Above: Cyborg Lord Chairs by Magis

Located in the Contemporary Design Hall, Magis presented the new Cyborg Lord and Cyborg Lady Chairs, part of the Cyborg Collection by Marcel Wanders. Silverlining unveiled its latest cutting-edge creation, the Infinity Table, the pinnacle of craftsmanship and creativity, innovative design and ingenious engineering. Living Georg Jensen debuted Henning Koppel’s wall clocks, oak bonbonnière and steel candleholders, while Hossein Rezvani showcased three new contemporary carpet designs made in Iran, which included up to 1,000,000 knots per square meter.

Leading London-based designer Richard Brendon, best known for his elegant ceramics, premiered his new Bespoke service in the Classic Design Hall allowing discerning clients to create a customised collection.

A range of Chinese designers also showcased new designs. Frank Chou Design Studio, which debuted a new collection in the Contemporary Design Hall including The Kuan Chair, Ring Lamp, Nov Sofa and Ping Screen, a subtle yet elegant collection combining western and oriental cultures. Zai Ye Design, a cutting edge working platform for independent designers, launched a new collection of 3D printed resin vases created with 3D City.

The Collectible Design Hall featured one-off, collectible design pieces from international designers including Design MVW, founded by Ming Xu and Virginie Moriette, which unveiled the ‘Nothing is Everything’ collection, including six pieces of furniture made of Oxidized brass, mixing sculptural and artistic qualities. The studio also launched ‘Yun’, a functional and decorative dividing screen consisting of disc panels linked together to create an organic structure of marble and brass.

Design Shanghai Creative Directors Ross Urwin and Darrel Best UK-based designers debuted innovative work including Chaircreative, which presented the new ‘Dragon Kre’ chair, a stunning ‘centre-piece’ statement that was foundry cast. Method Studio presented JOHN WALKER & SONS™ Master Blender’s Trunks for Johnnie Walker House, while Bertram Whitford, a trained cabinetmaker, launched the Steam Desk and Steam mirrors, made out of English elm using a steam bending technique.

This year marked the launch of the Design Shanghai & AD China Emerging Chinese Designers Platform at Design Shanghai, where ten designers were selected to be presented to a panel of judges and their work to be displayed at the event.

An awards ceremony occurred on the first day of Design Shanghai, where judges including Xu Wang, Editor-in-Chief of AD China, and designer Jaime Hayon presented the winning award to Chen Furong. The other nine emerging designers participating in the platform included Gong Lingna, Huang Jiewen, Li Gongbiao, Ruan Hao, Wu Haoyu, Yu Haotian, Zhang Chao, Zhang Yuqian and Zhao Nan.

The award ceremony was also attended by the additional judges including Ross Urwin, Creative Director of Design Shanghai; Rossana Hu, Co-founder of Neri & Hu; Mathieu Borysevicz, Curator of Studio Bank/ Mab Society and Kenneth Li, Founder of Creativo.

Furong submitted a range of designs including HEXA, a modular organisational accessory for the home and office, made from a bendable concrete material Furong has been developing over the years. In addition to great exposure during Design Shanghai, and the mentoring support from a panel of international design experts, Chen Furong was awarded a complimentary exhibitor stand at Design Shanghai 2016, offered by Media 10, as well as the opportunity to showcase his work at future exhibitions held in China later in the year.

Ross Urwin said:

“Furong Chen, winner of the AD China Design Shanghai Emerging Designer Award, was selected from an exceptional group of young designers for his understanding of an international audience and his command of varying fabrication. His dexterity with materials like cement, copper, ash, wood and lacquer made for an engaging, commercial first collection. We are all anticipating his furtive collections to be launched at next year‟s event as part of the on-going support offered to the winner by Design Shanghai.”

Swarovski presented a new version of ‘Prologue’, seen on mainland China for the first time, which became the perfect spot for visitors to take selfies during the event’s four-day run. Designed by London-based Fredrikson Stallard, ‘Prologue’ is a monumental circular sculpture measuring 4m in diameter and holding over 8,000 blue-shade Swarovski crystal droplets within a galvanised steel frame.

The Shanghai Exhibition Centre served as the installation’s backdrop. The circular shape of the sculpture represents a cycle of infinite potential and the crystals captured the outdoor light and transformed the outside environment surrounding the sculpture. This new version of ‘Prologue’ debuted at Design Shanghai in 2015 to coincide with the 15th Anniversary of the Swarovski Waterschool, a programme that aims to inform young people about the importance of clean water and so far has educated 196,000 students in 2,600 schools, across four countries.

Among the highlights of Design Shanghai’s varied programme of events and installations, Jean Prouvé’s newly restored 6X9 Demountable House made its Asia debut. Set in the courtyard of the intricate Shanghai Exhibition Centre, the house could be viewed from all angles and allowed visitors to experience its beautiful transformation from day to night.

Chinese artist, Wang Yuyang presented a site-specific intervention entitled ‘Equip’. Selected by internationally renowned contemporary art curator Jérôme Sans, Yuyang’s sculpture reflected the aesthetics and philosophy of Jean Prouvé’s House and its relevance in China’s contemporary society.

The sculpture was created by using a 3D process that transformed the linear dimensions of the house through binary code, which then created a 3D rendering. Craftsmen translated the renderings into a handmade sculptural form using various materials specified by Yuyang such as copper, wood, steel and plastic.

Jérôme Sans said:

“From modernity to hyper-modernity, Wang Yuyang’s “Equip” at Design Shanghai is a new conquest of time, space, form and shape. How the very angled space of the Maison Jean Prouvé becomes spherical, transforming the past century‟s manifest structure of western modernism into a complex sculpture of the future “.

To complement the Jean Prouvé House, two talks were presented at the AD China Design Forum. Jérôme Sans was joined on stage by Wang Yuyang to discuss ‘Equip’ and how it is specific to the Jean Prouvé House, while Eric Touchaleaume, Curator and Prouvé expert, discussed Jean Prouvé’s career and his concept of light architecture.

Design Shanghai
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