Interieur 2012 design biennale, Kortrijk

Interior room, white walls, neutral floor, bespoke brown seating with black frame, black suspended ceiling light, white shade and lit bulb

A series of international designers were allocated their own spaces at Interieur, and asked to respond to the theme 'Future Primitives'. Pictured is a collection by Fien Muller and Hannes van Severen of Muller van Severen

(Image credit: TBC)

By Amy Heffernan

last updated 29 August 2022

Contributions from
Sarah McNabb

in Features

Interieur design biennale set a new standard for the design fair experience during its 23rd outing in Kortrijk this week, thanks to forward thinking new curator Lowie Vermeersch. The former design director at motoring brand Pininfarina not only upped the quality of the exhibitors for this by-invitation-only fair, but ensured that every aspect of the exhibition got the design treatment - from the stands themselves right down to the 'host' and 'hostess' uniforms and the numerous bars and eateries.

'We invited not only designers but also architects and artists [to participate in the fair],' said Lowie, 'so we really approached the Interieur in a multidisciplinary way.' International big guns including Studio Makkink & Bey, Troika, Nendo, Greg Lynn and Muller van Severen were asked to fill their own spaces in the exhibition, responding to the theme of 'Future Primitives'. This proved the highlight of the fair, with a particularly strong offering coming from Antwerp-based studio Muller van Severen, which produced a beautiful and refined collection of metal furniture, enhanced by a bold colour palette.

Interieur design biennale's main hub remained the Kortrijk Xpo, navigated by new zigzagging walkways-cum-installations, designed to enhance visitors' journeys through the show. But the Interieur also broke out to a new destination - a cluster of gallery spaces on Buda Island in the centre of town, made easily accessible from the Xpo thanks to a fleet of Audis.

Here, visitors could marvel at Troika's 'Arcade' lighting installation, which played with the architecture of the gallery, and Sou Fujimoto's 'In the Clouds' installation - originally conceived for Wallpaper* Handmade - among other projects. Visitors to Buda Island could also take time out in Design Marketo's Interieur Bistro, feasting on dishes made from locally ingredients while seated on furniture lent by exhibitors at the fair.

The brainchild of non-profit organisation Interieur Foundation, Interieur isn't just the preserve of design professionals. In fact, its chief aim is to educate and inspire the general public about design, which this year - thanks to Vermeersch's curatorial vision - it did in spades.

Interior room, white walls, neutral floor, black frame brown seat and connected bookcase with red shelves, black frame suspended ceiling light with white shade, with lit bulb, black frame wall light, white shade and lit bulb, positioned iver the furniture, black electrical cord attached and trailed along the floor — Furniture collection by Fien Muller and Hannes van Severen of Muller van Severen

Interior room, white walls, neutral floor. black framed desk unit, blue, black, green and red shelving, white framed desk chair with green seat and red back, black frame ceiling light, white shade, lit bulb — Furniture collection by Fien Muller and Hannes van Severen of Muller van Severen

Interior image, red walls, white floor, red desk, black chair, back light shining on desk area — 'Buzzispace' private office booth by Alain Gilles, named Designer of the Year at Interieur

Black background, three lit up display units with triangle shape top, each has a chair in the centre — Nendo's installation for the Future Primitives Project Rooms initiative

White wall, large canvas print of a young male and female model wearing futuristic uniforms — Futuristic uniforms by Damien Fredriksen Raven, designed for the hosts and hostesses at the fair

White floor and wall, white block platform with a pair of black lace up shoes on display — 'WulfrunUnderground Creepers' were also part of the uniform

White walls, white viewing platform, triangular base surface mirror with a circular top reflecting red, shadow around the object — 'Surfaces Mirror' by Charlotte Dumoncel d'Argence

White walls, Surfaces cabinet reflecting blue, two white frame legs — 'Surfaces Cabinet' by Charlotte Dumoncel d'Argence

White wall, variety of different colour and shape freestanding storage boxes — Freestanding storage boxes from Cubit-shop.com

Blue floor, Grey wall and platform, soft white ribbed sofa — 'Corso Blu' is a collection of design objects curated by Lowie Vermeersch, based on his personal reflection on the Future Primitives theme. These objects are presented in a blue diagonal, which cuts across the Xpo halls, creating several 'windows' evoking imaginary living spaces. Pictured is the 'Paper Cloud' sofa by Tokujin Yoshioka for Moroso

Studio gallery display, grey floor, futuristic sculpture, blue backdrop divider screen, black ceiling with spotlights and lighting frames — Greg Lynn's installation for the Future Primitives Project Rooms initiative

Interior room, white walls, ceiling and floor, wooden block sculptures on clear stands. light in the top corner of the room — 'In the Cloud' installation by Sou Fugimoto, first conceived for Wallpaper* Handmade 2011

White tiled floor, white viewing platform, small shiny tables, in green, white and black — Small tables by Anna Maria Litterio

Black floor, white wall, wooden bench table with white metal frame — Bench by Tomas Alonso for Victor Hunt

White floor and wall, wooden layered colour blocks, white, black and brown candle holders with blue and white candles — Candle holder collection by Catherine Lovatt

White background with black circles suspended with straight black cords — 'Sorry Giotto' lights by Cattelani & Smith

White floor, lighting installation projecting multi-coloured lines and circles onto the floor below — 'CMYX' lighting installation by Dennis Parren

Black floor, white walls, the words 'Donald Judd' in red letters on the right wall, red bookcase, light wood small cabinet and a small black unit — Furniture by Donald Judd from Galerie Greta Meert

Wall of bookshelves, items on the shelves, some with brown box drawers — 'Infinity' bookshelves by Antonio Citterio for Flexform

White wall, white block viewing platform, two concrete base lamps with metal and mirror design — 'Occultation' and ' Eclipse' lamps, by OS + OOS from Galerie Gosserez

White wall, white block viewing platform, metal frame lamp, white ballon shape shade lit up, blue switch, black cord — 'Olab' lamp, by de Lafforest Gregoire from Galerie Gosserez

White walls, white viewing platform, low wooden top table with black metal frame, bland grey speckled design table top — Low tables by Belgian interior design practice Helder

White wall, wooden wall mounted desk unit with related items on the shelving — 'Collectionnaire' wall mounted desk with storage by Moupila

Natural wood unit shelf and background, multi-coloured glass dish centre piece — Multi-linear glass centrepiece from Klaar Prims

White wall and floor, line of four stainless steel muscle pots with lids — Mussel pot in stainless steel by Nedda el Asmar for Demeyere

Textured broad stripe background, in shades of brown, pink and red — 'Soft Cells' by Kvadrat

White wall, bespoke design mirror on the wall — 'Froissé' mirror by Mattias Kiss

Natural wood desk top, black desk top accessories, white wall, coloured pencils, edge of black desk chair — Desktop pieces by Sylvain Willenz for Objekten

White walls, the words 'Sylvain Willenz' in black letters on the back wall, white ribbed table top, transparent block colour display pieces — 'Blocks' by Sylvian Willenz for Victor Hunt

White walls and floor, dark wood desk with a white, yellow and orange drawer stack, grey desk lamp, dark wood and cream soft cushion and back desk chair, bottom of a blue frame wall picture over the desk — 'Nyhavn' drawer cabinet, 'Model 109' chair, 'Chieftains' armchair, from the One collection by Finn Juhl

White wall and floor, wood desk unit, black mesh back design desk chair — Pastoe is celebrating its 100th birthday by showing its first ever cupboard, designed by Cees Braakman in 1952, which is still very much in keeping with its designs today. A new version inspired by the original will be launched by the brand in January 2013

White walls and floor, cluster of floor standing clear block pieces, small multi-coloured rug — 'Patternmaker' by St Petersburg based studio Stereooboi

Gloss wooden floor, brick walls, grey armchair, large light display with white shades, low shelving units in grey to the right and back wall — An installation by Piet Hein Eek

White platform and backdrop, a light wood chair and a red chair with black tubular back rest — Pair of chairs by Rejon

Black background, lines of colourful glowing lights in the shape of a car at speed — Ross Lovegrove's car of the future

Light natural wood floor, whitge wall, brown and cream leather chair with brown metal frame. two small silver metal crates at the right of the chair — 'New York' armchair, by Sergio Bicego, and 'Leyva' cube, by Giuseppe Vigano, both for Saba Italy

light wood floor, close up of a bright pink upholstered chunky armchair next to a grey chair of the same design — Bright upholstery from Tokio

Grey marble style slab floor, silver wagon style outdoor trolley, black and silver wheels, wooden planter in the background — 'Wagoon' outdoor trolley by Trade Winds

Daytime, outdoor image, close up of large red chair, concrete floor, trees, cluster of brown chairs, street and buildings in the distance, cloudy sky — Even Kortrijk Market Square has been given the design treatment to mark the occasion of Interieur 2012

ADDRESS

Design Biënnale vzw/npo
Groeningestraat 37
8500 Kortrijk
Belgium

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With contributions from

Sarah McNabb