th comments
Anthony said: "So what did these groups propose instead of new coal? It is great they banded together to stop construction of new coal, but did they give an alter..." [read]

Anthony said: "In the long run, yes, I agree completely. Available resources, even in the whole observable universe, are finite, and so economic and population gr..." [read]

Amy Collinsworth said: "Just one correction...Kingsolver has had many books of essays published. Those works were also non-fiction...." [read]

M. D. Vaden of Oregon said: "The previous comment recommended a book called The Wild Trees, which included west coast redwood trees. This page has images of those trees..." [read]

TrollPatrol said: "My original italicized comments were primarily meant to 1) get your attention and 2) have you read the second part. Next time I will make it ent..." [read]

New Tricks, Old Dogs

by Bonnie Alter, London on 12.18.07
Design & Architecture

vitra.jpg

Vitra, the Swiss furniture company, has commissioned some new design from familiar old names such as Frank Gehry, Jasper Morrison, and Ron Arad . Vitra held the first commission twenty years ago and this second time 'round it is interesting to note how many designers are using sustainable and environmental materials and how the green theme has infiltrated the show. First off is Frank Gehry who does a new chair and footstool out of cardboard and calls it "Little Beaver". Then Jasper Morrison has done a cork chair and side table (or foot stool) out of blocks of recycled wine-bottle corks--with no screws, adhesives or veneers. He said that he wanted his chair to "look like it was made by Eskimos (if they had cork trees of course)".

Naoto Fukasawa has created a series (pictured) of the same chair made out of different materials: cork, straw, felt, and stone, among others. The Campana Brothers are back with a large metallic hanging which contains pockets--furniture for the walls.

kimono_chair.jpg

Tokujin Yoshioka has taken the kimono as his inspiration and has created a chair by wrapping a kimono around a metal frame. Alberto Meda has made a mobile wall which is 6 feet high and accordion shaped. Called a "performative screen", it stores up solar heat all day and releases it by night. He sees it as a technical object as well as an object which "mediates our relationship with the environment".

kurahigh.jpg

Shiro Kuramata is a revered Japanese designer, and in his memory, a picture of his metal mesh chair from 1986, "How High the Moon", which seems to float above the ground. :: Vitra Edition Via :: Design Museum

Comments (5)

Vitra is based in Weil, Germany. This is close to Switzerland, but not in it.

Please correct the record and do a little fact checking before posting pieces. Makes one wonder what other errors there might be in the piece. Thank you.

jump to top jon says:

Chairs look like soap.

jump to top Anonymous says:

The Fukasawa chairs are basically a student-level design. they are utterly impractical, material intensive, and uncomfortable, and they do not respect the unique qualities of each material used.

jump to top brennan says:

According to Vitra.com one of Vitra's factories in Weil am Rhein, Germany, however, their headquarter is located in Birsfelden (close to Basel), Switzerland.

Beautiful designs!

jump to top Chris says:

didn't Gehry design "Little Beaver" for Vitra in 1987?

jump to top Matt says:

Post a comment

(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)

th ads
th top picks
th ads