June 2013
Transport &
Technology special
Strap yourself in for our
jet-propelled new issue.
Soft landing guaranteed
The W* House / Outdoor
'Higo' Tool
ECAL/Kacper Hamilton / ECAL/Kacper Hamilton
Prototype
Swiss ski maker Zai teamed up with ECAL student Kacper Hamilton to create this foldable ski tool and screwdriver designed to adjust ski bindings. Inspired by the simplicity of the higonokami, a traditional Japanese pocket knife, 'Higo' consists of three metal parts and two brass rivets.
'Skyline' planters
Phase Design / Phase Design
From $800 each
Phase Design's Reza Feiz found inspiration for his aluminium planters (available in grey, black, white and yellow) in the urban silhouette of LA. 'I like the contrast between the organic, random nature of the plants being framed by the precise square aluminum bars,' says the self-taught designer.
'Elevation’ containers
Arik Levy / Flora
€340
With his elevated garden storage containers and planters, Arik Levy brings new angles to the garden. At just the right height to double as seating, the containers are also handy for resting your glass on when you need both hands to throw another steak on the barbecue.
Copper watering can
Aldo Bakker / Thomas Eyck
€2,310
Dutch designer Aldo Bakker's watering can turns the humble tool into a minimalist sculpture. Each object in his shiny copper range, from soy pourers to candleholders, is a little mysterious in terms of its functionality, but this one will look lovely next to the herb garden regardless.
Sun Deck lounger
Michael Koenig / Flora
€2150
Michael Koenig's galvanized, powder coated 'Sun Deck' comprises a bench and stool, which can also be used as a footrest. If you're not in the market for a flouncy floral lounger, which is something of a trend this year, Koenig's bold, graphic design is an altogether more attractive alternative.
Cyclops lights
Alessandro Bedetti / Artemide
Price awaiting confirmation
Outdoor lighting is rarely a thing of beauty but the subtle, Japanese aesthetic of Bedetti's Cyclops lights for Artemide make them a beautiful addition to an urban garden.
Wheelbench
Rogier Martens / Weltevree
€990
"Moving a bench with two people has always been a chore," explains designer Rogier Martens of his innovative wheelbench design. "This is a bench you can easily manoeuvre into position. The eye-catching wheel is an invitation to find the best spot." Made from Accoya wood the bench at first looks like a bit of a gimmick but trust us, it's really rather useful, particularly if you're not too keen on the person sitting next to you.
Collapsible barbecue
/ Sagaform
€30
This little barbecue is so cute you just want to scoop it up and take it with you wherever you go. Which luckily, thanks to an ingenious folding trestle design and a neat canvas bag, you can. It conveniently folds up to the size of a laptop, so burgers, bangers and buns can be had on run.
Pandora planters
Nina Jobs / Nola
€306 each
Nina Jobs' clever design sees the colourful 'Pandora' planter quickly and effortlessly transformed into a very practical stool thanks to a simple wooden lid. A very cunning garden plot indeed.
Pebble collection
The Bouroullecs / Tectona
from €550
Erwan and Ronan Bouroullec are the masters behind one of the more handsome outdoor seating systems we've seen for a while. Designed for French brand Tectona, Pebble might be a bit large to sit in the palm of your hand, but bears many other aesthetic similarities to their namesake. The system consists of three large, circular seats made from woven resin on an aluminium frame, each of different height, with slightly concave dips in the middle. Add to this a shapely little armchair and side table (that doubles as a stacking back rest for the larger of the pebbles) and you’ve a sightly collection to scatter at will round the pool.
1966 Trolley
Richard Schultz / B&B Italia
£1521
To us an outdoor serving trolley harks back to a time when gin fizz was served daily at sundown, not exactly de rigeur in contemporary timetables. But thanks to B&B Italia's first outdoor collection, which includes this seminal Richard Schultz creation from his 1966 collection, updated to suit outdoor use, we might just squeeze half an hour into our day to lie back and sip something cool while the sun sets. The simple, retro design was initially designed in 1966 and put into production by B&B Italia in 1998. A decade later and the Italian big guns have chosen the trolley together with a two-seater sofa from the original collection to form part of its outdoor reportoire. And in the spirit of multi-purpose design, we think it'd look every bit as good indoors too.
Matroyshka furniture
Danny Fang / Fang Studio
€999
Former senior designer at Marcel Wanders studio dutchman Danny Fang recently upped sticks and moved to Hong Kong to set up his own design studio. Whether he stopped off in Russia on his travels east we don't know but it's to this culture that he owes the genius of his first creation, the Matryoshka nesting furniture. Taking their cue from stacking Russian dolls of the same name, Fang's design comprises two large, square outdoor chairs and two footrests or stools that perfectly fit one inside another for ease of storage and transportation. Manufactured by Malaysian furniture company Kian, the woven polyethylene fibre and aluminium frames of the pieces combine to an astounding total weight of just 22 kilograms, yet retain enough sturdiness not to blow away in the wind.
Tropicalia chairs
Patricia Urquiola / Moroso
£1239
Designed by the indefatigable Urquiola each Tropicalia chair differs depending on how the three coloured threads combine when woven round the steel frame. So much outdoor furniture falls between the drab and rustic or industrial and clunky but the Tropicalia is refreshingly light on the eye. And if the idea of gardening turns you green, a couple of chairs will add a cheerful splash of colour to an outdoor urban space - a handy, low maintenance substitute for flowers.
Concrete planters
Nicolas Le Moigne / Eternit
Price awaiting confirmation
Nicolas Le Moigne is a name to watch. The young Swiss designer, who graduated last year from ECAL, teamed up with his former college to design a series of outdoor elements, which were unveiled at Salone. Made from Eternit, a compound of cement and fibres, the planters and stools have all the rigidity you'd expect of their concrete material but on second glance a delicacy of form and detail that belies their industrial aesthetic. Le Moigne has exploited the fibrous element in the material to give a scaled, weathered appearance to the planters, like soft stone that’s been worn away over the years.
HEAT 4 Burner barbecue
Henrik Pederson / The Design House
£1600
The idea of a barbeque is often more attractive than the reality. Much as mastering the art of a perfect temperature might be easy on paper everyone's fallen foul to the cindered steak, or worse, the raw sausage. Which is why a gas barbeque is an infinitely better option all round. Danish designer Henrik Pederson's HEAT range for The Design House has all the trappings of contemporary Scandinavian style. The HEAT 4 Burner is our favourite, combining every function you could possibly need (wheels, drinks cabinet, extendible table) in a slick, powder-coated steel cabinet. Even if you don't master the food first time round, looking the part is every bit as important.
Barbecue tools
Jon Eliason / Sagaform
€7.90 each
If it follows that a cook is only as good as their utensils then aspiring outdoor chefs would be advised to get their hands on a set of Jon Eliason's new barbeque tools for Sagaform. The young Swedish designer who cites his influences as a combination of nature, history, science and meals, has created a set of beautiful teak handled, stainless steel tools, built to weather but to last also. Comprising a fork, a scraper, a fish slice and all-important tongs, the set is sturdy and old-fashioned; the sort of tools you’ll want to show off whilst whipping up a culinary triumph in the back garden.
Bronze bucket
Studio Job / Designhuis
€7000
Studio Job's designs are every bit as bold and unapologetic as the striking couple themselves. Farm, designed by the pair for Designhuis, is made up of 23 bronze and 6 wooden pieces in homage to the rural heritage of the Netherlands. From a Wellington boot to a belt, an eggcup to a milking stool, each of the 29 items is a quiet emblem of farm life, simple in form but elevated by virtue of their precious bronze finish. Though specific functions are debatable, we rather like the irreverence of using the pail as a decorative outdoor planter or bucket as the original object itself might have been employed.
Wing TM collection
Richard Schultz / Richard Schultz Design
Chair $3450, table $1520
While the original wing chair was designed to draw up to the hearth, protecting the user from chilly drafts, these days of global warming see Richard Schultz's fresh take on classic seating lend new intimacy to circular or rectangular groupings. While Schultz, who has permanent collections in Manhattan's Museum of Modern Art and Louvre in Paris, claims no green fingers, he is a consummate cultivator of planting design in the landscape. We think these environmentally-friendly, powder coated 3/16" perforated and folded aluminium Wing TM Chairs and low tables, in five bold metallic colours, bring chunky, rustic chic to any outside occasion.
About The W* House
We thought it only fair to throw open the doors to The W* House and share with you our wealth of experience in the design world. From cutlery to cupboards, pots to plumbing, The W* House features our favourite pieces of design from around the globe, room by room. We'll update them every time we find something new we like, building the collection into an archive for as long as the pieces are for sale. Practicality isn't often a buzzword at the Wallpaper* HQ, but when it comes to sharing our finds we wanted to keep things simple, letting you furnish your house the Wallpaper* way, with the click of a mouse.
