PREVIEW Frame #139 MAR/APR

THE NEXT SPACE

A NEW MODEL FOR WELLBEING

Why retail is channelling neoclassicism How veganism is entering the interiors industry Space Popular on building fully virtual journeys How fashion brands are making e-tail experiential Jeremy Myerson on inclusive interiors ISSUE 139 MAR — APR 2021

BP BX €22.95 DE €22.95 IT €24.90 CHF 33.00 UK £19.95 JP ¥3,570 KR WON 40,000

Create, innovate.

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CONTENTS Anna Huix

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12 REPORTING FROM

Hong Kong and Dublin 16 BUSINESS OF DESIGN

From immersive e-commerce environments to the modular mailboxes reshaping shopping BoysPlayNice

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IN PRACTICE

30 INTRODUCING

Architecture practice Formafatal

30 Note Design Studio, courtesy of Klarna

40 INFLUENCER Multidisciplinary design studio Space Popular 50 WHAT I’VE LEARNED

Editor, writer, researcher and thinker Jeremy Myerson 56 THE CLIENT OPPO’s spatial design director Xin Lin

26 Frame 139

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Charlotte Kidger

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65 SPACES

Antiquity is reborn for retail, CBD stores move away from marijuana, and veganism enters the interiors industry 114 SCHRAMM Sleeping easy 120 WELLBEING LAB 122 New places, products and portals for mental wellness

138 What’s missing in the world of wellbeing?

129 Tahmineh Monzavi, courtesy of ZAV Architects CreatAR Images, courtesy of Wutopia Lab

108 160 IN NUMBERS

Hannah Segerkrantz’s Hemp-ItYourself in facts and figures 6

Courtesy of Sancal

148 MARKET

The latest releases from Kvadrat, Cosentino, Pedrali and more

159 Contents

L AUFE N 1 8 9 2 | SWI T Z ERL A ND

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Cover Practice in the City

by Mur Mur Lab in Shanghai, China (see page 120) Photo by WDi

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Lithography Edward de Nijs Printing Grafisch Bedrijf Tuijtel Hardinxveld-Giessendam

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Colophon

business of design

18 How fashion houses are making e-commerce experiential 22 The enduring value of brick-andmortar brand spaces 24 What’s holding us back from smart interiors

Note Design Studio, courtesy of Klarna

Balenciaga’s Afterworld online activation let viewers explore the brand’s fall 2021 collection within the context of a dystopian video game environment. Those who reached the end of the experience were rewarded with a series of ‘transcendental’ breathing exercises.

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�

What gaming is teaching fashion about how to exist online

Without doubt we’re living through one of the most important periods in the history of video gaming. The need for engaging, safe and social forms of distraction have made the medium central to the daily routines of millions during lockdown, often for the first time. According to the NPD Group, four out of every five US consumers played a video game in the six months leading up to August. Many will have been surprised to find another group exploring these digital worlds alongside them: fashion brands.

As consumers across all demographics have started spending more time in game space, especially as a proxy for in-person social gatherings, fashion brands have jumped at the chance to help them craft their digital image.

Whether it’s Longchamps in Pokémon Go, Valentino in Animal Crossing or Louis Vuitton in

League of Legends, the best place to win best dressed is now often on screen.

With the year’s roster of fashion weeks cancelled in favour of digital alternatives, it was therefore unsurprising to see labels start to translate those lessons into a new type of runway experience. That cross-pollination was most artfully captured

by Balenciaga, which launched its ‘playable’ Afterworld: The Age of Tomorrow showcase at the start of December. Visitors wander through a series of different semiapocalyptic environments set in 2031, from cityscapes to woodland dance parties and a future Balenciaga store. During the course of that journey they will discover various characters modelling the label’s fall 2021 collection. As the brand described it: ‘A theme of Balenciaga fall 2021 is human destiny. The world may

Business of Design

appear to be decaying at first, but it is far from a dystopian view, showing instead the slow return to a healthier balance of nature and industry.’

It’s debatable whether the way you experience Afterworld should be described as ‘playing’.

What the activation does demonstrate is the way such free-roam digital spaces enable a more nuanced form of storytelling, one better placed to embody the sort of abstract sociocultural questions that inspired the Balenciaga collection than the linearity of film or the immediacy of a live runway.

The ability of visitors to set their own agenda within that experience makes any affinity they might find they share with the brand feel more meaningful. In this sense, these gamified presentations share quite a lot with current brick-andmortar retail strategies, with their focus on letting customers

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Anna Huix

in practice

30 Formafatal on bridging the Czech Republic and Costa Rica 40 Space Popular on constructing fully virtual journeys 50 Jeremy Myerson on developing design thinking 56 OPPO on advocating peoplecentric principles in stores

DAGMAR ŠTĚPÁNOVÁ, founder of architecture practice Formafatal, talks about the climate-related pros and cons of building in humid Costa Rica, the importance of architectural preservation in the Czech Republic, and the impact of Covid-19 on the design of private residences.

Words Floor Kuitert Portrait Eva Wong

Introducing

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From a small resort hidden in the Costa Rican jungle that merges with its lush surroundings, to a Prague bar interior that mirrors the qualities of the natural wines served: the designs of Czech Republic-born studio Formafatal are carefully tailored to their surroundings and clients’ characteristics. The now ten-strong team of architects, designers and scenographers is headed by founder Dagmar Štěpánová, who developed an enduring passion for the culture and architecture of South and Central America during her studies at the Czech Technical University in Prague.

Hence the studio’s work, which consists of both commercial and residential projects, soon crossed the borders of their home country and a branch in Costa Rica was established.

What have been the biggest challenges you faced in setting up – and running – your own firm?

DAGMAR ŠTĚPÁNOVÁ: I started my career working at a successful architecture studio as I wanted to gain experience and learn more about the process of projects. Very soon after, I felt the need for more freedom to realize my dreams, visions and ideas. I started Formafatal with the aim to create fresh, innovative, brave and original ideas. But running your own studio brings along a lot of responsibility – making important business decisions, people management, hiring, organization, etcetera. We don’t learn such things during our university studies. I must admit that it was quite hard for me to find the balance between the creative work I love and the company management that simply needs to be done. In the beginning I was doing everything by myself and it cost me time I would rather have invested in designing. But over the years I hired skilled colleagues to help with the business side and to complement my ideas on the creative side. Now, with a team of ten, I no longer plan to further grow the studio, at least not significantly. Instead, I’m considering cooperating with other architecture studios whose work is akin to ours.

With each project and each obstacle, I gained more experience and selfconfidence. I have learned how to be patient and solve projects in all their complexity, from concept to realization.

How would you describe your design philosophy?

Each project I design is built on a strong conceptual solution, which varies depending on the location, client and function. I approach all projects as an architect, even interior design commissions. I’m always focused on making space functional and I often modify

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or rebuild complete spatial layouts. Almost all the furnishings in our interiors are custommade. We put great emphasis on details, proportions, the mutual relations between individual elements and the overall balance of space. I like to play with colours, textures and the structures of surfaces. But one of the most important and essential topics for us is designing more sustainably.

What’s your approach to sustainability?

This is a fundamental topic that we want to further develop and deepen. First of all, we try to point our clients in the right direction.

Some already include sustainability in their requirements, but still not all. Secondly, we try to look at different aspects to succeed when it comes to sustainability, from carefully choosing materials to developing efficient energy-saving systems and implementing rainwater circulation.

Another focus point is the way we construct. Approximately 90 per cent of the fittings and furnishings in our interiors are intentionally tailor-made. This way we can use local crafts and minimize import. I also believe that when you live in a sustainably designed house, it automatically forces you to further deepen a more sustainable lifestyle and attitude. Everyone should realize that even the tiniest of acts can contribute to a better future. I encourage everyone to watch David Attenborough's documentary A Life on Our Planet. You won’t find a better and more engaging overview of the challenges to be faced.

As for the industry, sustainability in design should be measured and regulated in some way, even though I’m not sure if that’s possible on a global level. In any case, I will support every step that makes sense and promotes sustainability, even if it brings along limitations.

In Practice

What’s the role of preservation in your work and do you believe it’s part of the responsibilities of today’s architects?

I grew up in a country with a strong history, surrounded by beautiful and historically valuable architecture. Through school and our upbringing, I have been led to respect this cultural wealth, and now – as an architect – I believe it’s my responsibility to protect these values. So at Formafatal we always try to preserve or renovate original elements.

Unfortunately, a lot has been destroyed in communist Czechoslovakia and sometimes it happens even now, which is painful. It’s particularly important that all architects take this responsibility so we can conserve the historical references of our society.

You’re from the Czech Republic, but also do an extensive amount of work in Costa Rica. How come?

I visited Costa Rica for the first time seven years ago and I completely fell in love with its lush nature, wild Pacific coast, the greenest mountains directly hitting the coastline, its pura vida vibe, and the smiling people that live in harmony with the animals all around. From that moment on, I dreamt about building something there that would follow that local atmosphere.

And then I met my current client Filip Žák and it all started. We began with an interior design and after a great collaboration I was lucky to have won his confidence and was commissioned to design his family’s private residence on his Art Villas Resort nestled in the Costa Rican jungle. I was travelling there at least three times a year to oversee construction. And the more time I spent there, the more I wanted to live there. A year ago, I bought a proper piece of land and I’m planning big things.

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BoysPlayNice

Part of the Art Villas Resort in Costa Rica, a set of five egg-shaped shelters called Coco is constructed from local tropical wood, tent canvas and metal. The architectural concept comes from Archwerk studio, and Formafatal sensitively connected the individual buildings by footbridges and stairs and added a minimalist yet playful interior.

FREDRIK HELLBERG and LARA LESMES, cofounders of Space Popular, discuss how to create virtual immersion with or without headsets, the challenges of navigating the undefined ethics of digital terrains, and why mimicry is a tool, not a sin.

Words Tracey Ingram Portrait Anna Huix

Influencer

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As events across the globe have scrambled to move online in a meaningful way, Space Popular has been busy. Lara Lesmes and Fredrik Hellberg founded their studio in Bangkok in 2013 before returning to London in 2016. Known for creating spaces, objects and events that straddle the physical and digital spheres, they’ve now been tasked with helping a number of clients construct fully virtual journeys. And since the past year has completely changed expectations surrounding access, now, they say, there’s no going back.

You’ve used virtual reality in physical gallery spaces, many of which have experienced closures during lockdowns. What did you learn from making entirely virtual exhibitions?

LARA LESMES: Pre-pandemic, ‘virtual’ was incorporated into exhibitions through galleries using their spaces to offer access to specialized hardware. Not everyone has a headset, after all. Our work always had virtual and physical elements, and galleries gave us that possibility. We’d never before done something you could visit from home, but when everyone started to look for exhibition solutions during lockdowns, we had to make things available, to start experimenting. We discovered that WebXR, Mozilla Hubs are the healthiest tools to use.

FREDRIK HELLBERG: Yes, virtual spaces you can enter with a headset or a desktop, directly through your internet browser. They’re more accessible.

LL: You can host yourself, and Mozilla doesn’t collect any data. That’s a question we’ve been asking ourselves: What are we betting on when we create social VR exhibitions? We’re actively supporting specific frameworks, and we think it’s an important choice.

So you don’t gather data to inform designs?

FH: No, but that’s because we’re part of a pioneering group of people making a conscious effort in that direction. The virtual world is being built faster than ever and it’s built on a house of cards. Some cards are dangerous. I presume we’ll see the same kinds of concerns that are affecting the world of literature. Amazon is starting to track the way people read novels and feeding that data back to publishers. ‘This is where people stopped reading your book, so don’t do that in your next novel’ – that kind of thing.

LL: We’d much rather read reviews and hear feedback during tours. I’m

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also not sure how valuable it is to obtain other data – unless it’s for commercial purposes, if I think in a dystopian way. As a reader or visitor, my unconscious set of decisions may not represent my true experience. Some things might be helpful to know – say, if everyone kept getting lost in the same corner – but if someone found an element uninteresting and we as exhibition designers still consider it relevant, we’re not going to take it out.

As you say, ownership of VR headsets is relatively limited. How else can you offer immersive VR experiences?

LL: When you watch VR films in a gallery, you have an individual experience.

When we translated them into the website format for our RIBA project [Freestyle: Architectural Adventures in Mass Media, which looked at the relationship between architectural styles and media over the last 500 years in the UK], we made the films into 360° spheres. You can watch them together with other people, which is quite an interesting advantage. But you’re also still watching within the frame of your computer screen unless you own a set of VR glasses, which most people don’t. The social experience becomes the immersive factor – that’s what makes you feel present in the space.

Alone it might feel slightly more engaging than a website, but the moment someone else appears – even if they don’t talk to you – the experience is heightened. It can be something as small as a cursor – two people working together on a Google Doc – to a 3D space where you’re represented as an avatar.

I heard someone even hosted a party on a Google Doc during lockdown.

Now that we’re building these spaces, questions about the individual versus collective experience are arising. If we have an area with a screen where you can scroll through images, do the images scroll just for you or for everyone in the space? We think the action should affect everybody.

In Practice

There’s an interesting phenomenon with WebXR spaces – you can’t include many users because you’d end up with too much for your device to process. This means copies – instances – need to be made on the fly and you don’t know which ‘space’ you’ll be thrown into. If you visit a virtual exhibition with a friend, you might end up in a sort of parallel universe and not find each other.

Personally, I’d rather wait in a queue to get in with a friend than not know where they are.

Solutions do exist, such as being able to find your friends on a list, but this raises other questions of privacy. These are the kinds of tech issues we’re currently dealing with.

In the virtual world we’re often still trying to mimic elements from the physical world. Is there an opportunity to develop a new aesthetic for virtual exhibitions?

FH: This is a divisive topic and we think about it a lot. There’s a reason why elements shouldn’t be completely abstract. Snow White was the first full-length animated feature to be released, in 1937. What if they’d decided to paint abstract figures instead of relatable characters? Who wants to sit through something that long just looking at blobs? We navigate life by understanding the language of objects and environments. In the West, mimicry is often seen as a negative word but I don’t think it should be. If virtual space is a tool for learning, for having fun, then it becomes increasingly limiting if you don’t refer to things from the physical world.

LL: Sometimes you see digital spaces where none of the walls are straight, everything is fluid – they’re hard to navigate.

Unless you have extensive experience in virtual space, you end up using them on your own terms, based on your experience of the physical world. The most powerful virtual experiences are where the design is referential, but one thing is shifted or twisted. The surreal effect.

»

ABOVE With the help of VR coder Roman Miletitch, Space Popular created a digital environment for the 2020 Arquia/Próxima architecture festival, which celebrates and awards the work of young emergent practices from Portugal and Spain.

RIGHT Organized on a grid that recalled Arquia/Próxima 2020’s originally intended site, Barcelona’s Ensanche, nine custom-designed rooms fulfilled different purposes, from an amphitheatre for hosting larger communal events to galleries that highlighted nominated projects.

Influencer

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Myerson lives in the southwest of London, not far from Kew Gardens.

Editor, writer, researcher and thinker JEREMY MYERSON explains why inclusivity and sustainability are two arrows heading towards each other, how to fix the lack of diversity in the interior design industry and what the future of work entails.

As told to Robert Thiemann Photos Andrew Meredith

What I’ve Learned

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Architectural Surfaces

GRANITE MARBLE SILESTONE DEKTON

FAÇADES FLOORING CLADDING WORKTOPS KITCHENS BATHROOMS

Amsterdam Barcelona Dubai London Los Angeles Madrid Manhattan Miami Montreal Milano San Francisco Singapore Sydney Toronto

COSENTINO CITY AMSTERDAM Van Baerlestraat 39-43, 1071 AP Amsterdam

COSENTINO CITY MADRID Paseo de la Castellana, 116, 28046 Madrid

COSENTINO CITY BARCELONA Avenida Diagonal 497, 08029 Barcelona

Katsumasa Tanaka, courtesy of Shiroiya Hotel

spaces

66 Why retail is channelling neoclassicism 80 How CBD stores are steering clear of stoner stereotypes 100 Interiors convert to veganism

RECAST RELICS Fen-Fang Lu

The Building Crease store by Waterfrom Design for Anest Collective in Shanghai, China.

In each issue we identify a key aesthetic trend evident in our archive of recent projects and challenge semiotics agency Axis Mundi to unpack its design codes. Here, we look at how neoclassical references in retail spaces and design connote stability and endurance in a time of uncertainty.

Words Rosamund Picton and Kourosh Newman-Zand 66

Spaces

José Hevia

Acne Studios Norrmalmstorg store by Arquitectura-G in Stockholm, Sweden.

Acne Studios Norrmalmstorg store by Arquitectura-G in Stockholm, Sweden.

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Spaces

Mikael Olsson

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Look Book

Shinya Kigure

Alongside the renovation of a 1970s building – now known as the ‘heritage tower’ (opposite) – Sou Fujimoto completed the 25-room Shiroiya Hotel with the addition of a new ‘green tower’ that recalls the hillocks common to the region.

DESTINATION CREATION

Bolstered by the unprecedented pandemic, tourists and locals are looking to suburban areas as viable alternatives to densely populated metropolises.

There’s potential for smaller, once desolated cities to become destinations away from the crowds. We look at the design of a hotel in Maebashi, a city within two hours’ drive of Tokyo, where internationally renowned creatives – Sou Fujimoto, Michele de Lucchi and Jasper Morrison, to name a few – joined forces with locals to usher in a renaissance.

Hospitality

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VEGAN INTERIORS

Jordi Huisman

In addition to WeWork’s ethos for lowcarbon, minimal-waste workspaces, the intention for the fit-out of its Amsterdam Stadhouderskade office was to eradicate all leather and PVC from the interiors.

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Spaces

In a time of climate emergency and devastating species loss, many of us are giving greater consideration to the impact of what we consume – and not just in terms of what we eat. Whereas veganism might have once felt entrenched in radical politics and restricted diets, more recently it has made a step into the mainstream, opening up new opportunities for influence in unexpected parts of our lives – including our interiors.

Words Ruth Lang

New Typology

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RAW EARTH RETURNS

Presence in Hormuz 02 utilizes the Superadobe earthbag construction developed by late Iranian-born architect Nader Khalili.

Sustainable buildings have to account for the carbon footprint of their materials, including the toll of the transportation. How can architecture tap resources much closer to home? Answering that question has ushered in a renaissance of raw-earth building techniques. ZAV Architects highlights how such methods can not only benefit the environment but also empower struggling communities.

Tahmineh Monzavi

The simplicity of the Superadobe technique and the small scale of the residences mean that the construction of the domed buildings – a familiar architectural shape on Hormuz Island – isn’t limited to qualified craftspeople.

Tahmineh Monzavi

SUSTAINABILITY Building from the ground up – literally – was once the most favoured method, with rammed earth, cobe and adobe buildings arising in everywhere from Europe to Africa and the Middle East. That is, until ‘better’ materials came along. As Louis Wustemann reports in the Financial Times, Belgian architect Jean Dethier ‘thinks the soil’s very ubiquity worked against it, since that denied anyone an interest in exploiting it commercially’. But now, with evermore awareness of the construction industry’s impact on the planet, such techniques are getting a reprise. And big-name architects including Herzog & de Meuron are helping to push the expectations of the aesthetic.

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Spaces

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OUT NOW

LEARNING FROM CHINA A New Era of Retail Design As e-commerce uproots the norms and conventions of physical retail, Chinese retailers are showing the way forward. What can designers, architects and industry leaders learn from this melting pot of innovation? A curated selection of 50 case studies, this book provides a window into the future of the industry. €49

WHERE WE WORK Design Lessons from the Modern Office The office isn’t dead. But just in what form will it live? As we think about the future of the office in a post-pandemic world, this book explores 51 ground-breaking workspaces, providing an indispensable reference tool for interior designers, architects and companies alike. €49

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WDi, courtesy of Mur Mur Lab

frame lab

WELLBEING The mental wellness industry was already on the rise before Covid-19 struck. Good timing, since even those untouched by the physical effects of the virus have no doubt felt its psychological toll. Here we examine how a three-pronged approach – places, products and portals – is making support more frequent and more accessible, to more people.

how mental wellness is shaping new places, products and portals

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Frame Lab

Over the past five years, the number of Google searches for ‘mental wellbeing’ has steadily climbed. Unsurprisingly, there are two distinct peaks in the upward trend: one in May 2020, following the first period of strict lockdowns in much of the world, and the second, in September, as the start of the second wave hit. Forced isolation gave some individuals the space and time to reflect on self-improvement, on how to make positive changes for the future.

For others, it was precisely the lack of those things – space and time – that necessitated urgent emotional support.

And let’s not forget those dealing with the stress of losing a job, or the grief of unexpectedly losing a loved one.

Thankfully, the topic of mental wellbeing has become less taboo, and various outlets are opening up to fill the need. Apps like Headspace are bringing meditation into the mainstream – so mainstream, in fact, that Netflix has just released the animated series Headspace Guide to Meditation. This and other mental-wellness-oriented apps make up just a small part of a $120.8 billion industry, found the Global Wellness Institute (GWI) in its major report for 2020 – ‘the first study to define mental wellness as opposed to mental health’. Ophelia Yeung, GWI senior research fellow, writes: ‘Stress, loneliness and burnout were exploding pre-pandemic, and a stronger focus on mental wellness has been a cultural mega-shift these last few years: People awakening to the importance

of integrative solutions including meditation, sleep and brain health, with businesses rushing in to offer all kinds of solutions. But mental wellness as a concept, and what constitutes it as an industry, has remained incredibly fuzzy. Clarifying what it is, and delineating its business segments, is overdue. And while most mental wellness strategies are free – spending time in nature or with friends – people increasingly seek non-clinical help in coping with everyday mental challenges, and that’s where the mental wellness industry comes in.’

And now, these solutions and strategies are becoming more important than ever. Newspapers wrote of Covid-19 as the ‘greatest threat to mental health since second world war’ (The Guardian) and of its negative psychological impacts as ‘the hidden “fourth wave” of the pandemic’ (The New York Times). In summary, the effects could linger well after we’ve moved beyond lockdowns.

Rather than taking a long retreat – for which not many have the means or time – wellness seekers now have a wider range of options at their disposal, for any given moment of the day. And, as is expected in other industries such as events, the future model will likely be a hybrid of physical and digital, offering the best of both worlds.TI

Wellbeing

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PRODUCTS Driven by a growing knowledge about the relationship between body and mind, personal health devices are adopting a more holistic approach to wellbeing, employing biofeedback and haptic stimuli to both support and enhance mental wellbeing practices.

At the start of this year, Google completed its acquisition of Fitbit, which – with a community of over 29 million active users – is quite possibly the most well-known wellness wearables company out there. With the purchase, Google, which seems to be constantly playing catch-up with its own WearOS software, now might finally be able to join the ranks of wearable tech with the likes of Apple, Xiaomi, Huawei and Samsung. But to stay relevant in the growing and competitive market of portable personal wellness devices, a more holistic approach towards health is proving essential. And luckily for Google, Fitbit realized this before closing the $2.1 billion deal. Originally focused largely on physical fitness, more recently the company started to address the increased interest in mental and emotional wellbeing among consumers.

Introduced in August 2020, one of its latest health smartwatches, called Fitbit Sense, features innovations in stress management.

When the watch is covered by a palm, it detects the body’s response to stress, measured by small electrical changes in the sweat level of the skin. And when paired with inapp mindfulness sessions, users can monitor their physiological reaction to meditation 130

and relaxation. Fitbit’s move into the realm of mental wellness isn’t a standalone event.

Employing biofeedback strategies to address the impact of stress, the latest health tech devices no longer solely encourage users to be active, but also to occasionally rest.

Amazon’s health tracker Halo, for example, analyses sleep patterns, offers guided meditations and even performs emotional analysis using voice recognition technology, while Upmood’s Upmood Watch uses biometric technology to detect emotional states and identify emotional triggers.

Similar approaches to health tech are being adopted by manufacturers of smart devices for the (smart) home space. Case in point is Baracoda, a company that augments everyday objects to empower people to take preventive healthcare into their own hands.

At this year’s digital edition of CES, the company presented its CoreOS Thermis smart mirror. Designed as a personal health assistant, the mirror goes beyond skin analysis to support mental wellness, introducing breathing exercises into evening routines to promote better sleep and proposing different lighting atmospheres to match the user’s mood. ‘It will also include some face yoga exercises to »

Frame Lab

Calypso Mahieu, courtesy of EPFL+ECAL Lab

The Rubin Museum of Art in New York City is handing over its thirdfloor gallery to the creation of a contemplative space that draws on the symbolism of a Tibetan Buddhist mandala.

Courtesy of Peterson Rich Office

For the project Meditation Robotics, EPFL+ECAL Lab joined forces with the Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience at EPFL to enhance the practice of meditation with a multisensorial experience. A haptic device is placed under the user’s feet and generates a sensation ‘similar to the feeling of waves underfoot on a beach’.

Wellbeing

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Julia Tatarchenko, courtesy of Crosby Studios

market

150 Ergonomic furniture for small spaces, upcycled acoustic solutions, 3D-printed room dividers and more 160 How to work with hempcrete

CROSBY STUDIOS HOME PILLOWS Design practice Crosby Studios has extended its reach with Crosby Studios Home, a lifestyle brand for loungewear and home goods such as the pillows shown here. ‘Crosby Studios Home is about thoughtfully curating objects into the home, and discovering new parts of ourselves in the process,’ explains founder Harry Nuriev. ‘The collection also seeks to add new energy to the home with expressive objects infused with fashion and art.’ It is accessible for browsing via an immersive virtual apartment-cumshowroom powered by gaming software. home.crosbystudios.com

Julia Tatarchenko, courtesy of Crosby Studios

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AECTUAL STUDIOS ROOM DIVIDERS AND SAFETY SCREENS A welcome alternative to disposable plastic screens in the office and at home, Aectual Studios’ 3D-printed room dividers and safety screens are entirely circular. The patterned matte partitions are made of plant-based plastic and can be introduced as a self-standing element, hanging curtain or mounted wall panelling. Once use is complete, they can be shredded and reprinted into different structures. aectual.com

Frame 139

SANCAL REMNANT Note Design Studio got to work creating two individual, yet complementary, ranges of armchairs and sofas for Sancal. Pictured is the quilted Remnant armchair – it’s imagined to represent the possibilities of leftover material after sculpting a form, in this case the matching Core sofa. Mixing and matching the pieces is encouraged: a range of fabrics helps bring texture and colour to a space. sancal.com

PULPO KOKESHI A nod to traditional Japanese kokeshi dolls, Kai Linke’s Kokeshi lamps for Pulpo have a similarly shaped body. The bases are sculpted from white, grey or terracotta ceramics while the lamp head is formed from hand-blown acetate glass in white or grey. Linke and Pulpo embraced variations during the production process – bubbles, streaks and differences in size and tone express the uniqueness of each piece.

Ronald Smits

pulpoproducts.com

CÉLESTINE PEUCHOT INERT DOMESTIC SYSTEM Conceptual designer Célestine Peuchot’s Inert Domestic System project is a series of six furniture pieces marking an investigation of manufacturing processes and a mix of materials and techniques.

The objects, forged from blue ceramic gear, glass neon tubes, acrylic elements and an aluminium structure, ‘demonstrate that artisanal and industrial manufacturing are less at odds with each other than is commonly perceived’. celestinepeuchot.fr

Market

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HARNESSING HEMP(CRETE) Inspired by

democratic design principles and driven to explore the smaller-scale potential of working with hempcrete, Hannah Segerkrantz established Hemp-It-Yourself, a semi-modular furniture development system that helps makers construct tables with the biocomposite material. The instruction manual encourages on-demand, local production and the use of sustainable practices and resources.

Words Lauren Grace Morris

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kg of carbon is absorbed by a single cubic metre of hempcrete – the same amount of concrete expels 410 kg.

A popular option in sustainable building, it is as strong as concrete yet 8 times lighter, and flexible

0.8 to 3.2 kg is the range in amounts of hemp shiv – workable hemp hurd – that goes into a finished piece. To get hempcrete, the hurd is combined with a lime binder

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acre of hemp, which takes about 4 months to reach maturation, is able to produce 2.5 tonnes of hemp shiv

2,123 litres of water is needed for 1 kg of hemp fibre, whereas 1 kg of cotton begs 9,958 litres

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different shapes are used for the fabric mould patterns required for casting the material.

With the manual, 15 form variations can be created to suit specific functions

3 to 5 weeks is the time it takes to dry the individual elements, a timeline that varies depending on the surrounding climate hannahsegerkrantz.com

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In Numbers

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