mirror which is a part of the pixel, you will find a moment assimilated with the natural image.
With several years of working experience for architectural firms, she started her practice focusing on experimental and conceptual projects in a wide range of fields from small objects to space design. Her approach to design is to create a special and unique experience taking a fresh perspective on the mundane.
“Not what it seems to be”
Our memory is molded by daily social interaction with environment. We store the experience in our memory and we shape our own belief and faith.
We tend to judge and make decisions based on what we know. But more often things are “Not what it seems to be”.
“Not what it seems to be”, the massive and masculine objects lead us to believe that they are made out of Heavy Black Iron, yet in contrary all the objects are made of light weight Recycled Carton. Once interacting with the objects, you would find out that they are not merely objects, but an instrumental pair of Maracas filled with natural seeds creating sound inside. Deceiving our expectations, they challenge our sense of perspective and question our own memory and faith while planting a New Memory through interacting with the pieces. Reminding us that Memory is Re-Created every day yet it is a Fragile, Mortal, and Fallible “Object” veiled by a thin layer of Rusting Faith.
THE DESIGNER
Wataru Sakuma is a Philippine-based Japanese designer with a strong background in fine arts. Famous for his creativity and ingenuity, Wataru uses even the most basic of materials, like paper, to create functional yet artistic pieces for urban living. His respect for nature and his ability to see something beautiful in discarded or overlooked materials gives his work conscience.
For more information, please visit: www.designpier.co or http://designart.jp/designarttokyo2020/en/exhibitor/design-pier/
Exhibition dates：Oct 27th – Nov 3rd, 2020
Hours：11:00 AM – 8:00 PM
Omotesando Hills Main Building B3F, Space O
Address：4-12-10 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
About Omotesando Hills
Omotesando Hills is a unique cultural/commercial complex, emerging as the new face of Omotesando, which has transmitted various trends as the hub of Japanese fashion and culture.
The six-level atrium (three stories above ground and three underground stories) at the heart of the main building is complemented by the 700m “Spiral Slope” ramp (“the second Omotesando”) spiraling around the atrium space in an incline roughly equal to that of Omotesando. At the center of the atrium space is a grand stairway (from the first basement to the third basement), leading to a 548㎡ multi-purpose space, called “Space O”, in the third basement which serves as a base for imparting information.
The exterior wall holds a 250m long LED display called “Bright-Up Wall”, illuminating the nightscape of Omotesando.
These creative spaces are combined with “selective” stores mainly positioned along the Spiral Slope, “MEDIA SHIP.”, involved corporations, participating artists, and trend-conscious people who gather at Omotesando Hills combine together in order to evolve the complex into a new facility with unparalleled expressive ability. It is the venue for various events related to fashion and art and continues to generate the latest news.
British Art Installation “Please Be Seated” in Chinese Mainland
Swire Properties kicked off the highly anticipated tour of “Please Be Seated” in the Chinese mainland in collaboration with British design firm Paul Cocksedge Studio. From now till 1 November 2020, the large-scale installation will be open to the public at the Temple Plaza of Sino-Ocean Taikoo Li Chengdu, engaging the community through an interactive art experience.
Crossover collaboration with Paul Cocksedge Studio will present the studio’s first-ever touring public art installation across the Chinese mainland
Swire Properties kicked off the highly anticipated tour of “Please Be Seated” in the Chinese mainland in collaboration with British design firm Paul Cocksedge Studio. From now till 1 November 2020, the large-scale installation will be open to the public at the Temple Plaza of Sino-Ocean Taikoo Li Chengdu, engaging the community through an interactive art experience.
The debut of this significant art piece across its retail projects in the Chinese mainland resonates with Swire Properties’ commitment to offering world-class art and cultural experiences for local communities to enjoy. This is the first international showcase of the giant public art piece since its critically acclaimed debut at the London Design Festival in 2019. Following the Chengdu stop, “Please Be Seated” will travel across the country to Taikoo Hui in Guangzhou, Taikoo Li Qiantan in Shanghai, and Taikoo Li Sanlitun in Beijing, where it will become a permanent installation in the capital city.
"Please Be Seated" was designed by Paul Cocksedge Studio to respond to urban life's dynamic nature, reinvigorating how local audiences interact with space and the community. The 15.2 meter-long installation features' waves' of wood rising up to form arches for people to walk through and curves under to create space for people to sit, lie and relax. Echoing Swire Properties' intense focus on sustainable development, the piece is fabricated from 1,440 planks of sustainably sourced timber.
Please Be Seated is designed by acclaimed British designer Paul Cocksedge. ©MarkCocksedge
“We’re delighted to partner with Paul Cocksedge Studio to bring this ambitious art piece to four of our retail centers in the Chinese mainland,” said Tim Blackburn, Chief Executive Officer, Chinese mainland, Swire Properties. “This installation, which merges innovation, sustainability, and art, is a wonderful showcase of our commitment to creative placemaking in our communities. With this piece, we invite the public to explore and engage with the artwork on their own terms, interacting with it so that they become an integral part of the piece themselves. We feel this sends a powerful message of the personal relationships we form with art and speaks to our vision of curating exceptional art and cultural experiences within our developments.”
“Please Be Seated” was an instinctive response to public space and the rhythm of people moving through it. We are excited to work with Swire Properties again to create a piece of work that engages with the public and puts them at the center of the design,” said Cocksedge. Paul Cocksedge Studio has a longstanding creative partnership with Swire Properties and has created ambitious pieces of work, including “Gust of Wind” at HKRI Taikoo Hui in Shanghai and “Spectrum” the Swire Properties VIP lounge at Art Basel Hong Kong 2019.
About Paul Cocksedge Studio
Paul Cocksedge is an internationally acclaimed British designer, who has spent the last decade building a reputation for innovative design, underpinned by research into the limits of technology and materials. His catalog of work spans design products, architectural projects, installations, and sculptures, all infused with the sense of simplicity, joy, and wonder that has come to characterize his work. In 2018, Cocksedge designed a light installation for COS’s Coal Drops Yard retail space, and in 2019 created a VIP Lounge for Swire Properties at Art Basel Hong Kong. Current projects include the studio’s first bridge, and first project in South Africa, as well as Slump, an exhibition with Carpenters Workshop Gallery. Cocksedge's Here Comes The Sun – a socially distanced picnic blanket - is also featured in V&A Dundee's Now Accepting Contactless show.
Visit the studio's website at www.paulcocksedgestudio.com
About Sino-Ocean Taikoo Li Chengdu
Located in the city center of Chengdu, Sino-Ocean Taikoo Li Chengdu is a mixed-use development jointly developed by Swire Properties and Sino-Ocean Group. Opened in 2015, the development comprises an open-plan, low-rise and lane-driven shopping mall, and The Temple House - an understated luxury urban hotel with 100 Rooms and 42 Residences.
About Swire Properties
Swire Properties develops and manages commercial, retail, hotel, and residential properties, with a particular focus on mixed-use developments in prime locations at major mass transportation intersections. Swire Properties is listed on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong and its investment portfolio in Hong Kong comprises Taikoo Place, Cityplaza, and Pacific Place. In addition to Hong Kong, the Company has investments in the Chinese mainland, the United States, Singapore, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
Beijing Residence in Dongzhimen 8 designed by André Fu
André Fu embarks upon his first foray into the ultra-luxe market of Mainland China, and his first station to alight upon is Dongzhimen 8 in Beijing.
André Fu embarks upon his first foray into the ultra-luxe market of Mainland China, and his first station to alight upon is Dongzhimen 8 in Beijing.
LED-ridden high-rises, neon signs, or a riot of sparkling colours, all the semblance of modernity are supposed to be entailed in the popular criteria used for assessing how developed a mega-city is. However, these iridescent delights could thin down a metropolis's genuine attractiveness, which boasts a duality of 'Modern vs. Historical,' and this city is Beijing.
Its historic heritages arguably weigh much more in attractiveness than modernity does. They could be either regal or folkloric - The Forbidden City, Hutong valleys, the residues of ramparts and fortifications dating back three millennia - if you would feel like seeking more approachableness from this city, then these locales will not be missed.
Crossing Cultures with Design indicates that André Fu has an inclination towards interlacing his designs with quality of locality. Investing the regional and cultural peculiarities with the design, for him, is a process of refinement, and redefinition as well. The city is alive, so designs.
Dongzhimen 8 is wrapped in a history envelope. Dongzhimen was the East Gate of the Beijing city fortifications which was a transportation node since the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368) and now is a prosperous commercial hub in Beijing. Because of its 800-year history and notably 8 being auspicious in Chinese numerology, 8 becomes an integral part of Dongzhimen 8. In particular, Liangma River (1368 – now), sending off an aroma of ancient history, encompasses it, serving as an aquatic vista for the residence. Dongzhimen 8 can undo the rigid dichotomy between urbanity and hermitage. It cannot be uprooted itself from the urbanity though, so one side is the hectic street, and it can be a Peach Blossom Shangri-la in a peninsula, the verdant and tree Moors in a suave manner, then the other side, you could imagine, it is an ecosystem friendly zone.
Suffice it to say that consumerism was outdated and uncalled-for enough to be decoupled from the modern definition of luxury. André believes that extravagant luxury needs to be pared down. Furthermore, at the thought of Beijing's stunning history, he wants luxury to set in motion resonance with the account. In partnership with the developers, they endeavour to create a space that makes an ‘elbow room’ to renew luxury and enliven the history.
André includes mortise-and-tenon joints in the entire design. It is an oriental story to unfold. In stark comparison to brick-and-stone structures, wood texture is an enabler to lighten up the atmosphere redolent of the Chinese tradition. Colours are the key. By utilizing balanced shades and brightness, André made various palettes release a sense of elegance and reservedness. Design is, practically speaking, not something of montage. It is more like interwoven stuff wherein cultural expressions, through a particular symbol of colours, more often than not, are enacting a crucial role to fortify the texture.
André does not implement an avant-garde design in Dongzhimen 8. He focuses much more on making coordination between elements. The residence is as genuinely individualistic as a person. Its personality basks in the reflected glory of the occupants and culture signs.
Born in Hong Kong and educated in England from the age of 14, André Fu holds a Bachelor of Arts at Cambridge University and a Masters in Architecture from the University of Cambridge. Fu credits his distinctive design style – a quietly thoughtful, carefully considered yet analytical approach marked by a highly refined aesthetic – to his peripatetic cultural upbringing.
He first redefined hospitality notions with his design of the world-renowned Upper House hotel in Hong Kong. His creations extend from a unique furniture collaboration with Louis Vuitton's Objets Nomades collection to contemporary art galleries in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Shanghai. With major hotels and restaurants around the world. Leading brands including Villa La Coste in Provence, The Berkeley London, Hong Kong's Upper House Hotel and St Regis, as well as Waldorf Astoria Bangkok.
Name: Dongzhimen 8
Exterior design: gad
Interior design: André Fu
Design team: DIA & AFSO
Landscape design: Zheng Shanfeng
Location: Dongzhimen, Beijing, China
Copyright: Life Group
Design year: 2020
Kimpton Maa-Lai Bangkok opens and marks the debut of Kimpton® Hotels & Restaurants in South East Asia
IHG ® Hotels & Resorts (IHG), one of the world’s leading hotel companies, brings Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants’ signature heartfelt service and distinctive design to the heart of Thailand with the opening of Kimpton Maa-Lai Bangkok.
Located in Bangkok’s Langsuan area, Kimpton Maa-Lai Bangkok offers convenient access to prime districts such as Sukhumvit, Silom, Siam, and Chidlom, and serene views of the tranquil Lumphini Park – one of the city’s largest green spaces.
The hotel takes its name after Maa-lai, the traditional Thai floral garland symbolic of welcome, good health, and respect to honor guests, families, and loved ones. This art form has inspired many contemporary interpretations and resonates perfectly with Kimpton in Bangkok, where age-old traditions take on a modern edge.
Kimpton spaces and experiences center on its guests, offering an inspiring design that evokes curiosity, to forward-thinking flavors that feed the soul. The hotel’s design narrative was brought to life by P49 Design and fuses storied Thai history with the urban intensity of the city, by mirroring the relentless tempo of life in the old capital through handwoven Thai textiles and echoing the edgy eclecticism of modern Bangkok. This resonates through raw concrete, oversized furnishings, and metallic touches, and translates into the inspired design from the hotel public areas to restaurants and bars, and the artfully designed guest rooms and private residences.
All 362 of the hotel’s rooms and suites – including 131 serviced residences – are the epitome of design-led luxury, each thoughtfully designed with bespoke amenities and inspiring décor, promising an immersive experience for all who stay. Whether guests are looking to relax in the comfortable 48sqm Deluxe Room after sightseeing and shopping or enjoy the whirlpool jacuzzi in the spacious 320sqm Celebrity Suite for an anniversary treat, there are layers of detail at every turn.
Bespoke HARNN bathroom amenities, a VIFA Helsinki sound system, robes by Christian Develter for Tube Gallery and a curated personal bar stocked with bottled cocktails by LAIBA and artisanal local snacks are just a few highlights of the luxuriously appointed rooms. Suite occupants also enjoy access to the Maa-Lai Lounge on the 30th floor, where they can savour the sight of lush Lumphini Park and Bangkok’s characteristic skyscrapers from dawn to dusk.
First-class food and beverage programmes play a big part in Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants across the world. Kimpton Maa-Lai Bangkok boasts four distinct and immersive dining venues. CRAFT is a haven for brew lovers with a unique selection of local and international single-origin coffee and coffee blends, beer and cocktails, while Stock. Room elevates the neighbourhood grocerant concept with seasonal pop-up kitchens serving Thai street eats to have on-site or take home. Sophisticated cocktail bar, Ms.Jigger, presents narrative-driven cocktails while Bar. Yard hosts a rooftop barbecue with tropical drinks, farm-to-plate comfort grills, DJs and stunning city skyline views.
The hotel’s lifestyle programming – part of Kimpton’s DNA – delivers memorable experiences; starting with a morning kickstart coffee and tea, to yoga lessons with breathtaking views from level 41 and Kimpton’s Social Hour, where the brand’s vision to enable human connection comes to life as guests mingle with locals. The hotel adopts Kimpton’s industry-leading pet-friendly attitude and provides all four-legged friends with their own amenities and menu.
With connection and wellness top of mind, the GYM provides professional-led nutrition consultation, high-intensity workout classes and zen stretches, while the amaranth spa by HARNN is a sanctuary of serenity with nature-inspired spa treatments, manicures and pedicures. Guests can also enjoy a refreshing dip in the hotel’s outdoor pool which overlooks the sprawling green park.
For more information, please visit: www.kimptonmaalaibangkok.com
ALCHEMY OF LIFE, OPUS ARISUGAWA by Curiosity
The new and exclusive residence with CURIOSITY’s aesthetics has been designed in Opus Arisugawa, a unique luxurious mansion, situated beside the lush green park in the center of Tokyo. The residence is a part of the renovation project, “R100 TOKYO”, led by ReBITA, offering exceptional residences with custom-made interiors with over 100 square meter space and unchangeable value for 100 years.
The new and exclusive residence with CURIOSITY’s aesthetics has been designed in Opus Arisugawa, a unique luxurious mansion, situated beside the lush green park in the center of Tokyo. The residence is a part of the renovation project, “R100 TOKYO”, led by ReBITA, offering exceptional residences with custom-made interiors with over 100 square meter space and unchangeable value for 100 years.
The Opus Arisugawa has originally rooted in the richness of collaboration between architects and artists. And how a designer can connect the building’s image to the living space in a dialogue between the creations of various artists and artisans. The answer is to create a lifestyle beyond the resident can imagine. More than a spatial intervention, this is exploring the fundamentals that rhythm our daily life. It is a bridge between the richness, experiences of the past, and the expectation of future lifestyle. Japan’s landscape, architecture, and interior are created by the so-called: “selected views”, a series of life compositions carefully framed and composed. The Opus space is developed as a choreography, where you are guided through a series of such sceneries. This is not a blank canvas of a traditional lifestyle, but a thoughtful sequence of different scenes, stages, and situations that cannot happen in normal conditions.
The entrance is magnified by the composition of unique calligraphy by Shuko Tsuchiya, a representation of a bonsai on Japanese paper, reflecting in the mirror and creating a dynamic effect. The small andon, a paper framed lamp, symbolizes the welcoming. The dark stone floor with rough texture is a reminiscence of a Japanese house. The suspended volume reveals part of the interior and the narrow entrance in the right.
Artists/suppliers who collaborated with:
Ink art (entrance): Shuko Tsuchiya
Paintings (living room): Tsutomu Hoshitani
Vases: Shingo Ohira
Ceramic art (dining table): TOGAKUDO
Japanese paper (sliding door): Wajue
Fabric (bedroom wall): Reiko Sudo/NUNO
Meridiani presents ‘Storie di case’, the precious book that embodies the company's ability to create versatile collections
Meridiani presents ‘Storie di case’, the precious book that embodies the company's ability to create versatile collections, reflecting the personality of houses and their inhabitants. ‘Storie di case’ is a new book that depicts the various design solutions offered by the furniture manufacturer, founded in 1996 and led since day one by the artistic director and designer Andrea Parisio.
Places to live and protect our memories,
places inhabited by people and objects,
where each detail embodies the story of who we are.
Meridiani homes are homes with a perfectly recognizable style, yet ones whose details express the individual personalities of the people who inhabit them. ‘Storie di case’ is a new book that depicts the various design solutions offered by the furniture manufacturer, founded in 1996 and led since day one by the artistic director and designer Andrea Parisio.
For this project, the company has collaborated with four stylists and four photographers, each one having interpreted and immortalized the brand and its collections in different settings, adding a personal artistic touch. Four stories for four locations, each one with its own lifestyle, in which the innate versatility and ability of Meridianifurniture to interpret different contexts give rise to unique spaces. The interior design projects extend from the living room to the bedrooms, offering a complete vision of the home as a synthesis between interior architecture and furniture.
Context is what transforms a product into a unique experience. But timeless objects have a role to play too, outliving trends and fashions while bringing the character to their surroundings. For this reason, Meridiani has consistently designed its collections while thinking of interiors as ‘clothing’, something to be worn.
As such, ‘Sara's shadow’ became a tale of sophisticated style, a home with a distinct personality in which each detail speaks its own refined language, also through the uniform, the neutral colour palette in the tones of grey, white and brown.
‘The Light of the sunset’ is the realm of eclectic personalities who live amid sophisticated furniture and artwork, daring features and bold colours, in an exercise of contemporary design and comfortable spaces. The residence of the chapter ‘A whole week to themselves’ perfectly embodies the dialogue between interior and exterior, a vivacious space with clean, essential, yet decisive elements that capture the cosmopolitan taste of the inhabitants.
Marble, gold details and finely decorated fabric are the classic features of the home seen in ‘Milo's future,’ revisited with an au courant touch that balances rigour and lightness, traditional craftsmanship and innovation.
The relationship between rooms and products is made possible not only by the design of the furniture but also by the materials and the vast, varied textile collection, which has distinguished the brand since the beginning: materials that dress objects and transform spaces, creating unique, personalized results.
All of this made possible by quality, artisan skills, technical expertise and in-depth knowledge of the materials, which are the pillars of the brand and its collections, exquisite tributes to the exclusivity of the made-in-Italy products.
For more information, please visit: www.meridiani.it