Dq#59 preview mag by Indesign Media Asia Pacific

Issue 59. Spring 2015. The Science v Art Issue. Design Quarterly unravels the debate between science + art in the business of design. Schiavello challenges the open-plan model, to lead the future of dynamic working environments. Alexander Lotersztain Own World x Bend Goods USA Wilkhahn Christopher Boots Zip Water FEBRIK Coco Flip Laufen Symposium 2015 SeehoSu Hassell Ross Didier Flynn Talbot Sydney Indesign 2015 Clerkenwell 2015.

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DQ Editor Sophia Watson, dq@indesign.com.au Melbourne Editor Alice Blackwood, Alice@indesign.com.au Digital Editor Ashley Tucker, ashley@indesign.com.au Editorial Assistant Andrew McDonald, andrew@indesign.com.au Ad traffic Tina Fluerty, tina@indesign.com.au Production Manager Victoria Kovacs, victoria@indesign.com.au

elcome to the last issue of DQ for 2015, guys! And what a hell of a year it’s been. Last year felt a bit like we were all in serious recovery-mode from the epic hurricane that was the GFC. People were more cautious about their spending, more conservative about their design choices and, in many cases, were just trying to keep the ship afloat. But like any bad hangover, we’ve had a few panadol, some water and a Big Mac and 2015 has since been energising, action-packed and – quite honestly – a year of getting our shit back on track. I’ve seen a huge turn around in our local industry this year. Many of you have recalibrated your output and deconstructed your business to reveal what really matters to you and your brands. Others have stayed the course and have undergone explosive growth in just a short period of time. I’ve actually never seen so many start-ups in one year – and successful, wellconsidered start-ups at that! It’s been really great to watch. It seems that we’ve all learnt some critical lessons from the 2013-2014 rough patch (some harsher than others) about the future of design as a commercial viability. I’ve seen such a shift in the mindsets of designers, distributors, manufacturers and specifyers toward a more meaningful industry; looking beyond units sold to position design as an industry with more substance and grit. This kind of thinking has led many down the path of considering what Australian design really is. Sure, it’s product and spaces. But beyond that, how do we define our practice? Is it an art? A science? Or blatantly just a business? Not surprisingly, there is quite a bit of debate around this topic. Some believe that design is an art in that, like art, giving an object meaning beyond its physicality can forge a deeper connection with the user that will likley sustain their relationship with your brand beyond the product or the space. Often this attitude and approach encourages lifelong loyalty – even spawning the odd brand champion groupie or two. Others totally disagree – quite intensely I might add – that viewing design as an art is (as one Australian industrial designer recently told me) “so fucking damaging to the image of our industry”, because it devalues the scientific, often calculated and measured approach that many practitioners live by. The fear here is that if we keep referring to design as an art, we become an industry based only on aesthetics – which I think we can all agree is quite a horrifying prospect. Whether you believe design is an art or a science is up to you. What’s important is that you come by your opinion honestly. Post-GFC, the market wants to know who you are behind the brand, and aligning your business and creative output with something you genuinely believe makes a strong statement to the market about what they can expect from you and your brand. And after all, isn’t that the most valuable asset in business? Enjoy the issue! + WOrDs by sOPhIA WAtsOn

CEO / Publisher Raj Nandan, raj@indesign.com.au

Creative Director Christopher Holt, HOLT Design christopher@holtdesign.com.au Designers Michelle Byrnes, michelle@indesign.com.au Sophie Taylor, s.taylor@indesign.com.au James McLaughlin, james@indesign.com.au Contributing Writers Alice Blackwood, Andrew McDonald, Annie Reid, Byron George, Leanne Amodeo, Lorenzo Logi, Mandi Keighran, Marg Hearn, Sophie Davies, Stephen Todd

PA to Publisher/subscriptions Elizabeth Davy-Hou, liz@indesign.com.au Financial Director Kavita Lala, kavita@indesign.com.au Accounts Gabrielle Regan, gabrielle@indesign.com.au Vivia Felice, vivia@indesign.com.au Events and Marketing Tegan Schwarz, tegan@indesign.com.au Angie Boustred, angie@indesign.com.au Bonnie Eskdale, bonnie@indesign.com.au

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Online Radu Enache, radu@indesign.com.au Ryan Sumners, ryan@indesign.com.au Advertising Enquiries Marigold Banta // Dana Ciaccia (61 2) 9368 0150 marigold@indesign.com.au // dana@indesign.com.au Indesign Media Perth Kay Cohen, kay@indesign.com.au

BEHIND THE SCENES On the cover Issue 59. Spring 2015. The Science v Art Issue. Design Quarterly unravels the debate between science + art in the business of design. Schiavello challenges the open-plan model, to lead the future of dynamic working environments. Alexander Lotersztain Own World x Bend Goods USA Wilkhahn Christopher Boots Zip Water FEBRIK Coco Flip Laufen Symposium 2015 SeehoSu Hassell Ross Didier Flynn Talbot Sydney Indesign 2015 Clerkenwell 2015.

‘FREEDOM TO FOCUS’ by Schiavello for the Focus modular worksystem designed by Nick Tennant Schiavello.com/focus CREATIVE CONCEPT: Christopher Holt Holtdesign.com.au COVER ILLUSTRATION: Sophie Taylor sophietaylordesign.com

Corrections: In DQ #58 WINTER, p.47, the caption should read: William Lifestyle, designed by Charles Wilson for King Lifestyle

Design Quarterly (DQ) is a wholly owned Australian publication, which is designed and published quarterly in Australia. DQ is available through subscription, at major newsagencies and bookshops nationally. Subscriptions – never miss an issue by subscribing online at indesignlive.com, faxing us at (61 2) 9368 0289, or emailing subscriptions@indesign.com.au. Design Quarterly is a quarterly publication fed by who is doing what in the design industry, championing the personality behind design. It aims to promote and create the next generation of design as well as supporting those designers who are more established. The editor accepts submissions from writers/photographers/illustrators for editorial consideration. We encourage those working in the design industry to submit news and announcements, so we can keep readers abreast of your new developments. Editorial submissions should be made out to the editor dq@indesign.com.au. Any digital images should be supplied by email, downloadable link, or on CD at 300dpi, minimum 20cm wide. Please also supply full contact details and captions with images. Contributions are submitted at the sender’s risk, and DQ cannot accept any loss or damage. Please retain duplicates of text and images. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any other means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise. The publishers assume no responsibility for errors or omissions or any consequences of reliance on this publication. The opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the views of the editor, the publisher or the publication. Magazine Stock Our printer is Environmental Management System ISO14001:2004 accredited. Printing inks are vegetable based. Paper is environmentally friendly ECF (elemental chlorine free) and recyclable. Printed in Singapore. Published under licence by Indesign Publishing Pty Ltd ABN 96 101 789 262 HEAD OFFICE, SYDNEY Level 1, 50 Marshall Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010 | (61 2) 9368 0150, (61 2) 9368 0289 (fax) | info@indesign.com.au | indesignlive.com MELBOURNE Suite 11, Level 1, 95 Victoria Street, Fitzroy VIC 3065 SINGAPORE 4 Leng Kee Road, #06-08 SIS Building, SINGAPORE 159088 | (+65) 6475 5228, (+65) 6475 5238 (fax) HONG KONG Unit 12, 21st Floor, Wayson Commercial Building, 28 Connaught Road West, Sheung Wan, HONG KONG | indesignlive.hk indesignlive.com/dq

EdITorIal

FREEDOM TO FOCUS

Empowering users is the future of openplan. Industry pioneers, Schiavello, give power back to the people to define the future of dynamic workplaces.

ctivity-based working is obviously a solid model. Maximised communication, increased ability to collaborate and an over-all transparent environment are just a few of the many benefits. It’s no surprise then, that now-days 9 out of 10 commercial projects require an ABW office plan. But one size does not fit all, and while we have certainly gained a lot from the layout of open-plan, we have lost things, too. “Flexible workspaces that primarily focus on connectivity and communication are often lacking sufficient private areas,” says Schiavello Director, Anton Schiavello, “Therefore acoustic considerations are a very important aspect in open-plan environments.” Off the back of these common complaints, multidisciplinary design house, Schiavello have created the Focus collection; a curated selection of soft barriers and booths that provides a quiet refuge for a private conversation or just to think. Focus provides a place for easy communication or retreat and relaxation, while creating an ideal working space for concentration, even within high-traffic, open-plan environments. Sure, the market is noisy with brands claiming to solve the issues of ABW, so how is Focus different? Designed by famed Australian workspace planning and product designer, Nick Tennant, the Focus collection is a new furniture typology, which deconstructs the issues of open-plan by focusing on people and how they use products and spaces, rather than the spaces alone. The high curved panels form a shield from the surrounding environment, absorbing noise and creating a quiet and intimate place of retreat with dampened acoustics. Allowing users to be free from concern about being seen behind and shutting out the gazes of others, Focus provides privacy and a shelter from visual distractions and noise. But solving those issues is only half the problem. Focus is truly unique in that it not only solves the problems of noise, concentration and refuge, it – more importantly – gives power back to the user by

providing them with the tools to tailor the system to their specific needs and work modalities. “There is an increasing consensus that retreat spaces are critical to successful activity-based workplaces,” notes Tennant. “We continue to observe our clients opting for a “menu” of work settings that reflect the varying work modes and activities a typical knowledge worker may transition through in a single day. Having identified these trends, Schiavello developed the Focus collection to offer a range of work settings that support activities requiring reflection, discretion or high levels of concentration. A range of different levels of enclosure with optional acoustic treatments and functional accessories were designed for Focus, allowing it to be tailored to clients specific needs.” Empowering the user to choose the space they need, the units come equipped with power and data connections and an expanding range of accessories including signage blade, coat and bag hook and a splash back available in a variety of finishes such as leather or pinable board. An innovation in the furniture sector, Krossi height-adjustable tables brings sit-stand work surfaces to Focus. Belonging to Schiavello’s Knowledge Collection of furniture typologies, Focus is a strong reminder that Schiavello not only understands the needs and demands of various open-plan formats, but more importantly, how those formats effect a diverse cross-section of people and what they need to perform; offering them “freedom to focus”. And that, is a truly valuable quality – not to mention an important distinction – for anyone working in commercial design today. + Words by sophia Watson

schiavello.com/focus // (61 3) 9330 8888

This page top / Focus modular worksystem, a new furniture typology for open spaces, giving users the “freedom to focus”, designed by Nick Tennant for Schiavello This page bottom / “Stand Out From the Crowd” conceptual reference, sourced from Dani Luis @ Blender Artists Community 9

PERFECT PASTELS

Soften the mood with quiet hues and dreamy tones

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Design / Luciano Dell’Orefice Brand / True Design Supplier / Chairbiz chairbiz.com 1300 888434

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DON’T BE A TOSSER

very year, office de-fit teams (or “commercial destruction squads” as I prefer) send thousands of dollars worth of perfectly good furnishings and fittings to landfill – and the landfills are rapidly reaching full capacity. As city councils look for ways to reduce waste, product recycling and stewardship schemes are taking centre stage in a bid to save great materials from the scrapheap. Under product stewardship take back schemes, environmentally-aware manufacturers will freely accept their products back when they reach the end of their useful lives and recycle them, or at least take care of responsible disposal on the customer’s behalf. For example, carpet manufacturer Shaw Contract Group will take their used carpet tiles back at no cost to the customer to reclaim them into fresh products. Recycling schemes are also becoming increasingly popular. Not tied to any specific manufacturer, schemes such as Planet Ark’s Business Recycling put businesses in touch with local companies who will take their old materials away without sending them straight to landfill. It always helps when designers create furniture and fittings with product end-of-life in mind, making sure products are easy to separate into recyclable components. This idea is built into all of Good Environmental Choice Australia’s standards, which require manufacturers to use product stewardship schemes to gain certification. Designers are also encouraged to imaginatively reconfigure and incorporate components from existing fitouts in new, innovative ways to save money for their clients and divert potentially expensive materials from going into landfill. + geca.org.au // (61 2) 9699 2850

MAKING PLACES Design is becoming less about singular, internal spaces and more about the precinct as a whole. How then, can designers think bigger to positively impact the space around a project – especially when the project involves rebranding architectural icons?

hile concrete, steel and timber may win awards, the true measure of any project’s success rests in the human-ness of the design. The public park that encourages social interaction, a retail fit out that makes people linger or that particular restaurant you always frequent (not just for the food) is design functioning at its very best. Any project with the end user at its heart will significantly impact those it means to serve. And here, the practice of contemporary design has increasingly become more about activating the cultural, social and behavioural aspects of a project. Understanding placemaking is key to this activation. As Frost* collective is well aware, designing culture and community may seem a potentially complex proposition, but in order to achieve an engaging and compelling outcome there’s no avoiding it. The Sydney-based brand specialists were responsible for the recent North Sydney CBD rebrand, employing an experiencedriven strategy to revitalise the commercial precinct’s seemingly lacklustre image. “We had to find the truth about what contributed to people having a positive work/life experience; and the truth we landed on is North Sydney is all about a happy balance,” says Frost* collective’s group creative director Anthony Donovan. So creating a campaign that highlighted the precinct’s often overlooked abundance of green spaces and excellent amenities was important. It was also about making people who work in North Sydney feel good about working there; generating a positive groundswell from within the community.

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INdusTry

The resulting creative concept includes the ethos, ‘Happiness Works Here’, as well as a new logo brand mark, both of which feature on street banners and a billboard that has North Sydney icons Luna Park and the Olympic Pool populating the logo’s letters alongside various aspirational work/life scenarios. Donovan and his team adopted a bright colour palette, applying the branding to the precinct’s park benches as well. “It’s amazing what happens when you change the colour of a park bench to pink, orange or purple,” he laughs. “It makes everyone feel just that little bit happier.” While the fixed elements of the campaign have so far proven effective, the most successful aspect is the website – an online hub embraced by the community. It features Spotify’s specially created ‘North Sydney playlists’ and a popular space where social media posts featuring the ‘NthSyd’ hashtag can be shared. A quick browse of this ‘community noticeboard’ reveals restaurant owners announcing new items on their menu, office workers praising North Sydney Council’s free lunchtime activities and one local who was very happy to discover Peking duck pizza is a thing. It’s a significant content platform that promotes vibrancy, has longevity and just like the campaign itself, will grow as the revitalisation continues to take hold. Donovan and his team are also responsible for creating a new identity for Sydney’s Harry Seidlerdesigned Grosvenor Place and just like the North Sydney CBD rebrand, it’s about more than just a logo. The challenge for Frost* collective was how to make the 27 year-old building attractive to potential

tenants in a marketplace saturated with new, modern developments. As Donovan explains, “We turned the building’s age into a positive, re-positioning it as an architectural icon designed by Harry Seidler and all the equity that name carries with it.” The architect’s signature was used in the logo (with endorsement by Seidler’s wife, Penelope), ingeniously signing off the building as a work of art. The accompanying ‘Culture at Work’ ethos contains a dual message that firstly acknowledges the building’s location in Sydney CBD’s historical and cultural precinct; a stone’s throw from the MCA and Museum of Sydney. It parallels with these cultural institutions by treating the Frank Stella paintings that permanently hang in the foyer as exhibits rather than mere decoration. But the tagline also makes reference to the culture of workplace within the building itself. “If you’re in a cultured environment your company’s culture will benefit as a result,” Donovan says. “Being in this building will have positive effects and if you’re happy where you are, you’re going to be more productive.” The refurbishment of Grosvenor Place’s ground plane by Harry Seidler and Associates also re-energises the building by introducing hospitality, retail and recreation spaces. Not only does it provide people who work there with additional amenities, it also appears more inviting to passers-by. For Donovan and team Frost* collective, “it really is about creating lasting experiences.” + Words by Leanne amodeo

frostcollective.com.au // (61 2) 9280 4233

This page / Grosvenor Place precinct Rebrand, designed by Frost* Collective Opposite / EcoWorx Modular Tile by Shaw Contract Group, GECA Certified

AlexAnder lotersztAin This page / Alexander Lotersztain and the QTZ limited edition chair, designed by Alexander Lotersztain for his practice, Delot, Photo: Florian Groehn

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INFLUENCERS

With a successful business behind him and impressive projects ahead, Alexander Lotersztain sets a fine example for the Australian design industry, and has earned the right to call it on its faults.

n the last 12 months, Brisbane-based designer Alexander Lotersztain’s studio has grown, he has ventured into new markets, expanded his local interior design and international industrial design businesses, and become the first Australian to be picked up by Italian design icon Rossana Orlandi. Yet, when our Skype video connection lights up, he is lying on the couch in his office. “One of the privileges of the position that I’m in at the moment,” he begins, “is that even though I look extremely busy, I have an amazing team working hard behind me, maybe even twice as hard as I do, so I have the opportunity to explore other ventures.” Thus, while he oversees the more established aspects of his business, including a collaboration with Instyle, concepts for Alessi and an ABW furniture system proposal for Arper, Lotersztain can also focus on more adventurous projects. Close to home, he has been working with Gold Coast-based Superior Group on Waterscape, a floating, modular pontoon system that allows for any configuration and size and is suitable for large-scale projects like marinas. Launched in May, it has already won a number of awards, including best in category at the Australian Good Design Awards. At Neocon this year in Chicago, Lotersztain was busy feeling out the market and laying the groundwork for a substantial expansion in the United States. “Derlot Editions USA will officially launch at Neocon in 2016, and as part of the research trip I met with local manufacturers to collaborate on our current business strategy of ‘home grown,’ where most of our products will be produced with local manufacturers to have local content, meet tighter lead-times and be more environmentally responsible,” he recounts. His focus on the North American market makes sense, as it is the source of 80 per cent of his international queries. In Milan at this year’s Salone del Mobile, or more accurately at Ventura Lambrate (where he exhibited), Lotersztain added a feather to his cap when he was picked up by the one and only Rossana Orlandi for his QTZ collection, a limited edition range of seating and tables made in metal finishes. After no success trying to contact her from Australia, he presented himself in person while in Milan, and was scolded for not bringing it to her first. The meeting was a great success, with the range now distributed by Orlandi – who also signed a right of first refusal contract for future collections. While QTZ was a seven-month exploration of technology and new material, his next limited edition project will take a very different

approach; Lotersztain is returning to the Torres Strait Islands, a part of Australia he has spent time in before (he worked at the Gab Titui Cultural Center in 2016/17) to develop a collection of products made from ‘ghost nets’ in collaborations with local communities on Erub Island. Needless to say, Lotersztain keeps his plate filled with eclectic and interesting projects both at home and around the world. However for a designer engaged in a number of ethical and sustainable initiatives, he remains devoutly pragmatic. On the topic of supporting Australian design, he is candid in his opinions that the industry needs to complain less and act more: he says, “It’s so easy to put a bitchy comment on Facebook and whine and carry on about it, but what the f*#k are you doing about it? What are you actually doing about it? It’s so easy now to make a complaint, but it’s so difficult to make a difference.” As far as government support and regulation are concerned, he is sceptical: “Blaming the government is an easy choice,” he observes, “‘the government isn’t doing enough. Let’s get some policies in place, let’s do what we did with cigarettes with design.’ But that’s stupid, we’re already so deep in the shit with being a police state, you can’t even have a beer in the street, and they’re trying to shut down uber!” In particular, he identifies the romanticisation of design as art form among product designers, and a limiting nostalgia among interior designers, as particularly harmful. “Furniture designers need to be more astute, they need to design for their industry. They’re designing stuff that is either too expensive to make, or too ugly to sell because they’re in this bubble that design is so closely related to art – that’s bullshit! It’s closely related to business. The second problem that we have is that we’re stuck with nostalgia, so that’s where interior designers need to step it up, and I am not talking about all of them, there are some amazing talented and forwardthinking interior designers and I admire them for it! It’s very easy for an interior designer to do a cafe and specify a Tolix chair, but imagine the poor café operator. The hospitality industry is already struggling as it is with high wages and operational costs, so what do you say to him when he comes to you with the argument that he is just trying to make a living, too. This is where replica companies benefit, because every freakin’ interior designer is so dumb that they all specify the same shitty Tolix chair, so the client goes: ‘well I can’t afford the French version because they’re 300 euro each.’” Instead, Lotersztain would have interior designers speak to a 95

INFLUENCERS

THAT’S A WRAP! The Official Sydney Indesign 2015 Wrap Party, the Whitehouse Institute of Australian Design This year we brought back the industry’s most iconic bash – the Sydney Indesign Wrap Party! Thank you to everyone who came to make this year’s party one to remember. A big thank you to our our Founding Partner Light Culture, Official Wrap Party Sponsors BOLON and Sunbrella and our Event Partners Luxmy Furniture, The Whitehouse Institute of Design Australia and Longleaf Tea Vodka. sydneyindesign.com.au

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GLOBAL DESIGN GLAMOURS! Sydney Indesign Director’s Soirèe opening night, Catalina’s Rose Bay On the eve of Sydney Indesign 2015, Sydney Indesign Director’s Soirèe marked the official commencement of Sydney Indesign’s three-day program. Indesign Media Asia Pacific’s CEO and Publisher, Raj Nandan, hosted 200 guests at Catalina Rose Bay, bringing together key industry figures and influencers, recognising the diversity and strength within the local design communities. sydneyindesign.com.au

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