Green Lamp by Zuzanna Malinowska is essentially a plant pot with an integrated growing frame. Clearly intended for climbing plants, the beauty of the growing frame is that it is a lamp shade.

And below the lamp shade is, naturally enough, a bulb.

The plant grows, takes on the form of the growing frame and before you know it you have a lamp formed from a plant.

Now we are assuming that Zuzanna has checked and the plant can’t get burned by the bulb; or indeed catch fire. And if she has, then Green Lamp is for us one of the most exciting new objects we’ve seen lately.

Not just because because it offers an ingenious new way to integrate plants into rooms, nor because of the promise of a fascinating an ever changing illumination through the leaves, and not even because the object you receive is merely a conduit to the final object – and object which you can pretty much redefine as you want.

Let’s take the idea further. We know it’s cheeky to do such without first asking Zuzanna, but….

At the moment Green Lamp is a table lamp. But how about a standard lamp, with, for example, tomato plants trained upwards? OK it makes it a seasonal object; but in a modern kitchen or a balcony setting we can well imagine that working perfectly.

But much more important, not that far away from Green Lamp at DMY Berlin was Werner Aisslinger’s Chair Farm – a project looking at training plants to grow into chairs through the use of a steel corset.

Green Lamp is, in effect, the lighting element of that thinking.

With its simple metal frame Green Lamp is pretty much perfect for Open Design distribution and so we can well imagine a future where if you need a new lamp for your home, office etc you organise a growing frame cut to your specific requirements, select your preferred plant and Bob’s your uncle

A thought which genuinely excites us…..

Green Lamp by Zuzanna Malinowska isn’t the first attempt to unify lighting and plants; however, for us the grace with which Zuzanna has achieved the combination puts it on a level above all previous projects.

Green Lamp by Zuzanna Malinowska

One of the defining images of DMY Berlin 2012 was without question Andrea Brena sitting cross-legged on his stand, up to his elbows in brightly coloured material and knitting with his arms.

A sight that, as one can imagine, always attracted a crowd as numerous as it was curious.

Although outwardly about knitting with your arms, the central theme of Knitted Army is much more about redefining the personal connection between user and object.

About reclaiming furniture from the cold, dark cave of thoughtless consumption and returning it to the hearthrug of association through self-production

Obviously not a revolutionary theme; but one which Andrea approaches from a very interesting perspective.

DMY Berlin 2012: Andrea Brena Knitted Army. Examples of finished and not so finished products.

Arm knitting is a tool-free process that, according to Andrea, anybody can learn in five minutes. We didn’t try and so can neither confirm nor deny that claim. However we do tend to believe most things Andrea tells us….

Essentially involving using your arms in place of knitting needles and knitting and purling from such, arm knitting can be classed as an Open Design process; not only are all who use it free to modify it or adapt it as required – as Andrea has done – but also as a process it doesn’t limit what can be produced, rather provides a means to experiment and see what is possible.

Andrea’s first objects were shapeless beanbag-esque “sofas” but he has since gone on to develop objects with a more defined form as well as more general domestic objects, for example, rugs.

But much more than being simply about utilising a democratic and globally accessible production process, as a project Knitted Army is also about the end product being an object defined by the person who created it.

Not only have you created the object yourself, but the resultant mesh is dependent on how thick or thin your arms are. The construction of the finished fabric is defined by your own construction and so we all generate individual results.

Le Corbusier probably wouldn’t like the non-standard nature; we’re drawn to the idea.

In addition Andrea’s process uses left-over cut offs from fabric producers meaning that it provides a useful and sensible form of waste reduction, while at the same time representing a much-needed rediscovery of the value of material in our modern “throw away, use and discard” society. And through using further strands of the same material to stuff and fill objects one creates the possibility that the pieces can be extended, reduced or otherwise altered at a later date. Either by the creator or a new owner.

Andrea Brena and his public at DMY Berlin 2012.

Although it sounds like a paradox, the increasing digitisation of our world will mean that the future will become increasingly analogue.

Not as a reaction against the brave new world, but because the new technology not only forces us to question what is truly important but also gives us the confidence to escape the established political, social and economic systems.

We genuinely believe that in 100 years Europe will once again be an agrarian society with an economic system predominantly based on co-operation and exchange.

And in such a system what could be more fitting than groups of locals sitting round a village green arm knitting the afternoon away, creating whatever the community was in need of.

In that sense Knitted Army obviously throws up parallels with other projects on show at DMY Berlin 2012, in particular Werner Aisslinger’s Chair Farm project or Upholstered Chair by Jooyeon Lee.

The word on the street is that Knitted Army came very close to winning a DMY Award. As in very close. We can well imagine that; however, given that the project is – if we’re correctly informed – still in its first year, just getting nominated was a commendable achievement.

And the good news for all who couldn’t see Andrea arm knitting in Berlin: if we know the European design festival circuit the defining image of DMY Berlin 2012 will soon become the defining image of a design festival near you.

More information on Andrea Brena, and arm knitting can be found at http://andreabrena.com

DMY Berlin 2012: Andrea Brena

DMY Berlin 2012: Andrea Brena. Knitted Army

We were famously first drawn to the work of Belgian designer Tim Baute aka Interror.be via a lamp he showed at Designers Fair Cologne 2010.

And his SevenUp, a moody and reduced down chandelier, remains one of our reference products.

Tim is however a metalworker by training and so it was good to see him presenting a new steel product range for his debut at DMY Berlin.

And although named after the B-2 Bomber, the range doesn’t have its origins in the secretive world of military aviation, but in something much more mundane: sitting at your computer in the dark.

Tim has long been irritated that desk lamps either reflect off the monitor, or blind you if badly positioned. And the only alternative is having the room light on.

His solution is a low level lamp that is designed to be placed between monitor and keyboard.

His Stealth Desk Lamp is constructed from powder coated steel with LED light sources, is as long as a standard keyboard and only illuminates the keyboard and the immediate surrounding area – so to aid note taking.

Or indeed your book if you were to go all analogue and use it as a reading lamp.

Designed very much for all of those who can be found sitting at a computer until the early hours, the Stealth Desk Lamp has a very industrial form language; a form language that is however important in helping keep it as unobtrusive as possible. Stealthy, as it were.

For through the folds and twists the Stealth Desk Lamp has a geometry that while not allowing it to blend in with the general environment per se, does throw you off its scent so that you don’t really recognise it as an object.

Something we find important in a desk lamp

The wall mounted version has essentially the same structure, albeit with one leg less and can be mounted to shine upwards, downwards, left or right.

According to Tim the Stealth Shelf posed a particular challenge; namely ensuring that it maintained its shape after folding, twisting and welding. “Normal” steel would have resisted the weld and “bulged” somewhat.

However “Cometh the hour cometh the metal specialist” and after a little experimentation Tim has found a steel that is slightly more affable than normal and so maintains its shape.

Whatever that shape may be, for through the twist Stealth Shelf has a form that you probably need to be a chemist to correctly define.

Currently the Stealth Desk Lamp is available as a limited edition piece through Rozier Future Design Editions. The wall lamp and shelves are one offs.

We however found it a delightful, well considered and excellently executed collection and hope that Tim is able to develop it further.

DMY Berlin 2012: Stealth Desk Lamp by Interror.be

.... the LEDs...

... in practice

DMY Berlin 2012: Stealth Wall Lamp and Stealth Shelf by Interror.be

It’s fair to say that until visiting DMY Berlin 2012 the only design object we knew from Rosenheim was Nils Holger Moormann‘s Volvo.

However at Tempelhof Airport the students from the Interior Design department of the Hochschule Rosenheim demonstrated that the southern German town can also produce slightly more contemporary works.

On an interesting and nicely varied DMY stand the two highlights for us were the table “T#9″ by Rebecca Schmidhuber and the kitchen system “Stangenware” by Nina Mader and Jonas Gorke.

Presented by Rebecca Schmidhuber as a “community centre in the kitchen area”, T#9 is essentially a table with a platform that can either be stored under the table top, or liberated and raised up. The height can be adjusted in several steps.

If we’re honest we don’t really follow Rebecca’s logic that one can use the raised element as extra work surface while preparing food. If that’s the aim, you don’t need it to be height adjustable. A pull out section does the job equally well.

For us the beauty of T#9 is simply the idea. The mechanism.

One the one hand in the T#9 one could use it as Rebecca suggests, or use the raisable section to provide an extra bit of dimension to your room: as in raise the platform and place flowers or a fruit bowl on top.

But more importantly the system needn’t be limited to a kitchen table, with a few tweeks we can well imagine such a system being invaluable in a desk, a multi-media cabinet or workbench.

And of course T#9 looks fantastic.

DMY Berlin 2012: Hochschule Rosenheim, UNIMIXed. T#9 by Rebecca Schmidhuber

“Stangenware” is a kitchen system in two parts. The first part comprising a frame to which metal rods are attached. The second is an over-sized butchers block which functions as a mobile island for food preparation, eating etc.

Now obviously metal rods for hanging things on in the kitchen aren’t in themselves new. What attracted us to “Stangenware” however was the specially constructed shelves/boxes which can be added to the rods. On the one hand practical in their own right – and unquestionably a feature that is missing when you simply attach rods to the wall yourself. But also the fact that some of the boxes contain plug sockets and lamps.

Because that’s what’s really missing when you simply attach the rods to the wall.

And aside from their practical nature it is also these elements which really give “Stangenware” its balance. Without them the system simply wouldn’t work visually.

We also liked the fact that it was all enclosed in a frame as it provided the whole system with a very nice geometry.

The mobile island element in contrast did seem a little superfluous to us – and we’d probably rather switch that for a T#9 table.

We’re not necessarily saying any of the works on show at DMY Berlin 2012 will become design classics on a par with the Moormann Volvo; but it is very encouraging to see that away from the German metropolitan centres intelligent and sensible design is being developed.

DMY Berlin 2012: Hochschule Rosenheim, UNIMIXed. Stangenware by Nina Mader and Jonas Gorke

DMY Berlin 2012: Hochschule Rosenheim, UNIMIXed

When all’s said and done Marcel Breuer’s 1927 Wassily Chair is nothing more than a couple of bits of material stretched over a metal frame.

Giandomenico Belotti’s 1960 Spaghetti Chair is nothing more than some PVC cord stretched over a metal frame

And so on first impressions there is nothing new about “Upholstered Chair” by Jooyeon Lee.

Damn those first impressions……………

Created as her Diploma project at the Aalto University Helsinki, “Upholstered Chair” is a lounger created from linen strings stretched over a wooden frame.

As we say in principle nothing new; however, what is interesting is the thinking behind it and the logic in the material choice.

Linen string can be produced practically everywhere, and is a natural material that can be locally cultivated.

As is wood.

Which not only means that the chair can be decentrally produced and distributed, but also creates local jobs in both agriculture and traditional crafts.

All very much in the spirit of Franz Dietrich’s “Neue Fertigung” manifesto we mentioned earlier.

Local farmers produce the raw materials, one local craftsman makes the wooden parts, another makes the string and a local producer combines it all into chairs. Which the local community buy and use.

Reduced transport pollution, local economy supported, and even a little CO2 sucked out the atmosphere. Everyone’s a winner baby!

Especially given the highly attractive, if equally simple, form language of the piece.

As we’ve said before, we see the future of the global furniture industry as being in de-centralised production, and objects such as “Upholstered Chair” by Jooyeon Lee provide an interesting example of where the journey might just be taking us.

DMY Berlin 2012: Upholstered Chair by Jooyeon Lee

DMY Berlin 2012: Upholstered Chair by Jooyeon Lee

DMY Berlin 2012: Upholstered Chair by Jooyeon Lee

Older readers will remember our fascination and admiration for Scolyt by Marco Merkel after we saw it at the UdK Berlin Rundgang 2011.

Marco has now developed things a little further, reduced the scale and is presenting the project at DMY Berlin 2012.

We’re still lovin’ it.

And not just because of the beauty of the end results.

But because of the thinking and process behind the project.

We’re fairly certain there is absolutely no useful application of the process, other than creating such delightful glass objects. But the fact that Marco got there shows a particular talent.

Respect!

DMY Berlin 2012: Scolyt by Marco Merkel

DMY Berlin 2012: Scolyt by Marco Merkel

One of the reasons we’ve never got on well with trends is because ultimately he who shouts loudest is perceived as being the best, most innovative or most important.

DMY Berlin 2012 demonstrates that is not the case.

While in Hangar 4 the main sponsor screams his marketing budget at full volume; about 40 metres away two FH Potsdam graduates are quietly presenting much more interesting and socially relevant objects.

And much as we’d like to proclaim that their minimal, non-intrusive stand design is a deliberate comment on the commercialisation of design festivals.

It’s not.

We know why it is as it is. But we’ll keep that for ourselves.

Jonas Hagenbusch is presenting the first item from his, future, Frame Collection. His “Frame Hanger” is a delightful minimalist, lets say, clothes organising system.

High enough to hang a shirt or a blouse on; or to throw a scarf, pully, shirt or blouse over, “Frame Hanger” additionally has a storage space/ shelf.

An astoundingly compact piece “Frame Hanger” would obviously be perfect in a bedroom, but would not be out of place in an office environment.
And no you can’t hang a trench coat on it. But your not supposed to be able to.
As we say, “Frame Hanger” should eventually be part of a series of objects. Then you’ll be able to.

We were certainly impressed by the beginnings.

Franz Dietrich meanwhile is presenting his Tischleuchte and his Buchtisch.

While both items are valid in their own right, the more interesting aspect is Franz’s “Neue Fertigung” – lets call it a manifesto – which aims to encourage a closer co-operation between designers and local craftsman as an alternative to both centralised mass market production and the more DIY Open Design approach.

But that’s a subject for another post

On a practical level, Tischleuchte is a lamp with an integrated table. Nothing especially revolutionary but as an object in a hall or a living room absolutely genial. And aesthetically pleasing.

Buchtisch does admittedly look like one has taken Nils Holger Moormann’s Liesmichl and folded it: has however the advantage that it is not so tall and so less intrusive. Plus as a covered system dust is going to be less of a problem for all of us who don’t read books quite as quickly as we intend to.

All in all three wonderful objects from young designers that prove that it can be worthwhile to ignore the uncouth market traders….

DMY Berlin 2012: Franz Dietrich & Jonas Hagenbusch

Inside the storage box of the Frame Hanger by Jonas Hagenbusch

Buchtisch by Franz Dietrich

If we’re honest we can’t remember if the Vitra Design Museum exhibition “The Essence of Things: Design and the Art of Reduction” has a section devoted to ergonomics.

If not, they may need to extend it to include “The Half” by Finnish/Korean design collective Studio Sailing to Mars.

Initially developed with musicians in mind, “The Half” is… half a chair

Proportionally. Not physically.

Through the reduced form the sitter is more or less forced to adopt a more positive posture – one simply doesn’t have the space to slouch.

Which has to be good.

And although as we say initially developed for musicians “The Half” has obviously potential as a dining chair, in meeting/conference situations. Or simply in flats where space is of a premium.

And what’s particularly pleasing about “The Half” is that also looks fantastic.

DMY Berlin 2012: Studio Sailing to Mars - The Half

..... testing allowed. Feedback desired.

Egon Eiermann allegedly once began work on a series of coffins for a Berlin funeral company.

The series was sadly never realised, but we can well imagine in which direction Eiermann would have gone….

On the Farmer’s Creativity by Agri-expo Yunlin stand at DMY Berlin 2012 is an object that approaches the subject with a little more agility.

Return by Sa’ Bella Design / Sally Lin is an urn.

An urn made of recycled paper, the walls of which are impregnated with seeds.

As the paper disintegrates and the ash mixes with the earth …. the seeds germinate, the flowers grow.

The cycle of life in its beautiful brutality begins anew.

Genius.

DMY Berlin 2012: Return by Sa’ Bella Design / Sally Lin

DMY Berlin 2012: Return by Sa’ Bella Design / Sally Lin

DMY Berlin 2012: Return by Sa’ Bella Design / Sally Lin

One of the real joys of the first few days of DMY Berlin 2012 has been catching up with Stephan Schulz.

Not just because Stephan is without question the product designer we know with the healthiest attitude to the whole circus, and as such after a few minutes in his company you no longer fear the workload that lies ahead.

But also because we’d been looking forward to seeing his new Domestic Landscape collection. A collection that as the press material so promisingly begins “… transports soil into the domestic space”

When we do that our mums get really cross. Stephan has found a civilised, useful even, way to do it.

We knew that a couple of years ago Stephan was working on a similar project involving loam and assumed that Domestic Landscape arose from that work.

It didn’t. Or at least not directly.

Rather it was developed in the context of a new project funded by the Kunststiftung Sachsen-Anhalt, but obviously entails elements of the experience Stephan gathered in his earlier project.

The central feature of Domestic Landscape is the Climate Wall. A modular system comprising a wooden frame on which one can hang the earth “tiles”

Or not. You can also leave sections open.

The tiles are created from a mixture of earth, straw and old newspaper, and after mixing and forming are dried – not  baked.

According to Stephan this is important as it imparts the system its climate influencing character. Keeps it natural. Earthy, if you like.

Optional metal elements allow for the inclusion of storage/shelving space and as modular system one can build and rebuild it as required.

As a system we can well imagine the Climate Wall working excellently in an office or a retail environment. For all as room divider. Not just owing to its appearance and the the climate influencing aspects of the system, but also through the  – almost inevitable if not formally tested – acoustic effects.

In addition the Domestic Landscape collection includes lighting, a plantable soil table and floor “features”

Lumps is the only word that occurs to us for the floor “features”. Uses however don’t.

Without wanting to sound disrespectful, the lamp looks like the most commercially feasible element of the collection, reflecting nicely the furniture industry’s current infatuation with furniture that is “at one with nature” – yet in a form more accessible and sellable than the Climate Wall.

And the plantable soil table. Completely impractical.

But as a feature in a modern, open office space. Absolutely delightful.

Unless you’re a hay fever suffer. Obviously.

More information on the Domestic Landscape collection can be found at: www.studio-stephanschulz.com