Always a highly anticipated feature at Singapore Indesign, this year’s exhibitors and creative collaborators took things up a notch with installations that surprised, amused, and engaged. Many also provoked thought about the ‘Future’ – as was this year’s theme.
October 15th, 2014
APS Lifestyle with Paper Carpenters
Playfulness was the key word in APS Lifestyle with Paper Carpenter‘s interpretation of the future kitchen. Their dynamic, faceted Kuche Kitchen was decked in cheery white and yellow cardboard, complete with an ice-pop truck, strongly suggesting that the future kitchen is all about daring, individuality and a good dose of fun.
BW Furniture with LASALLE College of the Arts
BW Furniture sees the wisdom and craft of the past as being crucial to the innovative spirit of the future. In their project collaboration with LASALLE College of the Arts, students spray painted old wooden chairs and mounted them like an abstract installation on the wall beside contemporary chairs from BW Furniture. It served subtle as a reminder to consider the old even when creating the new.
DREAM with Topos Design
The limited edition Cassina LC4-CP chaise longue played the starring role over at DREAM. Partnering with design firm Topos Design, DREAM housed the chaise longue – a collaboration between Cassina and Louis Vuitton in homage to Charlotte Perriand – within a life-sized prism. Faceted cut-outs in the prism allowed visitors a peek in while mirrored surfaces provided a unique all-round perspective of the iconic furniture.
EDL with Formwerkz
“The Tree” by EDL and Formwerkz dominated one’s vision at its position near the entrance of the Red Dot Design Museum. Visitors who entered into the inner sanctum of the towering “tree” constructed from a wide spectrum of EDL laminates were rewarded with a dramatic display of light and shadow. Outside, EDL also enlisted the help of design agency Bravo Company to create components for miniature “trees” that visitors could piece together for themselves.
JUNG Asia with GAD
The Project by German switches and systems manufacturer JUNG Asia and Singapore architecture firm GAD centred on the vision of high-tech connectivity – a concept which was expressed through the beauty and mystery of wiring and connectivity. The interactive installation invited visitors to try out the switches for themselves, each switch triggering a lit component on the display.
KOKUYO with M Moser and Temasek Polytechnic
The future is all about the relationship between man and his environment, according to Kokuyo and M Moser Associates. Expressing this was a landscape of wire sculptures in human form – some floating in the air, some filled with leaves and tucked in corners of the newly revamped showroom – made by students from Temasek Polytechnic. These were all linked by colourful threads symbolising the connectivity that man has with his environment. Visitors could also get in on the action by making their own miniature wire sculptures.
Kohler with Studiogoto
Titled Famous Futures, The Project installation by Studiogoto for Kohler shared quotes from well-known figures about the future. Kohler’s latest products, covered in a new rose gold finish, were used to create a graphical representation for each quote, one of our personal favourites being: “Only you can control the future” by Dr Seuss.
Romanez with Angelynn Tan and Zin Cattell
A clever integration of fashion, design and art. The Project at Romanez saw Angelynn Tan create a series of jewellery using Pierre Frey fabrics encased in resin. Also delving into wearable art, Tan produced sweeping skirts using Pierre Frey’s art-inspired ‘Arty’ fabric and a velvety fabric from Christian Lacroix for Pierre Frey.
There was something for the men too with Zin Cattell’s lightweight sports coats made from Pierre Frey fabrics for his own label Menswear menswear. Pierre Frey fabric cut-outs were turned into appliques for t-shirts as well.
• The pieces that were created by Angelynn and Zin are available for sale at Romanez and menswearmenswear.com respectively
Waldmann Lighting and Wilkhahn with Geyer
Over at Waldmann Lighting’s showroom (sharing with Wilkhahn), visitors were treated to a Space Odyssey experience, with Geyer’s graphic illustration of martians and spaceships putting a lighthearted spin on the “Future” theme.
Everyone was also invited to make his or her own personally decorated styrofoam pieces to add to the ‘solar system’. And nearby, a playful, peek-a-boo display of Wilkhahn chairs behind dark drapes brought to light Wilkhahn’s diverse range of seating options.
XTRA With ID21, IMAJIN, and Chong Fah Cheong
Never failing to disappoint, XTRA pulled a showstopper this year with a triple feature of collaborations. First up, ID21 in collaboration with Magis captured the imagination with a surrealist universe where a landscape of clouds and Magis Puppy, Dodo and Pingy made perfect playmates.
In collaboration with IMAJIN, XTRA also celebrated the life and work of respected French designer Pierre Paulin with a video abstract from the movie Space 99, where many of the Paulin’s furniture make an appearance. The Flower chair for Magis and many of Artifort’s iconic pieces were displayed alongside an interactive wall where visitors could write down their thoughts on the future.
Last but certainly not least, renowned Singapore sculptor Chong Fah Cheong created an outdoor cove-like sculpture using Kivo® – part of Herman Miller’s Living Office concept and vision of the office of the future. The structure not only reflected the official Singapore Indesign colours of black and red, but also fully displayed the flexibility of the Kivo® system.
Which was your favourite Project collaboration? You can vote in the People’s Choice Award here.
Lucky voters stand to win a prize from kikki.K (deadline: 28 Oct)
For more coverage of Singapore Indesign visit: https://www.indesignlive.sg/category/articles/in-review
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