DESIGNMAI is a design festival that takes place in Berlin every May. Now in its 3rd year, exhibitions and workshops were taking place in about 100 places all over Berlin. One of the main events of DESIGNMAI was an exhibition called “Young + German (JUNG + DEUTSCH)” and introduces young designers In Germany. As a part of German year in Japan, the “JUNG + DEUTSCH” exhibition has arrived in Tokyo.
Several German designers visited Japan during the opening weekend for the Tokyo exhibition and talked about the Berlin design scene and about their works. I joined the talk show with Oliver Vogt and Stefan Diez at Hillside Terrace in Daikanyama.
Olive Vogt is one of the key people responsible for DESIGNMAI. He does graphic design, industrial design, interior design as well as teaching at University. He founded design firm “Vogt+Weizenegger” with his fellow designer Herrmann Weizenegger. Vogt+Weizenegger’s Sinter Chair is displaying at this exhibition. Using cutting edge technology, Vogt+Weizenegger produced a unique, hive-like pattern for the chair according to user’s preference within 24 hours.
Another presenter, Stefan Diez has a unique background. He trained as a carpenter, after which he stayed in Bombay, India for one year, working with furniture making (he also worked with Konstantin Grcic for 2 years, who we’ve mentioned in PingMag before). Diez seems to enjoy trying new syles and materials everytime he designs.
Diez talked quite a bit about the couch he designed for Elmar Floetotto because he thought it was a good example to show his approach to design. For this couch, Elmar Flotetotto originally asked him for “regular couch” design. Regular means that there is a frame outside, and cushion will be placed on the frame. However, Diez came up with the idea of putting frame inside of the covering. At first, he put the frame inside, then tied frame and outer fabric with strings. Between them, he stuffed styrene foam. Though his plan kind of worked out, he had to use thousands of strings to get stability. 1000 strings was just too much to handle so he altered design again and again in order to use less strings and less fabric(for economical reasons) and to make it ultimately easier to manufacture. He said that It took 6 months to finish the design process. I think most designers go through this kind of process, but as always, it is fun to look at how the design evolves.
After these two great speakers talked about their works, the audience moved to another room to see the performance of rAndom international, and their “PixelRoller” project. We walked into a dark room, and two tall guys were painting a wall with light (pixel) using a roller. Not only by roller, but also using spray (LightSprayCans) and pens (LightPens), as if writing graffiti with light.
Placing a glow-in-the-dark surface on the wall, the LightRoller stimulates the surface. The roller is somehow connected to a computer and it digitally copies whatever image is drawn on the wall. At least…that’s how I understood it by listening to their explanation. (I might be wrong….)
Anyway, this “graffiti” will disappear with time, hence, it is a temporal graffiti. Audience were crazy about writign graffiti using pens and sprays. It was exciting to watch new images appear and disappear on the wall.
Berlin DESIGNMAI
“JUNG + DEUTSCH”
Date: Thursday, October 6 - Sunday, October 23
Place: Hillside Terrace
admission free
You can also check out Vogt+Weizenegger’s works in the exhibition, DIM, Manufacture of Image, Tokyo(DIM, DIE IMAGINARE MANUFAKTUR IN TOKYO) at Tokyo Art Museum. Vogt+Weizenegger actually opened their design firm in front of an institute for people with visual and hearing disabilities, Blindenanstalt where they manufacture brushes. Wishing to help their neighbors, Vogt+Weizenegger suggested new distribution system, and asked other designers to participate in designing brushes. Many unique brushes born from these attempts are displayed at the Tokyo Art Museum. Please check them out!
“DIM, DIE IMAGINARE MANUFAKTUR IN TOKYO”
Date: Thursday, September 23 - Sunday, November 28
Place: Tokyo Art Museum
Written by Kyoko
Berlin DESIGNMAI "JUNG + DEUTSCH"poster in front of gallery
at the exhibition
at the exhibition. Yellow pipes are all over the place decorating design works.
at the exhibition. Using tapes, wrinkles give new look to the fabric
Stefan Diez (left) and Oliver Vogt (right)
Sinter Chair by Vogt+Weizenegger
Slide showing the process of making "Sinter Chair"
Diez's couch. Slides showed how the design evolved. This picture is an early prototype. There are too many strings and it looks hard to handle.
The fabric which is to be inside of the covering fabric. Anchor points where you tie strings are scattered over the fabric.
stuffing styrene foams in the prototype
sitting on the prototype. "hmm not bad at all."
Another Diez's work. Folding cardboard according to the instruction, it will become the chair.
These chairs are made from a different material, but the cardboard above will be this shape.
rAndom international's performance. PixelRoller.
Using roller, they drew shining pixel images
demonstration of LightSprayCans. Spraying over one of the audience's face, and....
clean profile left
Using LightPens, audeince enjoy writing graffiti
all the images disappeared gradually, over time
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