FRAME THE GREAT INDOORS
No.
57
Jul /Aug 2008 quarterly
The White Issue
The International Magazine of Interior Architecture and Design
FRAME
57
Quarterly
Jul /Aug 2008
The white indoors Why creatives clear out the clutter and cover everything with a coat of white
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White Power
Two trend-forecasters take time to look at, listen to and experience white.
Try Again. Fail Again. Fail Better Scandinavian artists Elmgreen & Dragset ponder the success of failure in Berlin.
Shampoo Shadows Isolation Unit creates a lot by doing little at this Tokyo hair salon.
Lap of Luxury Burdifilek goes black and white in Holt Renfrew’s Toronto store.
Do The Bambi A cute ’n’ clumsy Disney character inspires Jun Aoki in Osaka.
The Inner Circle Nike and Torafu celebrate Air Force 1 at a circular shrine in Tokyo.
Party’s Over A truly grand buffet is served in Amsterdam by Hans Op de Beeck.
Mind Over Motor A George Yu retreat houses Honda’s dream team in Pasadena.
Great Expectations Shigeru Ban’s wood-plastic pavilion is an antidote for Artek’s Milan hangovers.
Making Waves Clive Wilkinson brings ’60s beach culture to an LA property developer.
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Dinner for 500 J. Mayer H. bases his Karlsruhe refectory on a Nutella sandwich.
Going Underground In Milan, Fabio Novembre puts jeans label Meltin’ Pot where it belongs.
Point Blank Gijs Bakker aims, shoots and leaves a café interior in Middlesbrough.
Party With the President Stuttgart’s Theodor Heuss Straße 12 is Ippolito Fleitz’s ode to party central.
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Details 30 Franklin Azzi, Shop, Paris 33 Geneto Studio, Showroom, Osaka 35 Cassandra Complex, Bar, Melbourne 36 HMC Interactive and Newangle, Installation, Birmingham 39 Studio Pha, Shop, Prague 41 Matter, Exhibition, New York 42 Gordon Kipping, Shop, New York 45 Keiichiro Sako, Shop, Hangzhou 47 Stephan Jaklitsch, Shop Window, London 48 Andreas Angelidakis, Shop, Milan 51 Designrichtung, Showroom, Bern 53 Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Dance Studio, New York 54 Mario del Mare, Clinic, Kanagawa
56 Maurice Mentjens, Parking Garage, Roermond 59 Visionworks, Trade-Fair Stand, Las Vegas 60 3Gatti.com, Office, Shanghai 63 Antonio Bertone, Shop, Tokyo 65 Bellprat Associates, Trade-Fair Stand, Geneva 66 Philippe Starck, Ceiling, Beijing 69 Bleed, Showroom, New York 71 Fox Lin, Installation, Los Angeles 72 Carbondale, Shop, Nagoya 75 Diezinger & Kramer, School, Eching 77 Jehs + Laub, Hotel Room, Jukkasjärvi 78 Nendo, Fitness Club, Tokyo
News
Frame Promotion
161 Frame launches The Great Indoors Award.
194 Outdoor furniture by Extremis. 196 Danish firms Randi, Magnus Olesen, Penlau, Erik Jørgensen. 201 Kitchens and tiles by Eiffelgres, Miele, Ariostea, Canakkale Seramik Kalebodur, Iris Fabbrica Marmi e Graniti, Steuler Fliesen, MK Kitchen.
Furniture 162 [Portrait] Bertjan Pot. 170 [Market] Salone del Mobile Milan. 181 [Introducing] Vujj. 182 [Process] Translucent stool by Kazuyasu Kochi.
Finishes 184 Fabrics. 186 Phase 01 fabric by Elvira Softic & Gabi Schillig.
Materials 209 [1 Artist, 1 Material] Peter Callesen. 210 White and transparent materials.
Displays 216 Adidas shop in Paris.
Exhibitions
Lighting
188 Lisa Jones in Sydney. 190 Antoni Arola in Barcelona.
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the white issue 57
lap of Luxury Burdifilek’s renovation of part of the Holt Renfrew department store in Toronto is a case of old-world elegance in a new-world envelope
By Tim McKeough Photography By Ben Rahn
Opposite: An impressive 40,000 pristine white rods hang from circular ceiling coves, swaying gently and creating an ethereal backdrop for merchandise on display.
The scene that meets you on the floor featuring designer collections is icily cool. In this newly renovated section of Toronto’s Holt Renfrew department store, walls, floors and ceilings are all bright whites and blanched patterns, and frosty screens obscure much of what lies beyond. Although it’s not an austere white box, colour has definitely been edged out in favour of texture. In this retail interior – where plaster walls mimic the swish of fabric, dividers are made from dangling rods, and threedimensional Lucite screens resemble exploding fields of pixels – layer upon layer of white and translucent materials are revealed as you move deeper inside. ‘We wanted to create beautiful volumes, and we wanted all of them to have a sculptural appeal,’ says Diego Burdi, a cofounder of Burdifilek, the local interior design firm responsible for the space. He says that he and partner Paul Filek ‘looked at the ceiling and sliced into it one way and looked at the walls and carved them out. It’s all about a play of texture, shape, form and light.’ Their primary goal was ‘a really wonderful frame for the art – which is the product’.
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B u r d i f i l e k b e g a n wo r k i n g w i t h H o l t Re n f r ew, C a n a d a ’s l e a d i n g l u x u r y r e t a i l e r, f i ve ye a r s a g o w h e n t h e s t o r e’s m a n a g e - m e n t h i r e d t h e f i r m t o r e n ova t e t h e g r o u n d f l o o r o f i t s flagship store, where shoppers can f i n d j ewe l r y, a c c e s s o r i e s a n d m e n s we a r. Th e c l i e n t a n d t h e d e s i g n e r s h ave b e e n a t e a m eve r s i n c e . Left: Screens composed of clear and sandblasted Lucite cubes cascade from openings in the ceiling. Bathed in white light, these installations lend a celestial feel to the space.
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Th e i r l a t e s t j o i n t p r o j e c t i s t h e ove rhaul of the second-floor Designer Collections department of the store, a s we l l a s p e r s o n a l s h o p p i n g s u i t e s located on the third floor of an a d j o i n i n g b u i l d i n g . ‘ We we r e a i m i n g fo r a c o m p l e t e l y d i ffe r e n t e s s e n c e i n t h i s s p a c e ,’ s ays B u r d i , c o m p a r i n g
A Palette of Whites: tones of snow, pearl and alabaster play out in sculptural forms and textured materials.
the latest phase with the initial r e n ova t i o n . ‘ I t ’s d i s c o n n e c t e d f r o m t h e m a i n f l o o r, a n d we wa n t e d a w h o l e d i ffe r e n t wo r l d .’ A t t h e s a m e t i m e , B u r d i f i l e k wa s we l l awa r e o f t h e r e t a i l e r ’s d e s i r e t o a p p e a l t o a yo u n g e r c l i e n t e l e . ‘ Pe o p l e i n t h e i r t we n t i e s a n d t h i r t i e s h ave p a r e n t s w h o h ave b e e n s h o p p i n g a t t h i s s t o r e fo r ye a r s ,’ ex p l a i n s B u r d i , ‘ s o we a s ke d o u r s e l ve s h ow we c o u l d c r a ft a n ew e nv i r o n m e n t fo r a n ew d e m o g r a p h i c .’
‘ The interior is not an austere
white box, but colour has definitely been edged out in favour of texture’
S h o p p e r s s t e p p i n g o ff t h e e s c a l a t o r s u r e l y n o t e , b e fo r e a ny t h i n g e l s e , t h a t t h e ex p a n s i ve , n e a r l y 15 0 0 - m 2 space has been delicately sliced J u l /au g 2 0 0 8
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a n d s u b d i v i d e d by t h o u s a n d s o f w h i t e r o d s h a n g i n g i n c i r c u l a r p a tt e r n s f r o m t h e c e i l i n g . B u r d i f i l e k u s e d 4 0 , 0 0 0 p owd e r- c o a t e d a l u m i n i u m r o d s fo r t h e a i r y p a r t i t i o n s . ‘ B y c o m p a r t mentalizing the interior into circular areas, we’ve e n a b l e d t h e s t o r e t o p u t d i ffe r e n t c o l l e c t i o n s i n d i f - fe r e n t zo n e s ,’ s ays B u r d i . ‘ I t ’s e a s y t o wa l k a r o u n d a n d f i n d yo u r way, b u t t h e r e’s s t i l l a s e n s e o f d i s c ove r y i n t h e s p a c e .’ As s h o p p e r s a p p r o a ch t h e exc l u s i ve E u r o p e a n c o l l e c t i o n s , m a t e r i a l s s h i ft , b u t t h e i d e a o f e t h e r e a l s c r e e n s , w h i ch o b s c u r e t h e v i ew o n l y p a r t i a l l y, r e m a i n s c o n s t a n t . C u tt i n g a c r o s s t h e a r e a a r e s e m i - s o l i d wa l l s m a d e f r o m b l o ck s o f c l e a r a n d s a n d b l a s t e d L u c i t e . Th e 6 1- c m - t h i ck wa l l s we r e m a d e by l ay i n g t h e b l o ck s b o t h l e n g t h w i s e a n d c r o s s w i s e t o p r o d u c e a s t r o n g f r a m ewo r k . N e a r by, o p a q u e wa l l s h o l d i n g r a ck s o f g a rm e n t s a r e r i d g e d w i t h ve r t i c a l f i n s t h a t h ave a p o r c e l a i n f i n i s h . Th r o u g h o u t t h e s p a c e , a collection of custom tables, also designed by B u r d i f i l e k , f u r t h e r t h e s c u l p tu r a l fe e l o f t h e d e p a r t m e n t . M o s t h ave h e av y s l a b s o f 5 - c m - t h i ck s m o ke d L u c i t e fo r t a b l e t o p s a n d b a s e s r a n g i n g f r o m m a s s i ve b o u l d e r s o f s o l i d o a k b ru s h e d w i t h 18 - k a r a t g o l d leaf to those made from cur ving, a u b e r g i n e - s t a i n e d wo o d . Th e s p a c e f i n i s h e s i n a s e c t i o n fo r eve n i n g we a r, w h e r e t h e ove r a l l e nv i r o n m e n t b e c o m e s a l i tt l e d a r ke r. M e t a l l i c l a c q u e r e d p a n e l s c l a d t h e wa l l s , w h i l e t h e f l o o r i s c ove r e d i n h o n e d m a r b l e a n d l ave n d e r c a r p e t , w h i ch a d d s a n a i r o f i n t r i g u e . C u r l i n g wave s o f p l a s t e r – s c u l p t e d i n p l a c e by h a n d a n d m e a n t t o evo ke t h e s wa g g e d d r a p e r y o f Pa r i s s a l o n s – a r e j u s t v i s i b l e t h r o u g h o p a l e s c e n t g l a s s , a n d t h e wa l l s a r e l i t f r o m b e l ow. H ove r i n g ove r h e a d i s a m o d e r n t a ke o n t h e t r a d i t i o n a l ch a n d e l i e r, m a d e f r o m 3 0 0 s q u a r e - p r o f i l e b r a s s tu b e s t i p p e d w i t h t i ny l i g h t b u l b s . Th e i n t e n t i o n , s ays B u r d i , wa s t o ‘ c r e a t e a n o l d - wo r l d e l e g a n c e i n a n ew- wo r l d e nve l o p e’. Th i n g s g e t c o s i e r i n t h e p r i va t e s h o p p i n g s u i t e s , w h i ch a r e r e a ch e d v i a a s h u tt l e l i ft f r o m t h e s e c o n d f l o o r. Th e e n t r a n c e h a l l way i s f l a n ke d by a n o t h e r s c u l p tu r a l s c r e e n , t h i s t i m e fo r m e d by b e n t m e t a l b a r s i n s e r t e d i n a n a i r g a p b e t we e n l aye r s o f t r a n s l u c e n t w h i t e a n d a c i d - e t ch e d g l a s s . H ove r i n g n i ch e s i n t h e s c r e e n p r ov i d e a p l a c e t o s h owc a s e j ewe l r y, p e r f u m e a n d o t h e r p r o d u c t s . Th e h a l l way e m p t i e s i n t o a c i r c u l a r s e a t i n g a r e a w r a p p e d by p o l i s h e d ,
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Above: Plan of floor containing private shopping suites.
Right: The reception area is a dramatically lit circular space contoured by thousands of steel rods hanging from the ceiling.
square-profile, stainless-steel rods and furnished with a cust o m s e c t i o n a l s o fa . Fr o m t h e r e , s h o p p e r s m ove o n t o o n e o f f i ve i n d i v i d u a l s u i t e s . E a ch fe a tu r e s a d i ffe r e n t c u s t o m c a r p e t i n g a n d o r i g i n a l a r t wo r k , a s we l l a s i n d i v i d u a l c o n t r o l s fo r lighting, climate and music. All f i ve s u i t e s h ave c l o t h i n g - d i s p l ay closets meant to resemble mini stages, where stylists can prep a r e o u t f i t s b e fo r e a c l i e n t ’s a rr i va l , a s we l l a s fo l d i n g l a c quer screens that create a p l a c e t o ch a n g e . S i n c e o p e n i n g l a s t S e p t e m b e r, b o t h t h e wo m e n’s f l o o r a n d t h e p r i va t e s h o p p i n g s u i t e s h ave b e e n s u c c e s s f u l . ‘ Th e r e’s b e e n a n u n b e l i eva b l e r e a c t i o n , a n d s a l e s h ave b e e n i n c r e d i b l e b e c a u s e o f i t ,’ s ays Pe t e r M o o r e , H o l t Re n f r ew ’s d i r e c t o r o f d e s i g n a n d c o n s t ru c t i o n . Ke e n l y awa r e o f t h e p owe r a b o l d n ew i n t e r i o r d e s i g n c a n inject into a store, Moore s ays t h e f l a g s h i p i s a c tu a l l y u n d e r c o n t i n u a l r e n ova t i o n , w i t h d i ffe r e n t s e c t i o n s b e i n g ove r h a u l e d i n d i ffe r e n t ye a r s .
‘It’s all about a play of texture, shape, form and light, plus the creation of a wonderful frame for the product’ Diego Burdi Above: Hallway to the personal shopping area. A streamlined geometric steel sculpture behind a plane of opalescent glass adorns one side of the corridor. Visible in the distance is the reception area.
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‘It’s easy to walk around and find your way, but there’s still a sense of discovery in the space’ Diego Burdi Above: Plan of the 1500-m2 Designer Collections department of the Holt Renfrew store in Toronto renovated by Burdifilek.
N ex t u p ? I t ’s b a ck t o t h e g r o u n d f l o o r. B u r d i f i l e k i s a l r e a d y a t wo r k r e d e s i g n i n g t h e h a n d b a g a n d j ewe l r y d e p a r t m e n t s i t f i n i s h e d j u s t a few ye a r s a g o , p r e p a r i n g fo r t h e i r ex p a n s i o n i n t o n ew l y a c q u i r e d s p a c e . ‘ I t ’s c o n t i n u a l l y u n d e r c o n s t ru c t i o n . Th ey ’r e a p h e n o m e n a l c l i e n t i n t h a t way,’ s ays B u r d i .‘ Th ey ’r e a l ways l o o k i n g t o i m p r ove , a n d t h ey a l ways g i ve u s a n a m a z i n g c a nva s t o p a i n t o n . ’ I n B u r d i f i l e k ’s wo r l d , i t s e e m s t h a t a r t is an ongoing theme.
Details
Above: Black Blobs, with polyethylene foam tubing commonly used to insulate piping, design office Matter makes a subtle reference to issues raised by the Ecotopia exhibition.
The Gwathmey Siegel-designed galleries at New York’s International Center of Photography are punctuated with narrow passageways, decon angles and idiosyncratic slits. In conjuring up an exhibition design for the show Ecotopia, the Brooklyn design practice Matter took advantage of these quirks by inserting appropriately organic forms in, through and around the architecture. Dubbed ‘pods’, Matter’s creations would house video monitors and cordon off projection rooms throughout the 697-m2 museum. That much was certain. ‘But we had no idea what it would be made of,’ admits Sandra Wheeler, a principal in the firm. Wheeler and partner Alfred Zollinger had been presenting preliminary models made of polypropylene-foam acoustic insulation, a graphite-coloured material in which hollow cells are packed into irregular rows. Ultimately, they replicated the material with Tubolit, polyethylene
Soft Cell
Matter, Exhibition, New York
By David Sokol Photography By Harry Zernike
foam tubing used to wrap plumbing and heating pipes. The architects ordered over 8000 linear metres of black insulation tubing and sawed it into thousands of cuffs. The museum’s crew laced the cuffs into flexible, standard issue pieces of chicken wire and animal netting, which Matter then assembled onto standing wood and metal armatures. To fabricate screens, the miniaturized tubes were connected using commercial tagging guns. Wheeler waxes rhapsodic about Tubolit, saying that it met the requirements for affordability, sound absorption and ease of construction. Its environmental paradoxes – non-biodegradable but recyclable, petroleum-based but energy conserving – resonated the exhibition’s images of the natural world and climate change, were equal parts damning, hopeful and pessimistic.
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materials [Wrapped in White]
Matério’s latest selection of products features white and transparent materials for covering all sorts of surfaces in original and durable ways. Compilation Matério www.materio.com
Textile designer Emma Jeffs introduces Pixel, a series of decorative, self-adhesive, plastic films for covering windows. Pixel offers privacy without reducing the amount of light that enters the interior. Available in six designs, the product has no top, bottom, left or right: it can be applied as desired. White patterns are printed on frosted film. Dimensions (one roll): 100 x 120 cm.
Surface Material Design / UK info@surfacematerialdesign.co.uk www.surfacematerialdesign.co.uk
Pixel
Composed of expanded polypropylene beads, this recyclable, lightweight, sound and energy absorbent foam can be moulded into virtually any shape imaginable. A product made from ARPRO always returns toits original shape. Exposure to water – as well as to most oils and chemicals – does nothing to alter the functionality of the material. Densities vary. The foam can be adapted to ensure UV protection, to withstand physical abuse, and to tolerate extreme temperatures and other environmental conditions.
JSP / Germany info@jsp.com www.jsp.com
ARPRO EPP
Extra-durable Artema is a new type of weather-resistant concrete suitable for outdoor use. Especially applicable for projects with convex surfaces, such as curved façades. Available in six finishes, including textured patterns, and 16 colours. Maximum dimensions (h x w x d): 240 x 100 x 1.6 cm. Weight per m2: 38 kg.
Carea / France contact.facade@carea.fr www.carea.fr
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