As older readers will know a large proportion of the menial labour at (smow) is carried out by a team of highly qualified Vitra Eames Elephants.

In the past we’ve praised them, for example, for their help moving USM Haller units around our warehouse.

(smow) recently moved into a new base in the Leipzig Baumwollspinnerei complex, a former yarn works largely inhabited by artists, sculptors and their ilk.

Being naturally curious beasts our elephants didn’t take long to start exploring the galleries and creative spaces that house our new neighbours.

And one in particular embarked on a trip that involved meeting numerous old acquaintances…..

In December 2012 Vitrashop, the shop fitting arm of the Vitra Group, and of course the original rock on which the Vitra seed germinated and grew, took formal occupation of their new distribution centre.

Conceived by Tokyo based architects Kazuyo Sejima & Ryue Nishizawa aka SANAA, the imaginatively titled “SANAA Factory Building” is the latest addition to the Vitra Campus and was officially presented to the public on April 19th 2013.

Vitra Campus: SANAA Factory Building.

Vitra CEO Rolf Fehlbaum first approached Kazuyo Sejima & Ryue Nishizawa in 2006 to discuss the possibility of them developing a project for the Vitra Campus. Initially they were pencilled in to build what was to become the VitraHaus; however, Rolf Fehlbaum re-considered and decided that because SANAA had never developed an industrial space it would be an interesting idea to ask them to do just that for Vitra.

SANAA readily agreed, for in addition to the challenge of working in close vicinity to so many buildings from established architects, the scale of the project inspired and motivated the pair, or as Kazuyo Sejima puts it “….we could never build a house with such a large footprint”

And when one considers the construction’s circa 160 metre diameter and total floor space of some 20,000 square metres, it’s very hard to disagree.

Aside from its size, the SANAA Factory Building is defined by two factors: Its shape and its outer facade.

The most most instantly striking of which is the outer facade. Created from double layered acrylic glass the facade is composed of 6 different “wave” patterns assembled to form a non-repeating, apparently random, facade much like a freely hanging curtain and conceived to give the construction a lightness that disguises and reduces its size.

We can’t confirm if that works or not. On the one hand we don’t have any other 20,000 sq metre buildings we can use as a ready comparison. But principally we are unsure as to in how far the curved walls aid and abet such an effect.

The SANAA building certainly doesn’t appear noticeably larger than any of its neighbours, but they are all quadratic. And the SANAA Factory Building is round. In itself a small innovation for a distribution centre.

Initially SANAA developed quadratic and round models for the building, but ultimately decided on the round version in order to make the building on the one hand more accessible for lorries and on the other to improve the work-flow inside. The argument from SANAA being that for distribution centres circles are a better form that quadrats. A not illogical argument.

The SANAA Factory Building is however not a perfect circle, Kazuyo Sejima & Ryue Nishizawa have deliberately distorted the form a little to create a sort of squashed egg. Or perhaps given the way it is connected to the neighbouring Nicholas Grimshaw building, a slightly squashed penicillin fruiting body.

The motivation with the off-circle was to keep the building more organic, not so industrial: despite having finally completed an industrial project SANAA obviously aren’t quite ready to be called industrial architects.

SANAA Factory Building for Vitrashop in Weil am Rhein

Anyone expecting to find in the Vitra SANAA Factory Building a repetition of the undulating floors of the Rolex Learning Center Lausanne or the almost completely transparent landscape of  the Toledo Museum of Art Glass Pavilion will be disappointed. Sorely disappointed.

The SANAA Factory Building is an industrial facility and has been designed as such.

Indeed walking round the building we were reminded of what Antonio Citterio told us in relation to his own three Vitra factory projects “… Vitra don’t need a statement, Vitra need a productive space, a Vitra factory space”

What SANAA have created in Weil am Rhein reflects that very well. It isn’t arrogant, isn’t vainglorious, it isn’t a “statement”, it is a space where Vitrashop can work, in the words of Sejima “… a very comfortable space for the workers”. One of the major features in this context is the endless rows of skylights which flood the space with daylight to create a homogeneous working environment, and environment which ideally makes the factory interior appear smaller, friendlier, more personal.

On the day we were there there sadly wasn’t any daylight flooding in, but even in Weil am Rhein a little rain must fall.
And when no rain falls we see no reason to doubt that the sunlight will flood. And that it will create a pleasant working atmosphere.

In the past both Sejima and Nishizawa have repeatedly stated that for them making a structure clear is a central priority in their work. A philosophy they have remained true to with the SANAA factory building; the shelving blends effortlessly in with the structural beams, floor gives way to wall to roof, or as Rolf Fehlbaum puts it “…normally things are hidden, here you can see everything”

Almost.

For although we’re not in the habit of contradicting Rolf Fehlbaum, there is one thing you can’t see.

Outside.

Just as important as structural clarity in the SANAA canon has been the interaction between between a building’s interior and its external environment. The SANAA Factory Building in contrast stands there very much as an object stubbornly determined to keep itself to itself. Even the windows as metaphoric eyes on the outside world are placed too high to allow any meaningful view in or out. Their sole function is aiding illumination.

As such the SANAA Factory Building would appear to be the first time that SANAA have found themselves limited by a brief. Or when not limited then at least forced to approach the project with a different philosophy.

On the one hand there are the economic limitations, an industrial building such as that in Weil am Rhein clearly has a much lower budget than the museums or housing projects SANAA normally develop, but also the practical limitations. Aside from the legal framework that such a building must conform to, especially in Germany, come banal points such as that, ideally, no one should be able to see inside a distribution centre.

The transparent restaurant kitchen or production facility may have become accepted standards, however which company freely presents to the world the contents of its warehouse?

Inside the SANAA Factory Building for Vitrashop

With the completion of the SANAA Factory Building the Vitra Campus has not just been expanded by one building, but has one more Pritzker Prize winning architecture bureau to its name following on from Herzog & de Meuron, Tadao Ando, Avaro Siza and of course Frank Gehry.

Kazuyo Sejima & Ryue Nishizawa won architecture’s most prestigious award in 2010 and in the citation the jury notes that “The buildings of Sejima and Nishizawa seen deceptively simple. The architects hold a vision of a building as a seamless whole, where the physical presence retreats and forms a sensuous background for people, objects, activities and landscapes”

A description that could also be effortlessly applied to the SANAA Factory Building.

Yes, it just looks like a steel warehouse and lazy scribes could portray the glass facade as an architectural Emperor’s new clothes that cloaks an all too apparent conceptual nakedness. However start inspecting closer, analysing for example how the construction has been created, how the roof is supported or how the technology has been integrated, and you will discover a lot of hidden depth and fascinating detail.

SANAA Factory Building is unlikely to go down in history as Kazuyo Sejima & Ryue Nishizawain’s greatest work, nor is it the greatest work on the Vitra Campus, it is however a captivating object that places it functionality unselfishly above all other considerations, an object that serves the workers rather than the architects, an object that attempts to go new ways and has the bravery to risk new approaches. And as such is a fitting addition to the Vitra Campus.

Below a few images of the SANAA Factory Building. And by way of short explanation, given the truly awful weather on the day we visited we spontaneously decided to start photographing the outside in black and white. Hence the mix. Seemed appropriate given the mood of the day…..

It is indicative of the image of designer furniture in contemporary society that media outlets across Europe have picked up on the fact that in connection with the recently published “Wealth Decelerations” by the French Cabinet, Industry Renewal Minister Arnaud Montebourg has revealed he owns an Eames Lounge Chair.

Indeed the online platform from German magazine Der Spiegel illustrated the publication of the Declarations with an image of an Eames Lounge Chair in one its first reports!

The Eames Lounge Chair. Similar to that owned by Arnaud Montebourg.

While the fascination with Monsieur Montebourg and his Eames Lounge Chair is almost certainly related to the fact it is one of the few revelations of what is hidden behind the figures – the revelation isn’t in the official documents but from an interview in Le Monde – it does highlight the widely held view that possession of designer furniture is somehow an indication of unreachable, and potentially unjust, wealth.

Yes, an object such as an Eames Lounge Chair may cost more than most people would normally consider paying for a piece of furniture.

However do a cost:lifetime analysis and it suddenly doesn’t look sssooo much when compared to the alternatives.

The investment in an Eames Lounge Chair is an invetsment in an object that will not only accompany you until your last breath. But also you children. And, and assuming everyone takes care of it, their children.

And then there is the material investment.

If you look at the Ministerial Declarations you will find, for example, that European Affairs Minister Thierry Repentin bought a Renault Scenic in 2009 for Euro 26,700. It is now worth Euro 8,500.

Now while Arnaud Montebourg is unlikely to recoup the ca. Euro 4,300 he paid in 1988 for his Eames Lounge Chair, he’s certainly not going to be looking at a 66% depreciation.

And don’t we want politicians who make sensible economic decisions? Especially in the current climate?

For us part of the problem that leads to such a fascination with the ownership of a design classic such as the Eames Lounge Chair is the way such objects are advertised or generally medially presented.

All too often designer furniture is presented as something other worldly. Exclusive. Not for the likes of you young lady……

As we’ve said before, and will repeat until our teeth fall out, if manufacturers were to reject the tired, agency motivated imagery, and instead concentrate more on explaining the quality of the materials used, the quality of the craftsmanship involved, the length of the design process, the investment in machines required to create their objects, etc, etc, etc the public would understand the price. And would adore the objects even more as a touch of luxury in the midst of their grey, unfulfilled lives.

In this context the Lounge Chair Atelier in the VitraHaus is a wonderful development as it allows visitors to not only see, and feel, how a Vitra Lounge Chair is assembled, but also to speak to the staff and so learn a little more about the people behind the objects.

So we say, lay of Monsieur Montebourg! He had the free capital in 1988 and for us he made a wise and sensible investment.

And in terms of unfettered decadency: Justice Minister Christiane Taubira admits to owning three bicycles.

Three bikes!!!

Qu’ils mangent de la brioche! indeed……

A White Vitra Eames Lounge Chair. As seen at Eames by Vitra, Wasserschloß Klaffenbach Chemnitz

Back in October at Orgatec 2012 Vitra unveiled Workbay, the new concept from Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec.

The latest stage in the brother’s career-long “room within a room” research Workbay is a flexible system based around fleece walls and aluminium supports that resembles a cross between the Alcove Sofa and the Bouroullec’s Communal Cells from Orgatec 2010.

When we saw Workbay in Cologne we thought,  nice idea, nice extension of the Bouroullec programme… and went back to concentrating on their Cork Desk.

In Milan, Vitra and the Bouroullec’s unveiled the full majesty of Workbay.

In an installation specially created for the Salone Ufficio section of Salone Milano, Ronan and Ewran Bouroullec presented Workbay Office: a visualisation of how Workbay can be integrated into an office to create a series of separate areas based around the basic Workbay structure enhanced with very simple add-ons.

Sofas. Shelving. Desks. Storage units. Sinks.

And because the Workbay system can be constructed to practically any length, circumference, diameter or indeed form, it can be integrated as and when required into any office of any size. And then rebuilt as situations dictate.

As such for us Workbay not only offers a completely new approach to office furniture, but as a system offers architects and interior designers a new freedom when designing new office spaces.

And we thought Workbay was just a flexible fleece and aluminum wall!

Back in March 2011 we bemoaned the position of the fence surrounding the Vitra production facility in Weil am Rhein, and for all the disruption to the view across the Vitra Campus.

Before the construction of the VitraHaus the fence offended no one, but since….

“Mr Fehlbaum, tear down this wall! Or at least move it a little bit. Please.”, we cried. Paraphrasing the lonesome cowboy.

And much like Mikhail Gorbachev needed two and half years to respond to Ronald Reagan, so too will it take some 30 months before our challenge has been answered in the positive.

However by November 2013 visitors to the VitraHaus and Vitra Design Museum will be able to move much freer and more independently around the Vitra Campus.

A wonderful, wonderful development.

Or almost. For unlike the fall of the Berlin Wall the fall of the Vitra Fence is only a partial fall.

In the coming months the progression of the fence will be altered from its current course on the edge of the car park and instead will make a sharp left at the Buckminster Fuller Dome and then lead on to Alvaro Siza’s production hall.

To complement the new fence Alvaro Siza has devised a new path that follows the line of the fence before taking visitors beyond his production hall and on to Zaha Hadid’s Fire Station.

The redesign is then completed by a new “meadow” in front of the VitraHaus with seating. And more cherry trees.

The architecture remains however behind the fence and so the view of the Buckminster Fuller Dome, Jean Prouvé petrol station et all remains through the fence.

That said, visitors will not only have the opportunity to view the works from differing perspectives but also the extra public space around the VitraHaus should have the positive effect of making the whole areal appear less claustrophobic and crammed than is currently the case.

We still see no reason not to place the fence next to the road, so between the Frank Gehry production hall and Jean Prouvé petrol station, thus making all objects freely accessible.

Yes that may mean that fewer visitors pay for the architecture tour, but we believe the majority would still choose to view the objects in the company of a guide. They are after all there to learn and experience.

And so excellent and welcome as the start is, we do have David Hasselhoff waiting in the wings … and he really, really likes the idea of appearing at the “Campus Summernights” concert season!

The Vitra Campus, featuring the new fence position and new path.

As with so much of Ron Arad’s commercially available, serially produced, furniture designs the story of Tom Vac starts a long, long way away from the domestic conformity one has become accustomed to seeing them in.

In this case the story begins on a street corner in Milan.

In 1997 the Italian architecture and design magazine Domus launched a PR campaign which involved asking contemporary designers to create an installation which embodied the fundamentals of the magazine.

The first commission came from Ron Arad, was unveiled during Milan Design Week 1997 and involved a stack of 100 aluminum chairs Arad had specially developed for the project.

Called “Domus Totem” the installation was, if we understand it correctly, an exploration of both novelty and memory in design, art and architecture.

And all good, clean fun.

As project sponsor, Vitra subsequently re-created the chairs in plastic, and since its launch in 1999 the Tom Vac has been one of the staples of the Vitra seating collection.

That one can currently find the reduced, unassuming, almost chaste, Tom Vac in front of the Kunstmuseum Stuttgart under the banner “Otto Dix und die Neue Sachlichkeit”, (Otto Dix and the New Objectivity) is surely an oversight.

If you’re going to choose a Ron Arad work in such a context then the Rover Chair or Bad Tempered Chair pass much better to Otto Dix’s in your face depictions of war, prostitutes and the depravities of the Weimar Republic.

Or maybe were misinterpreting a brilliant piece of critical juxtaposition on the part of the curators.

Either way. It amused us.

And we wanted to share it….

Tom Vac by Ron Arad for Vitra. And New Objectivity!

Tom Vac by Ron Arad for Vitra. And New Objectivity!

Until April 9th the Wasserschloss Klaffenbach Chemnitz is presenting the exhibition Eames by Vitra.

As we wrote in our initial post, Eames by Vitra presents a complete overview of the Charles and Ray Eames chair canon complemented by texts, photos and videos that explain the background to the Eames Studio.

It is not an exhibition that completely explains the creative phenomenon that was Charles and Ray Eames. But then it doesn’t set out to be.

It’s all about the chairs.

Eames by Vitra in Wasserschloss Klaffenbach is spread over three rooms, physically it is the only solution, however the positive side effect is to lead the visitor on a journey through the output of Charles and Ray Eames. Each room has its own atmosphere, its own character and this reflects on the exhibits, a fact which when combined with the open views from room to room, gives the impression of an exhibition that is much larger than it is.

And it isn’t large. It’s intense. But not voluminous.

But for all Eames by Vitra is inclusive, presenting as it does the Eames plywood, plastic and aluminium chair collections, in addition to the La Chaise lounger, wooden stools and of course the Eames Lounge Chair. There are also enough Eames Elephants on show to consider starting a Wasserschloss Klaffenbach Safari Park.

If we did have one complaint – we know, we know, what is the chances of us having a complaint! Imagine! Us! Complaints!!! – it would be that the first exhibit one sees is devoted to the Eames plastic chairs.

However not only does the Eames story begin chronologically with the plywood chairs; but understanding the Eames plywood chairs is central to understanding the complete Eames furniture oeuvre.

And so, for us, it would have made more sense to begin with the moulded plywood.

But that is probably just us.

And as ever we’re more than happy to let each visitor make up their own mind.

And then tell us that we are wrong.

Eames by Vitra runs at Wasserschloss Klaffenbach Chemnitz until April 9th 2013.

Full details can be found at www.wasserschloss-klaffenbach.de

And as before, in the interests of transparency Eames by Vitra is a co-production between the C³ Chemnitzer Veranstaltungszentren GmbH and (smow) Chemnitz.

In our Orgatec interview with Vitra CDO Eckart Maise we talked about the office system as the central component of the Vitra office furniture philosophy. One designer who has done more than most to establish Vitra’s reputation in the office furniture sector is without question Antonio Citterio. Since his first collaborations with the company in the late 1980s Antonio Citterio has worked with Vitra on numerous key projects including the Ad Hoc system, the AC and ID office chair systems and most recently the Grand Repos lounge chair. At Orgatec 2012 Antonio Citterio and Vitra presented the latest fruits of their cooperation and we took the opportunity to speak to Antonio Citterio about working with Vitra and his admiration for Charles and Ray Eames, but started by asking about his approach to his work.

Antonio Citterio: I like to work on products that are developed over time. I don’t like to work just for the moment. I like to work over long time frames and on long term concepts. My approach is to develop existing systems and to make changes every few years. For example in 2010 we presented the ID Concept Chair and this year we are presenting a new backrest for the system, and we also have some changes to Ad Hoc and a new Visavis. They are still the same products, I don’t want to develop something so that the previous version becomes old or outdated. It should just be another option.

(smow)blog: Old and outdated are interesting keywords. Ad Hoc is now over 20 years old, is it still relevant in modern office environments, or has the office environment evolved quicker than Ad Hoc?

Antonio Citterio: Clearly over time the requirements of a system or a product change. The office environment is changing but a system such as Ad Hoc changes with it. For example the first Ad Hoc was very deep because it needed to take large computers and monitors, but now we don’t need such a deep system for laptops, tablets etc. The system remains the same. It just evolves, and so remains practical and relevant.

(smow)blog: This evolution, or extension, of your systems, is that always purely technical or do aesthetics also play a role?

Antonio Citterio: You become boring if it is just a technical development. The technical element is an important part of the job, but the aesthetic remains a big part. It’s not enough just to develop technically, it’s not enough, for example, just to develop a new back for the ID Concept Chair. Everything must be considered, must fit together and not every project reaches a conclusion, sometimes you have to stop, if you don’t reach a certain “something”

(smow)blog: Can one therefore say that office furniture is more interesting for you than domestic, where one has quicker turn around periods and shorter product life cycles?

Antonio Citterio: No I like to do both. Office furniture I like because of the more sophisticated technology, but then with Vitra I could combine this sophisticated technology in Grand Repos, because Vitra is a company who understand office systems.

(smow)blog: You trained as an architect and still work as an architect, do you also employ this thinking in terms of a long term evolution of systems in your architectural work?

Antonio Citterio: Yes, yes it’s a very similar process. For example I have built three factories for Vitra: the first one fifteen years ago, the second one five years ago and the third one this year. All three factories are the same, just developments of the same system. They are all prefabricated, but you improve them each time and I like that. The second factory for example was built close to the first one. Now if you’re a young architect you would want to create a statement. But Vitra don’t need a statement, Vitra need a productive space, a Vitra factory space. In Weil am Rhein with the Vitra Campus things are different, you have a huge space and a collection of architects and there you can have a more author, expressive, work. But in order to create a creative Vitra space you must remain consistent, and so for the second factory we evolved the first factory concept. Then having developed the system in versions one and two, by the time we built the third I had a good competitive system, that can be built quickly and looks good. So yes it’s a very similar process.

(smow)blog: Changing the topic slightly, you’re often quoted as being a huge admirer of Charles and Ray Eames, what is the fascination for you?

Antonio Citterio: If you look at the Eames’ works, their product is never finished, they were always improving and working on the designs. And this is something I can associate with, every product can be better and you should never stop trying to develop and improve a product. And Charles Eames was an incredible designer and visionary and without question one of the best from the 20th century.

(smow)blog: Which in connection with your own preference for continually developing projects over a long time frame, is that then perhaps a reason why you are so happy with Vitra, because you have the freedom to do just that, to continually improve a product?

Antonio Citterio: Certainly, yes.  I’ve been very lucky with Vitra.

(smow)blog: Final question, we’re at an office furniture fair. What does your office look like?

Antonio Citterio: I have Ad Hoc, and I will soon have the new ID Chair. At the moment we have the Axess chair plus Visavis…..

(smow)blog: ….so it’s a Citterio office….

Antonio Citterio: Sure. A Citterio office in a Citterio building.

Antonio Cittero (Photo: Bettina Matthiesen © Vitra)

Grand Repos by Antonio Citterio for Vitra

The chair Pivot by Antonio Citterio for Vitra

The office system Ad Hoc and the ID Chair by Antonio Citterio for Vitra

It being January, IMM Cologne once again provided the backdrop for the presentation of the A&W Designer of the Year Award. Following on from Tokujin Yoshioka in 2011 and Patrica Urquiola in 2012 the 2013 accolade went to everyone’s favourite Bretons Ronan And Erwan Bouroullec

In addition to the undoubted kudos of winning, as part of the award the Brothers Bouroullec are also being honoured in an exhibition at the Kölnischer Kunstverein.

Featuring an overview of their more recent works the exhibition can’t be called a retrospective, for that it is too small, too incomplete; however, it does provide a nice opportunity to compare their work for companies as varied as Vitra, Magis, Kvadrat or Lignet Roset and so examine their approach to and recurring motifs in their work.

For our part we spent most of our time cursing the exhibition design concept that saw the straight lines interrupted with curtains; thus making it impossible to get any sort of decent long, all-encompassing, shot.
Only in conversation with Erwan Bouroullec did we discover the troublesome textiles were in fact their latest product for Kvadrat – an off the peg and ready to hang curtain system.

They were still in the way. But at least we knew why!

We decided to spare the brothers the trauma of another interview with us, they’ve suffered enough over the years, but here a few impressions from the exhibition

If you happen to be in Cologne the exhibition can be viewed until Sunday January 20th at the Kölnischer Kunstverein, Hahnenstr.6, 50667 Köln

Wandering round the Vitra spaceship at Orgatec there was one product that you simply couldn’t fail to notice.

On every table, in every Workbay, in every Alcove stood a lamp.

A Vitra lamp?

Not technically. Technically a lamp from Swiss producer Belux.

However since 2001 Belux has been part of the Vitra family and at Orgatec 2012 they made good use of their family connections to unveil the latest addition to their portfolio, U-Turn by ECAL Lausanne graduate Michel Charlot.

Older readers will remember our complete infatuation with Standing Task Light by Erik Wester, a lamp whose stand and shade can be positioned more or less at will through an innovative ball joint mechanism.

U-Turn by Michel Charlot for Belux is very reminiscent of Standing Task Light – just with a few differences. Differences that are not only as technically brilliant as they are poetic; but much more take the inherent beauty of Standing Task Light to a whole new level.

With U-Turn the lamp head is connected to the stand via a magnet and can not only be angled as required but can also be lifted off and flipped over meaning that the light can be directed either up or down.

The result is a lamp that offers true flexibility, can be pointed in literally any direction and consequently can be used to define the atmosphere in a room.

For example, shining directly downwards on your desk while you work and then backwards and upwards to provide a gentle, indirect light for the evening quiescence.

At the moment U-Turn is available as a desk, pendant, wall or standard lamp, 2013 will see the release of a “Clip” lamp and a dimmable version.

To find out a little more we spoke to Michel Charlot and started by asking about the background to the project…….

Michel Charlot: After I established my own studio in Basel I was in contact with Vitra, Belux is part of Vitra, they needed help with a project, and, thankfully, asked me if I could help. They already had the idea of a lamp based around a ball and a magnet, but it wasn’t really working, and they didn’t really know how to develop it further. It’s one thing to have an idea but another to then develop a product family around it and to give it a character and identity of its own.

(smow)blog: Very Nice! And so what was the first thing you did, throw everything out and start from scratch or…

Michel Charlot: Pretty much! The initial object was quite large, had two spots and worked with a different technology. And so yes I changed pretty much everything and what we have now bears no resemblance to what Belux had then. The basic idea of the ball and the magnet is the same but everything else has changed.

(smow)blog: As a young, relatively unknown designer, to turn up at a company like Belux / Vitra and say “It’s all rubbish! We’re starting again”, doesn’t sound like the easiest thing in the world…..

Michel Charlot: It is of course difficult to do such when you’re young and it is also difficult for the people you are working with. Design and design development is a lot about trust and obviously it is easier to trust someone like Antonio Citterio or Jasper Morrison who have more experience. But when you’re young it can be quite difficult to convince people to follow your ideas, especially if they are risky; however, I think in design it is important to take risks, because that’s how you get to interesting new results. And fortunately Belux were very supportive and open to the new ideas I brought into the project.

(smow)blog: And how long did it take to redesign it?

Michel Charlot: Altogether it took about two years. The challenge in the lighting industry is that technology is moving so quickly you can’t afford to spend too long on a project because there is a risk that if you do, for example, the LED technology will be outdated by the time you are finished. And exactly because the technology changes so rapidly we have constructed U-Turn so that in the future we can upgrade the LEDs. The U-Turn that you buy in two or three years will be the same product, but with the most up-to-date LED technology, which is one way of extending the life cycle of the product.

(smow)blog: You took on an existing idea and developed a product. Are you happy with the end result?

Michel Charlot: Yes, I’m very happy with it. The idea is very simple and it is a very coherent object. A goal for me is always to make a product obvious, in the sense of “Of course it’s like that” or “How could it be any other way”. I like it when people look at an object and find it “normal”, but that is something which is quite difficult to achieve and involves a lot of unseen work. For example in order to ensure that the lamp moves smoothly over the ball, but then remains in place and dosen’t slide down, involved an awful lot of development work on the magnet and the coating.

(smow)blog: A project with Belux is a nice start to your own studio, where do you go from here, can we expect to see other projects from yourself in the near future?

Michel Charlot: I’m currently working on a project with the Italian bag manufacturer NAVA which is also an industrial project that involves injection moulding, welding and other industrial processes. My real interest is industrial design. For me the industrial aspect makes it really challenging, but is also what makes it so fascinating and rewarding. Lots of young designers today tend to do more craft based or gallery projects, but that is not really a direction that interests me.

(smow)blog: Our final, inevitable, question. Orgatec is an office furniture trade fair. What does your own office look like?

Michel Charlot: I have an old industrial table that I have refurbished as a desk and some Vitra chairs from Maarten van Severen. And hopefully I will soon have a new desk lamp!

U-Turn by Michel Charlot for Belux. One lamp. A world of possibilities

The clip version of U-Turn by Michel Charlot for Belux

U-Turn by Michel Charlot in action in a Vitra Workbay