1.3 Chair wins Designs of the Year, Furniture Award 2012

We were honoured to join Kihyun Kim at the Design Museum last night for the 5th annual Designs of the Year Awards, especially as he walked off with the award in the Furniture category. 

Inspired by the British WWII wooden bomber, the De Havilland Mosquito, Kihyun developed an innovative chair design in balsa wood and lime veneer. Weighing an incredible 1.28Kg, Kihyun presented it as his graduation project from the RCA in 2011.

A strong category in the awards, 1.3 Chair was nominated alongside Barber Osgerby's Tip Ton chair for Vitra, Stefan Diez Chassis chair for Wilkhahn, Jasper Morrison's Lightwood chair for Maruni and the Bouroullec brothers two nominations in this category (the Osso chair for Mattiazzi and Textile Field) amongst others.

The overall award for Design of the Year was presented to Barber Osgerby for their 2012 Olympic Torch. The full list of winners can be found on the Design Museum website here.

 

Zeitraum have produced a solid wood version of 1.3 Chair in ash, oak or walnut and presented it at Salone del Mobile in Milan last week with a companion bar stool and low stool. 

The Designs of the Year show continues until 4th July at the Design Museum but you will also be able to see the 1.3 Collection at Clerkenwell Design Week in May.

#Milan12

Our trip to Milan was shorter than usual this year, in no small part thanks to the lack of hotel space (seriously, Milan Chamber of Commerce, you need to sort that out) so we lived vicariously through our Twitter timeline. Below is a selection of our favourite #Milan12 tweets from some of our favourite Tweeters. If you're not already following them you should be!

 

http://bit.ly/HUUaEv

 

http://bit.ly/HZoj7V

http://bit.ly/HXkxie

And we end with some good advice for visitors and exhibitors alike.....

You might call it lazy blogging on our part, we call it Milan 2012 in a #nutshell.

Don't forget you can follow us on Twitter @RelayDesign and we have created a Facebook album of our own highlights. See you next year 9th -14th April for #Milan13

Zeitraum News 2012 - Part 2 The Milan Issue

Zeitraum unleashed their 2012 Collection at IMM Cologne in January, but kept a few pieces under wraps. Until now that is.

The 1.3 COLLECTION by RCA graduate Kihyun Kim is a progression on the superlight chair he first presented as part of his graduation work at RCA SHOW 2011. The project involved extensive research into lightweight technology and ecology. First presented in fast-growing balsa wood and lime veneer, this unpretentious little chair weighed in at less than 1.3Kg (hence the name!). Reaction was immediate, and several parties expressed an interest in developing the product. 

Zeitraum have worked closely with Kihyun Kim to develop 1.3 Chair into a family of products suitable for contract use and the result is 1.3 COLLECTION - chair, bar stool and low stool. For commercial production it was decided to produce the frame in solid oak or walnut, as balsa can be unpredictable.

The contours of the back and pillow-like seat appear wafer-thin yet inviting. The modest proportions make it eminently suitable for spaces where space is at a premium - city centre restaurants and cafes, for instance. 

1.3 Chair has been nominated for the Designs of the Year 2012 Award at the Design Museum, where it can be seen until 4th July. Winners will be announced on 24th April. Fingers crossed!

Also new for Milan is FRIDAY from regular collaborators Formstelle. Designed with that TGIF feeling very much in mind, FRIDAY is a decadent mix of soft, supple leather, down filled cushions and tactile wood.

Sturdy butt leather acts as a sling for the seat and back cushions within the wooden frame. Practicalities have been considered and the seat and back cushions are fastened to each other with a discrete zip so the form is not disturbed. Sit back, relax and enjoy!

These new products along with KONTUR, TURNTABLE, PLAISIR, NOON 3 and NOON 3 SMALL, TWIST STONE, STRIP and MORPH POUF, launched at IMM Cologne, all adhere to the Zeitraum ethos of honesty, character and substance and make the collection stronger than ever.

Cory Arcangel for Studio Voltaire

New York artist Cory Arcangel (who had an installation at The Curve gallery in the Barbican in 2011) has created a limited edition screen print for Studio Voltaire in south London.

Taking a page torn from an art history book featuring one of Mondrian's Lozenge painting, which were intended to be hung in a diamond format, Arcangel has turned the page back 45°, thus reinstating the traditional square format.

Part of a series of works by artists such as Phyllida Barlow and Ryan Gander to make art affordable, the price will rise as the edition sells out. The first 50 prints are priced at £50, but the price will then start to rise (there are 150 prints in the edition). We suggest you get in early and place your orders here and support a wonderful arts charity at the same time.