Toyo Ito and Rafael Moneo design silk rugs based on the Golden Ratio
Created for an initiative between Phillips and ARTinD, the carpets went under the hammer at the 20th Century & Contemporary Art sale
Pritzker Prize-winning architects Toyo Ito and Rafael Moneo are the final contributors to the Golden Ratio project, an initiative between Phillips auction house and Oliva Sartogo’s curatorial platform ARTinD that invited ten architects to create a one-off silk carpet inspired by the theme. The series examines the intersection between art, design and architecture, using the Golden Ratio as a compositional tool that unites the fields.
‘The architects were invited to use the Golden Ratio as the tool to establish their proposal. In this way, all their projects were different in designs and formats, but at the same time, they were capable to give a unique character to the entire collection,’ says Sartogo. ‘The architects all reacted in different creative ways; some used the Ratio as a proportion, some as a visual image, some as a historical reference.’
In this instance, Ito’s pattern drew on the segmented canopy of the library building he designed for the College of Social Sciences at Taiwan University. Reducing the building to its core components – a smattering of dots representing the columns that support the lily pad roof pieces – the Japanese architect created a spirograph-like pattern of curving lines. The motif is repeated, with pale green threads radiating outwards to connect and erase the points in a fluid composition.
A passage taken from a 16th century text on perspective, La Pratica della Perspettiva by Italian architect and Andrea Palladio patron Daniele Barbaro, is the starting point in Moneo’s design. The description of a 32-sided polyhedron is mirrored in his pattern of earthen-toned triangles and pentagons that unfold like a net on a cream background.
Moneo describes the process as a ‘pleasurable endeavour’ in a video interview accompanying the exhibition at Phillips in Mayfair. ‘I didn’t realise that it was going to come out so beautiful,’ the Spanish architect says. ‘For some reasons I find the natural colours always pleasant.’
Graphic interpretations of the Golden Ratio by the late Alessandro Mendini, Norman Foster, Ben van Berkel, Peter Eisenman, Sou Fujimoto, Piero and Nathalie Sartogo, Thom Mayne and Peter Zumthor were recreated in hand-knotted silk to form the first collection in the series, which was auctioned at Phillips last spring. These latest pieces by Ito and Moneo were sold accompanying framed drawings at the 20th Century & Contemporary Art sale at Phillips’ Berkeley Square auction house, fetching £40,000 and £37,500 respectively.
‘In its practice, ARTinD connects architecture to the world of art, and together with Phillips we allow collectors to access unique creations of major contemporary architects,’ explains Sartogo of the project. While the sale marks the conclusion of the three-year initiative, its success has Phillips gearing up for the unveiling of a new collaboration that will once again pull architecture, design and art into a common sphere.
INFORMATION
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
-
Christmas gift ideas for design lovers
Wallpaper* global design director Hugo Macdonald compiles his festive wish list – from Poltrona Frau's luxurious dog leads to Carl Aubock's wicker magazine wall rack
By Hugo Macdonald Published
-
‘I want to push it forward’: Dries Van Noten’s new creative director is Julian Klausner
A member of the Dries Van Noten design team since 2018, Belgian designer Julian Klausner has been promoted to creative director after the namesake founder’s exit from his eponymous label earlier this year
By Jack Moss Published
-
Inside Dior’s ‘Gold House’ in Bangkok, a spectacular celebration of Thai art and craft
Daven Wu takes a trip to Bangkok to discover ‘Gold House’, a gilded new concept store from Dior which is rooted in both Parisian savoir-faire and artisanal Thai craft, featuring a café, gardens and showstopping gilded facade
By Daven Wu Published
-
‘R for Repair’ at London Design Festival displays broken objects, re-formed
In the second half of a two-part exhibition and as part of London Design Festival 2022, ‘R for Repair’ at the V&A displays broken objects, re-formed
By Martha Elliott Last updated
-
‘Finding quality through the act of making’: Pearson Lloyd celebrates 25 years of design
Pearson Lloyd’s show ‘Change Making’ reflects on past designs from its archives, showcasing the influences on and evolution of the studio, from furniture design to the NHS
By Martha Elliott Last updated
-
Tom Dixon marks his studio's 20 years with a show of design experiments
Mushroom, cork, steel coral and more: Tom Dixon showcases an overview of his design experiments as he celebrates his practice's 20 years
By Rosa Bertoli Last updated
-
Porro unveils new London showroom at Coal Office
London Design Festival 2022: industrial architecture meets pure geometries in the new Porro showroom, taking over a space within Tom Dixon’s Coal Office to showcase the brand’s systems and furniture
By Rosa Bertoli Last updated
-
Vitra unveils new London home in the Tramshed, Shoreditch
London Design Festival 2022: after a year-long renovation, Vitra opens the door to its new showroom in the heart of Shoreditch
By Rosa Bertoli Last updated
-
Mudlarking beside the River Thames inspires The New Craftsmen’s makers
London Design Festival 2022: The New Craftsmen’s new collection, ‘Claylarks’, features work from a group of creatives inspired by a River Thames mudlarking expedition
By Mary Cleary Last updated
-
One tree, ten designers: SCP presents The One Tree Project at London Design Festival
London Design Festival 2022: SCP enlisted ten British designers to create furniture and objects from a felled ash tree from founder Sheridan Coakley's Hampshire garden
By Francesca Perry Last updated
-
London Design Medals 2022
London Design Medals 2022 are awarded to costume designer Sandy Powell, architect Indy Johar, researcher Joycelyn Longdon and photographer Sir Don McCullin
By Rosa Bertoli Last updated