The Faraway Pool : A Sunken Bathtub For KOS

My newest wish list/dream product is that latest bathtub (or indoor mini pool) for KOS Italy by designers Ludovica + Roberto Palomba. Presented at ISH 2009, Frankfurt, the sunken tub is part of the FARAWAY collection and resembles a swimming pool with its illuminated stairs and overspill collector.





The Faraway/ Pool sunken mini-pool is level with the floor:


The steps to lower oneself into the pool become sources of illumination:


the ground-level fissure for the collection of water doubles the pool's outline:


and the blower placed under the steps ripples the surface of the water over the entire length of the pool:


overall dimensions:
Width 2606 mm
Height 1000 mm
Length 4558 mm
Designed for KOS by Ludovica and Roberto Palomba

About the designers:

Italian architects and designers Roberto and Ludovica Palomba are prime representatives of the trend to upgrade the bathroom to the status of living space in its own right. Their designs for leading bath makers such as Kos, Ceramica Flaminia and Laufen unite sculptural qualities with a knowledge of the materials and a manifest flair for the unconventional.

Price available upon request.
KOS italia

Nika Zupanc's Exhibit At Salon del Mobile Milan 2009

above: from the exhibition invitation to Nika's work in Milan

EXHIBITION AT SUPERSTUDIO PIU, MILAN
I WILL BUY FLOWERS MYSELF
OBJECT GONE INDESCRETE BY NIKA ZUPANC

I have blogged about self proclaimed "communicative product designer" Slovenian Nika Zupanc's work before. Her Ordinary Life, Disturbed series still holds up as some of the most unusual and irreverent furnishings out there and her latest pieces, collaborations and installments are no less interesting.


above: I Will Buy Flowers Myself, exhibition and the artist Nika Zupanc. Portrait of Nika Zupanc by Boštjan Martinjak

from the press release:
Precisely measured eclecticism and the intentional search for feminine archetypal elements are the parameters Nika Zupanc uses in her work, although in a notably reserved and occasionally slightly painful manner. Within the exhibition I will buy flowers myself, Zupanc tackles the established attributes which are this time especially inspired by the stories of some of the most famous female literary heroines. Her display space thus opens up through a sequence of spicy comments cast in shamelessly beautiful forms.

These include sofas, a table, a toy car, a crib, a feather duster, and the Mrs. Dalloway mini hot plate designed for Gorenje (which are all pictured in this post).

The Doll House (shown below) was developed together with the company Trimo and Nika Zupanc designed this installation using the architectural and design options provided by the new and innovative modular facade system, Qbiss by trimo.

The pavilion’s interior is suffused with a passionate intertwining of rational and irrational features in a family of six objects that can be read between the covers of The Doll House as the resistance of women chained in Romanticism that prefer to buy the flowers themselves.

The Doll House Installation:




The designer announces the basic feature of her exhibition even at the entrance to her pavilion at Superstudio Piu, where visitors are confronted with a black, dotted architectural installation. With its chimney and pearlescent smoke, it works as a monolith that separates the world of objects from the world of forms, thus representing a passage into another dimension.

The Mrs. Dalloway mini Hot Plate for Gorenje:



above: Nika Zupanc designed this mini hot plate exclusively for Gorenje, an internationally recognized, ambitious, and design-oriented creator of home appliances.

Tapisserie & Phonique sofas:




The Scarlet table and tray:



Acrylic Cradles:


above: Exhibition prototypes of the cradles were produced by Acrytech Pečenko

The Unfaithful Feather Duster:


available for purchase here.






However, this year Nika Zupanc will not be shown only at her own pavilion. The global super-brands Moooi and Moroso will present products with her signature as well: Moooi will present its series of her Lolita lamps (shown below), and Moroso will present her Tailored Chair (also shown below).

The Lolita Lamp for Moooi:


The Tailored Chair for Moroso:


Be sure to read about her Ordinary Life, Disturbed here.



The exhibition was supported by The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia
Curated by: Jurij Krpan, Art direction: Nika Zupanc, Graphic design: Kabinet 01, Words by: Igor Medjugorac, Photo: Dragan Arrigler, ©Nika Zupanc 2009
www.nikazupanc.com

UPDATED: MINI & Airstream By Fritz Hansen

Last month I told you about the collaboration between MINI and Airstream designed by the Republic of Fritz Hansen. Now, the MINI / Airstream Combo is showcased at INTERNI DESIGN ENERGIES exhibition in Milan and I have updated photos and a video for you!



Three internationally revered icons of design have combined to create a one -off: the MINI Cooper S Clubman and the chrome Airstream camper trailer, each lovingly detailed by Copenhagen-based design firm Republic of Fritz Hansen.

For their part the Danes outfit a mid-century American classic, the Airstream trailer, with inspired twists on their countryman Arne Jacobsen's instantly recognizable, cushy Series SevenTM and SwanTM chairs. Retro wood interior paneling, Neoprene-wetsuit upholstery accents and - get this - a sunbathing bed leave no doubt: this camper is going to the beach.






Outside, the trailer's streamlined profile reflects sleek, sinister touches like a midnight-black roofline and lightning-green door etching. Meanwhile, our trusty MINI Cooper S Clubman gets treated to a one-off black paint scheme with the Airstream's lightning green tint trimming headlamps, alloy wheels and side mirrors, and creating fierce cutaway lines in its beautiful bodywork.




the video:



You can catch the one-off MINI and Airstream designed by Republic of Fritz Hansen during the Salone del Mobile and the INTERNI DESIGN ENERGIES show.

Special thanks to MINIspace for the photos and video!

IKEA UK's Never Ending Design Stories: Mixed Media Videos

The IKEA UK site has a wonderful series of little online movies that mix film and animation to introduce us to 20 designers, and their inspiration for various IKEA PS products.



The IKEA PS collection is a line of 46 products by 20 designers that combine good design with the economical use of resources and responsiblity for the environment. Chairs, bookcases, dressers, benches, room dividers, lamps, clocks, wall mirrors, glassware, decor, textiles and rugs are amongst the products in the collection.


Above: the home page of the Never Ending Design Stories

The Never Ending Design Stories begins in a Seed World where animated dandelion seeds are drifting through the sky.



The 'seeds' represent the stories. As you click upon each seed, a designer within the pod is exposed and a small film begins featuring that designer discussing the product from the PS collection for which they personally designed.

Smartly designed for consumer use, the 'seed' (or product story) you've already viewed has a yellow flag trailing from it so when you return to the Seed World, know which video you've already seen:




Each video has the options to be viewed with or without sound and subtitles. At the end of each little film, you are given the product information such as the name, price and dimensions:




They are all very different, but equally charming and give you a much greater respect for a product as seemingly mundane as a towel. Following are a few screen grabs from some of the 'stories'. Please click on the images to enlarge:












Go see all the Neverending Design Stories here.