On 20 May 2026, Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby announced that their award-winning design practice Barber Osgerby is permanently closing, as the British designers part ways to pursue independent projects.

Formed in 1996 after the pair met at the Royal College of Art, Barber Osgerby has since evolved to become one of the most successful contemporary design studios. Their design career officially started with plywood experiments that resulted in the ‘Loop’ table for Isokon (later developed into a desk for Cappellini), and over the course of three decades, they conceived furniture for the likes of B&B Italia and Vitra, lighting for Flos and tiles for Mutina, as well as projects for Paris' Galerie Kreo and many more. They famously designed the torch for the London Olympics, in 2012, and their cultural projects included a takeover of the Raphael galleries at the V&A, a chair for the 1930s De La Warr Pavilion and a desk for RIBA's foyer.

In 2001, the designers founded interior design and architecture practice Universal Design Studio and in 2012, Map Project Office, a 'strategy-based industrial design consultancy'.

At the recent Milan Design Week 2026, Barber Osgerby was honoured with a retrospective at the Triennale, curated by Marco Sammicheli, titled 'Alphabet' and charting the evolution of the studio's output. It felt a natural apex for the practice, and gathering its content was an opportunity for the designers to contemplate the future.

As the studio enters a period of transition that will result in the two designers working independently going forward, Wallpaper* caught up with the duo to reflect on the creative adventure of 30 years.

Interview: Barber Osgerby on closing their practice

Wallpaper*: Let’s start from the very end, the exhibition at Triennale Milano. Can you tell us about putting it together and what you noticed, looking back?

Edward Barber: We hadn't imagined it as a sort of retrospective, but then it made the most sense. And it was pretty interesting to see it come together because you realise how much the work has changed over the years from the very, very simplistic early plywood pieces that we did with Isokon, which came from all the simple model-making.

W*: Was this progression clear to you over the three decades?

Jay Osgerby: When you’re looking back across 30 years of work, it's incredibly compressed, but actually, when you're in it, it feels like it's endless. Years go on and on and on. So while we were in the middle of it, I don't think we were aware of the aesthetic approach. And I don't think we really looked back at all. We're both forward-looking people. In fact, more often than not, we've forgotten what we've been doing. And so, the whole exercise was actually really interesting because when you put it together, there is a thread that connects it. And certainly, the first period was very much an experiment; we learned everything from scratch together.

EB: The way that we work is pure experimentation. We weren't even thinking about a potential market for these pieces. We were just making stuff, folding plywood to create structures.

When we design now, we are obviously imagining how [a piece] is going to be used and what price it is going to come out at, and if it is a viable product; but with the early stuff, we had no idea and honestly didn't care either. We were just having fun.

JO: It was the passion project. But actually, we really loved this experimentation and I think experimentation is probably at the core of everything that we did over that 30-year period, in the sense that we were also teaching ourselves. Because you have to learn something every day, otherwise life gets boring.

EB: The thing that you can see most is that there are so many different types of products and different materials that we've used and areas of the design that we've been through, and that's just because we're always looking for something new, whether it's a plywood chair or a quantum computer or a coin or a train. And that's why we ended up with three companies at one point, because we were just trying to experiment and work with experts in different fields.

W*: Why was it important for you to split the different aspects of what you were doing into different entities (Barber Osgerby, Universal and Map)?

JO: This takes us right back to the beginning: it was really difficult as a young studio to try to identify what we were doing. We were doing a master's in architecture, but we didn't really see any boundaries between the disciplines. We knew that Barber Osgerby was where we wanted to be authoring work, and we knew that in architecture and interiors, it was going to always be a collaboration.

EB: We were doing collaborative projects with Stella McCartney, with Damien Hirst, there was a lot of their input into these projects; it didn't feel like our work.

JO: When we started Universal in 2001, we also wanted to create a space where other members of the team could have a sense of authorship and control and collaboration. We took our names away to enable other people to take ownership of it. Universal really became this place of collaboration over the years.

And then Barber Osgerby was also doing some projects in the [high-tech sphere], including the Olympic torch. So in 2012, we thought it would be another opportunity to start something new – that could specialise in technology, instead of spaces. And so we set up Map for the same reasons [that had prompted us to found Universal].

EB: We never really believed in a one-stop shop. We felt that, actually, different centres of excellence were much more credible than having one company, because in our experience, one company doing everything means they don't do anything excellently.

W*: The London Olympics was a very public moment for the studio, with the design of the torch. Did it feel like a turning point in any way?

JO: Apart from our becoming media savvy, I don't think it felt hugely different.

EB: Yeah, we got two offers [to design other torches], but we didn't want to become the torch people. It certainly elevated the name of the studio internationally, but didn't necessarily reflect in tons of new work.

JO: [The Olympic Opening Ceremony] was an incredibly fun night, though; it was the most insane thing to be part of.

W*: Did you get to be torchbearers?

JO: No, but we went to Olympia in Greece to watch it being lit.

EB: I highly recommend that ceremony. It's quite bizarre, like a pantomime, they all dress up like ancient Greeks and the flame has to come from the sun, so they use a parabolic mirror to reflect the sun's rays to light the first torch. But what was funny was that it was a boiling hot day, clear blue skies, and there’s probably thousands of people, and just as the time came to light the first torch, suddenly this tiny little puff of a white cloud just appeared in front of the sun. It was the only cloud in the sky and it was tiny and it was exactly in the right place.

JO: Everyone clapped, remember? When the cloud went over the sun, everyone applauded it because it was so hot. But yeah, that was a fun project. We couldn't have seen that coming in 1996.

W*: How did you initially meet?

EB: We were in a studio at the Royal College, on the eighth floor, and we had two drawing boards next to each other overlooking the Royal Albert Hall, and neither of us knew anyone else on the course; we just arrived on the first day, walked into the studio, grabbed a drawing board, and we just happened to be sitting next to each other. And I think the reason why both of us had gone there was because you could experiment – it had a really interesting mix of people.

JO: We were both really used to hanging out with all the different designers from different disciplines, and that was the start of everything that we've done, this idea of multidisciplinarity, partly because we're trying to create our own environment for learning.

EB: We tried to create our own Royal College when we were in [our studio in] Shoreditch. We had four or five studios across different buildings that are connected with an underground passage, and in one room, there's someone on a sewing machine making something, another room had people making an architectural model. Then you go upstairs, and there are 20 people on computers, and then over the road to Map, and they are just building this structure. We sort of created our own college.

W*: When you started out, you had a list of companies that you were hoping to work with. How did you go from experimenting with material to deciding you were going to be serious about the job?

EB: We had the list from early on. You need big companies with deep pockets to be able to experiment. With a small workshop, you can do wood, but if you want to get into plastics and cast metal and electronics, obviously you need a much bigger company. And so we wrote the list. But as an up-and-coming designer, you can’t just phone up a company and say you want to work with them, because they want to see what you can do before they’ll take you on. It’s a chicken-and-egg thing. So gradually, you get one project, and then you really have to focus and make sure it's a great project, and then the other companies will see that. But it took probably ten years.

JO: But it's fair to say that our association with Wallpaper* at the beginning really helped us in terms of credibility. In 1997, Ed suggested to Wallpaper* that they should be at [the London fair] 100% Design and that we should design the stand.

EB: And so we positioned our first piece, the ‘Loop’ table [for Isokon], in the centre of the Wallpaper* stand, and that's where Giulio Cappellini spotted it. And that was the very start, really. But Wallpaper* had also been the first to publish us. In those days, we used to send out transparencies to magazines. There was no internet, and so we'd have something photographed at great expense and make loads of transparencies and send them out to the key publications that we wanted to be included in. And the only one that got back to us was Wallpaper*.

W*: Tell us more about the ‘Loop’ table.

EB: We didn't have a workshop, so we were making all the models out of cardboard, and we just translated those pieces straight into sheet material, which was plywood. We were very fortunate to come across Isokon early on and [the company] was very much an influence on our early work. Chris McCourt [Isokon Plus’ owner at the time] taught us a lot about woodworking, and that really informed the first period of our work. The ‘Loop’ table, when you look at it now, doesn't look particularly extraordinary, but at the time it came out, it was a bit strange, it was different.

JO: It was improbable.

EB: And I think the other magazines were just like, well, I don't know. And then as soon as Wallpaper* published it, they all called up afterwards.

W*: How do you feel about looking back at things you've done decades ago? Do you ever think, ‘Oh, we wish we hadn't designed that’?

EB: No, I have to say, we've been pretty careful about what we've actually put out. I'm sure we’ve designed a load of terrible things over the years, but we just didn't put them out. But when we look back at all the things that are in the Triennale, for example, it's really about remembering that period of time. Every project has a memory.

JO: You're completely right, looking at the exhibition at the Triennale, at the beginning, we were 26, and at the end, we're sort of 56. So it's a big slice of life. You can walk around and go, 'My daughter was born here.' But apart from that, I feel like the objects themselves aren't stuck in time. They feel like they could have been done sometimes much earlier and sometimes much later. For me, that's the success of the studio's work, that you can't really pin it down to a particular time.

EB: And also that the majority of the pieces in that show are still in production.

W*: It's interesting that you said you can't pin down the pieces to a specific time, but do you think you can pin them down to Barber Osgerby?

EB: It's a conversation that has come up a lot over the whole period of our collaboration, and although people say they can tell when it's a Barber Osgerby, we still to this day somehow can't. Some studios have a very distinct style, and we've tried really hard not to do that, because each project has its own different starting point. We start from scratch every time, but inevitably, it's the same two people, so there will be a common thread that runs through all the pieces.

JO: We actually spend a really long time working on things because we work in a way that is immensely analytical, something gets really thought about almost to destruction.

W*: Do you know what is coming next?

JO: This is all part of the experiment really.

EB: From the start, we went to the Royal College because we didn't really know what we wanted to do, and we still don't. I thought I was going to do sculpture, then I suddenly flipped into doing design, and then I flipped into doing architecture, but at the same time, I thought maybe I'd be a photographer, and then we start an architectural studio, but then we start doing furniture. And then suddenly we're working in technology, and then we're doing torches. So we don't really know what's next.

JO: The thing about us is that we're unpredictable. And I think all the way through our business life and our practice, we've always thrown that stuff up in the air and given something a go because that's just the type of people we are. I also think that the Triennale exhibition is the pinnacle of achievement in our particular discipline. And I think all great creatives recognise an inflection point and react. And I think that's what we've done. And who knows what will happen in the future; it's definitely time to try new experiments.

It can feel a little trite attempting to parse trends in design. Design is a slower industry than fashion, and developments tend to be more gradual, with incremental change from year-to-year. This is why we talk about decades having a readable personality as movements, rather than seasons. That said, design responds to the present and heralds the future, and it is always an interesting lens through which to view the forces and values that shape our lives and lifestyles at any given moment in time. In place of trends, it feels more appropriate to call these shifts.

Watch: global design director Hugo Macdonald and head of interiors Olly Mason on design worth celebrating

The shifts we’ve noticed in the past year stem from a combination of factors that are symbiotically connected. The world is a pretty scary place at the moment, and the sanctuary or sanctity of home is keenly felt. Comfort is hardly a trend, but we note the abundance of generously upholstered furniture entering the market. Examples that caught our eye include Hannes Peer’s ‘Pillow’ chair for Baxter, an outrageously cosy piece of furniture, as its name suggests. Faye Toogood’s ‘Squash’ collection for Poltrona Frau is playful, comfortable and utterly delightful.

Cassina returned Carlo Scarpa’s 1973 ‘Cornaro’ armchair to production – a beautifully bouncy padded room within a frame. We welcome this great ensoftening of seating; our busy minds and tired bodies deserve some plush pliability in place of the sharper forms and harder edges that we inherited from modernism and its offspring.

For all of their louche appeal, there is a resounding elegance to these pieces, and this handsome mood was prevalent in more structured furniture, too. Michael Anastassiades’ richly lacquered ‘123’ chair for Molteni & C has an almost liquid quality to it. The exquisite stone surface of Jean-Marie Massaud’s ‘Adrien’ table for Poliform is a strikingly smart, grown-up anchor for any space. Meanwhile, Giampiero Tagliaferri’s ‘Ethan’ coffee table for Minotti has an organically shaped surface that appears to float on its chrome-plated base. Jialun Xiong’s ‘Kaleidoscope’ side table, in tempered glass and aluminium, has an Eileen Gray-level of industrial sophistication.

To call these works ‘timeless’ would be lazy, but they definitely have a contemporary heirloom quality that rises above fashion or trend. They achieve that rare balance of quiet charm and archetypal confidence with vivid material expression. Clever, beautiful and eminently easy to live with for a lifetime or two.

Intriguing material developments and applications were in plentiful supply this year, as the quest continues with ever-more commitment from the design industry to find better, smarter, healthier solutions to replace our wanton ways.

The ‘Gathering’ lamp, by Faber Futures, is a beguilingly brutalist object made from biomanufactured materials. Sheyang Li’s spectacular ‘Aluminium Cast Connection’ chair is made from an industrial construction component, with joints forged by melting and forming the same material.

One of the more stellar discoveries of the year for us was Raphael Kadid’s ‘Philae AL’ modular bookshelf. In collaboration with surface technology firm BWB, each aluminium panel was hand-anodised to form a surface treatment that resembles abstract landscapes. Kadid was inspired by aerial photographs of bauxite mining sites. Bauxite is the world’s primary source of aluminium and the humble bookshelf thus becomes an ode to its mineral origins. Ingenious, poetic, ethereal, otherworldly.

A current seam in design that we are particularly enjoying is the celebration of analogue qualities, surely in response to the overcomplication of our increasingly digitised lives. There’s an empowering quality to living with furniture when you can read how it has been constructed and – deep breath – perhaps even assemble, fix or repair it yourself. If Ikea immediately springs to mind, think again – this low-fi movement is increasingly high spec. Anastassiades’ ‘Card’ bookcase for Molteni & C is effortlessly assemblable, while Formafantasma’s mesmerising ‘Superwire’ collection for Flos is a genius component system of glass tubes, each containing an LED light source, which can simply be clipped in and out to allow easy repair.

We could play all day with Jamie Wolfond’s aluminium ‘Set’ table lamp for Muuto; the shade reflects the light source and can be rotated up and down like a hefty corkscrew to manage your desired light intensity.

We were similarly tickled by the easy joy of Anna Karlin’s ‘Post’ floor lamp, which comprises just an illuminated tube strapped to a steel base. Complexity can be overrated.

Objects of a ritualistic function abound at the moment, which we understand as a consequence of paying closer attention to the quotidian domestic acts, turning mundane activities into moments of more ceremonial enjoyment.

We have chosen to highlight Barber Osgerby’s magnificent ‘Pilotis’ candlesticks for Puiforcat and Soft-Geometry’s steel vase, inspired by the fluid curves of the Malayalam alphabet. Both have a soothing serenity and, though we cringe to discuss mindfulness in the realm of lighting candles, there’s no denying they bring a meditative presence to any tabletop.

If it’s all getting a little earnest, take note of Tom Fereday’s sand-cast aluminium speaker for Pitt & Giblin, a veritable beast that puts the woof in subwoofer. Devin Wilde’s sculptural ceramics have a similarly powerful presence with their ancient cosmic forms and tactile glazes.

We round out our hoard of awards with Giles Tettey Nartey’s ‘Serwaa’ chair, a reinterpretation of the West African Lobi stool, here made from welded aluminium.

The surfacing of stories, ideas and voices that have gone unheard by our Western-centric design industry is an ongoing endeavour. With ‘Serwaa’, Nartey has reimagined the Lobi stool as an industrial creation, taking it out of its vernacular craft context and inserting it into the canon of idolised 20th-century furniture. An extraordinary sculptural object in its own right, it encapsulates the special power of design to bridge time and place, inviting us to ask questions about where we have come from and where we want to go.

A version of this article appears in the February 2025 issue of Wallpaper* , available in print on international newsstands, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today.

Browse our Design and Interiors Award Winners for 2025

Mutina celebrated ten years of collaboration with London studio Barber Osgerby (recently interviewed by Wallpaper* about their work with Giulio Cappellini) with a new collection presented on the occasion of international ceramic fair Cersaie.

The ceramics-focused Italian brand unveiled three new projects at Spazio Mutina, its Modena HQ designed by Patricia Urquiola, presented through an evocative exhibition titled 'The Magic of Colour'. They include a new edition of the historic ‘Mews’ collection (designed exactly ten years ago by Barber Osgerby), now enhanced with three new colours, a new surface collection called ‘Time’, and a brand new edition called ‘Rivington Tables’.

Mutina and Barber Osgerby: a decade of creative collaboration

'We’ve collaborated with Jay [Osgerby] and Edward [Barber] for over a decade,' says Mutina CEO Massimo Orsini. 'We've established a beautiful energy between us, full of countless funny anecdotes, laughter, and, of course, the collections we've created together that bind us.'

The ‘Rivington Tables’ edition takes its name from the now closed Rivington Bar & Grill Restaurant, close to the Barber Osgerby studio and a regular meeting spot for them and the Mutina team over the years. The collection includes small tables of various sizes, ranging from wall-installation to freestanding tables of different heights. The interplay of shapes and colours results in five distinct combinations, giving them an exuberant and playful appearance. In this way, they celebrate the infinite expressive potential of ceramics, created by master potters using the casting technique and adorned with colourful glazes.

The mark of this long friendship is ‘Time’, which suggests the slow erosion of water and wind on surfaces all over the world, shaping landscape patterns. It is a collection of three modules of varying sizes constructed of porcelain stoneware in eight different colours, with each hue available in two textures: rough and smooth. The smooth has a silky, matte finish with subtle colour nuances suggestive of cement tiles. The rough option, on the other hand, introduces a new textured, tactile, and slightly structured surface: as a ying and a yang, the two have been designed to complement one another. 

'“Time” is a collection that also reflects on the passage of time and how time acts on matter, transforming it,' adds Orsini. Aside from the potential to alternate the different sizes to create new layouts, the pieces enable you to experiment with the palette's eight hues, which are influenced by geology, geography, landscape, and place: as an ode to natural, wild surfaces, they are named Etna Black, Dakota Grey, Dover White, Salta Red, Highland Green, Virginia Blue, Sahara Sand, and Atlas Brown.

The 'Magic of Colour' is a theme that is central to the new edition of the ‘Mews’, building on the 2014 collection of tiles. As it maintains its reference to the peculiar aesthetic of narrow alleys in London’s historic centre, it has been enriched with three new colours (Green, Light Blue, and Pink, available in all collection formats), in addition to the existing Chalk, Fog, Pigeon, Lead, Ink, and Soot.

Concludes Orsini: 'With each project and collection, Mutina strives to enhance the ceramic material, proposing collections that go beyond the concept of fashion and therefore time.'

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The story of designers Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby's collaboration with Cappellini is rooted in Wallpaper* mythology: 'I saw a beautiful bentwood coffee table in Wallpaper's booth at a trade show in 1997, and I immediately knew I wanted to work with these amazing designers,' says Giulio Cappellini, who that day discovered the studio's Isokon table that started a fruitful collaboration with the designers. 

'Their design language is elegant and their objects timeless. In fact, after many years, their products are still absolutely contemporary. I really like “Minibottle”, a small ceramic table, for the skilful use of the material.'

Here, Barber Osgerby tell us about the beginning of their work with Cappellini, and how the collaboration has helped shape the studio's direction. 

Barber Osgerby and Cappellini: interview

Wallpaper*: How did you meet Giulio Cappellini?

Barber Osgerby: We first met Giulio Cappellini in 1997 at the London trade show, 100% Design. We’d only recently designed the ‘Loop’ table for Isokon and were approached by Wallpaper* magazine – which had itself only come into being a short while earlier – to exhibit with them. We offered to design the magazine’s booth, on the basis that the ‘Loop’ table would be positioned on the stand. [Founding Wallpaper* editor-in-chief] Tyler Brûlé was a huge supporter of our work and it was fitting that we were both starting something at the same time.

On the Saturday, we went to the show together to meet Tyler at the booth and coincidentally Giulio Cappellini and Jasper Morrison happened to walk past. Tyler introduced us and Giulio expressed his love for the table, saying ‘I have to have it in my collection’. We were dumbfounded. It was a tremendously exciting moment for us, as he is such a hero of ours. It felt like an incredible coming together: everything in the right place at the right time.

The following April, Giulio took the ‘Loop’ table to Milan.

W*: What did you most enjoy about working with him?

Barber Osgerby: A man of rare passion and intuition, Giulio has an affinity for design that most people don’t come close to - a deep and instinctive understanding of what is right and what isn't, of what is needed and what isn't. This mastery is reinforced by a zeal to get stuff done and not allow obstacles. He is also just a genuinely lovely soul of the industry.

W*: How has your collaboration with Cappellini helped shape your studio/career?

B&O: Giulio has been our gateway to Italy - a country that has become the most significant cultural centre for us. When Giulio chooses to work with you, others can't help but take notice. He has given us valuable exposure and opportunities to learn and grow. His influence has been truly transformative.

W*: What is your vision about future landscapes in private and public interiors?

Barber Osgerby: The lines between work and life have steadily blurred in recent times, propelled by the rise of the freelance economy and the dominance of the service industry. As a result, we now have the freedom to choose where we work and this has led to a fascinating convergence of environments. Public spaces are increasingly transforming into bustling workspaces, whose emphasis is not solely on productivity, but also on fostering a sense of community and social engagement. These dynamic spaces are designed to be flexible and multifunctional, catering to diverse needs.

Simultaneously, the interiors of our private spaces are undergoing significant evolution. Our homes are becoming a counterpoint to the workplace – more intimate and more personal, filled with meaningful objects and memories, some collected over time, others inherited, which create atmosphere and a sense of homeliness.

This merging of work and life, in conjunction with the transformation of the public and private realms, represents a paradigm shift in how we perceive and interact with our surroundings. It highlights our desire for greater flexibility, connectivity, balance and harmony across our professional and personal lives.

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The October 2023 issue of Wallpaper* is available in print, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today

At first glance, Filicudi looks like just a speck of land in the Tyrrhenian Sea – but getting closer to this small island in the Aeolian archipelago, off the coast of Sicily, one discovers a tiny gem with rocky hills and cacti, wild beaches and panoramic views of Mount Etna across the sea. Historically, Filicudi has attracted artists, architects and designers, including Ettore Sottsass, Maurizio Cattelan and Massimiliano Fuksas, its remote location appealing to creatives from all over Italy.

Design in Filicudi: ‘From Island to Island’ by Barber Osgerby

‘I’ve been travelling with my family to Filicudi for a number of summers and have fallen in love with the island,’ says Edward Barber, one half of design studio Barber Osgerby. ‘Initially, it can appear a little impenetrable with its sparse, rocky, cactus-filled landscape and somewhat limited amenities. But it was the raw simplicity of this tiny island that quickly became so appealing to me. As well as its striking topography and the turtle sanctuary where my children help out from time to time, the biggest draw is the interesting people I’ve met there, many of whom have been visiting for much of their lives.’

Among them is Sergio Casoli, whose seafront gallery Studio Casoli (part of five-room hotel La Sirena) has hosted exhibitions by the likes of Giovanni Gastel and Peter Doig, as well as an artistic residence. Barber Osgerby worked with Casoli on a new exhibition debuting in Filicudi: this summer, ‘From Island to Island’ (a name that nods to their British origin and the show’s location) brings together some of the studio’s key projects, with a focus on craft and the way it blends with industrial design throughout their work. ‘The exhibition demonstrates our obsession with how things are made,’ adds Barber. ‘It spans almost every type of construction we’ve worked with, from glassblowing and weaving to machining metal.’

As well as iconic Barber Osgerby designs, such as the multicoloured ‘Iris’ table for Established & Sons, Vitra’s ‘Tip Ton’ (in a miniature version), and the striped marble ‘Tobi-Ishi’ table for B&B Italia, the designers have also created special pieces to display in Filicudi, such as a lava stone version of their ‘Largo’ tables by Marsotto and a tapestry in collaboration with master weaver Laura de Cesare (the first time the studio has worked with a weaver).

‘Seeing makers at work has been fundamental to our design education,’ adds Osgerby. ‘The more you learn how they operate, and the more they understand how you work, the better each piece you produce is going to be. It’s a dialogue.’

From Island to Island is on view until 23 July 2023

Studio Casoli
Via Pecorini a Mare
98050 Filicudi, ME

lasirenafilicudi.com/home/studio-casoli

There is a popular story among early-Wallpaper* reminiscences, and it is about the then-similarly nascent London design studio Barber Osgerby. Now a prolific, multidisciplinary design practice with clients ranging from Vitra and Emeco to Flos and Rimowa (and a spin-off architecture practice, Universal Design Studio), the collaboration of Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby began in 1996 (the same year Wallpaper* magazine was launched by founding editor-in-chief Tyler Brûlé), after meeting as architecture students at London’s Royal College of Art.

One of their early designs was the ‘Loop’ table; originally developed for an architectural project and designed as a low table with built-in storage, its silhouette evolved from an experiment with folded and slotted cardboard. The design, its creators state, ‘combines a modernist emphasis on clean lines and the restrained use of materials, with a clear contemporary sensibility’.

Barber Osgerby’s ‘Loop’ table: a Wallpaper* story

The table made its official debut via Wallpaper*: ‘In 1997, as young, enthusiastic designers, we were keen to showcase our work, so when Tyler Brûlé asked if he could publish a picture of the “Loop” table in his new lifestyle magazine, we suggested that we could design an exhibition stand for the magazine at, what was then 100% Design,’ recall the designers. 

‘The stand would include the “Loop” table, alongside other design classics. We even created a wallpaper made from a repeated pattern of the magazine's front cover. The “Loop” table became the focal point of the stand, where it was spotted by Giulio Cappellini. The relationship forged with Cappellini has been hugely important to us, introducing us to the Italian furniture industry and allowing us to establish relationships with some of the best brands in the industry, that we still continue to work with today. At this early stage in our careers, we were honoured to be working with both Isokon and Cappellini – two of the most renowned manufacturers in the UK and Europe.’

‘Loop’ table Anniversary Edition by Isokon Plus

To celebrate the table’s 25th anniversary, the designers have created a special edition with a blue-stained finish. The new version was created in close collaboration with Isokon Plus, whose team helped the designers develop the piece in a new blue colour. To achieve the transparent colour effect, the blue stain is hand-sprayed onto the table before the finishing coat, allowing the wood grain to remain visible.

An iconic design from Barber Osgerby’s portfolio, the table is part of permanent collections of the V&A, London, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The design features a storage space formed by a loop, intersected by two panels that serve as the table’s legs. Modernist yet contemporary, the ‘Loop’ table hasn’t lost any of its appeal 25 years on.  

For the original edition, achieving the table’s simplicity was the biggest manufacturing challenge, and that's how the designers connected with Isokon Plus back in the 1990s. As they researched a fitting manufacturer for their design, Barber and Osgerby met Chris McCourt, owner of plywood furniture maker Windmill Furniture. At the time, McCourt was also custodian of Isokon, and became the first manufacturer to work with the duo’s studio. ‘Collaborating with Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby was brilliant and incredibly satisfying for me, because they are so respectful and understanding of both process and structure. Their products always sit well – they don’t ignore gravity; they engage with it both physically and visually – and I think that is one of the reasons their work fits so well alongside the classic stuff,’ says McCourt. 

Ed Carpenter and Andre Klauser's Very Good & Proper acquired Isokon Plus in 2019, and the collaboration with Barber Osgerby has continued with this new edition. ‘Our aim as makers of furniture is to bring our skills and experience of making to the table. We want to help realise a design as closely as possible and help this evolve through making and prototyping along the way,’ says Carpenter, who worked on the revival of a number of Isokon Plus furniture pieces includes a design reissue of Marcel Breuer tables in 2020. ‘Edward and Jay meticulously refine things with us until we have a product that is the best it can be, and we have been doing this together for 25 years now. The anniversary edition of the “Loop” table is a celebration of this long lasting collaboration.’

INFORMATION

The ‘Loop’ table’s anniversary edition is created as a limited run of 25 pieces and sold from Isokon Plus and Twentytwentyone
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In the hopes that dry January participants might be tempted to topple into sober spring, design duo Barber Osgerby have partnered with wine writer (and old friend) Matthew Jukes to create non-alcoholic cordials.

We've had our collective eyes on low alcohol alternatives for a while, but few look as chic on the shelf as the minimally-minded Jukes Cordialities. The brand launched late last year, but (perhaps because of drunk December), it's only just attracting attention. And as such, the design inspiration is coming to light.

The working partnership between Jukes and the duo can be dated back to the early 1990s when Matthew engaged Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby as designers for his Chelsea wine bar, The Crescent. Thirty years of friendship later, Jukes hails the duo as ‘inspirational design colleagues', counting an early Barber Osgerby Loop Table as one of his ‘most treasured possessions'. The admiration is mutual: ‘We regard Matthew as the authority on wine and an ardent design supporter,' say Barber Osgerby.

From initially tasting the drinks, the design process took almost 18 months, weaving in oblique references to Barber Osgerby's broader creative practise. The box design and font, for instance, were inspired by the work of Irish graphic designer Alan Aboud, a long-time collaborator of Barber Osgerby’s, who also designed the logo for The Crescent. The satisfyingly cubic packaging houses nine miniature, self-pour ‘Cognac bottles’, which add a touch of theatre and ritual to the pouring process. They're a pleasure to hold (almost making up for the absent ABV). 

INFORMATION

jukescordialities.com

Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby have done it all since setting up their studio in 1996, from designing the London 2012 Olympic torch to reinventing the classroom chair for Vitra and transforming the V&A’s Raphael Gallery into a selfie-friendly hall of mirrors for BMW (W*187). Yet there are still projects that excite them. ‘We’re fortunate enough to be meeting world-famous manufacturers,’ explains Osgerby. ‘But not everyone is interested in trying to change things. So when you do meet these people, who are passionate, energetic and fun, you just have to work with them.’

The American brand Emeco is that kind of operation and a new collaborative partner for Barber & Osgerby. Their first joint effort is a stacking chair made from a specially developed recycled plastic, due to launch during Salone del Mobile. The designers first came across the brand while studying architecture at the Royal College of Art in the 1990s, and watched with interest as Emeco grew over the course of the next decade. Although its history stretches back to 1944, when it debuted its recycled aluminium ‘Navy’ chair (still in production today), Emeco reinvented itself in 1998, when newly appointed CEO Gregg Buchbinder took over and promptly enlisted the help of a certain French designer by the name of Philippe Starck. It was shortly after this that the company began producing some of its first new designs in more than 50 years.

Emeco has spent the last 20 years working with recycled materials. It invested four years into developing a material with Coca-Cola, made out of fibreglass mixed with the brand’s discarded PET bottles. A chair was launched in 2010 as a result of the collaboration, but Buchbinder and his team have continued to work on the material, refining its consistency and making it stronger and greener. ‘It’s been a super challenging material to work with,’ says Buchbinder. ‘However, we learnt a lot from our mistakes and, over the course of almost a decade, managed to engineer it so that it can be continually recycled – we can now make new chairs from old chairs.’

Made from a higher percentage of recycled bottles, the improved material was presented to Barber & Osgerby, who Buchbinder believed could bring ‘poetry to the polymer’. Impressed by the material’s credentials, the London-based designers set themselves a challenge: to create a stackable café chair that combined timeless elegance with high functionality. ‘We wanted to bring together two thoughts,’ says Barber. ‘The familiarity of something as archetypal as Thonet’s 1859 “No. 14” bistro chair, which was so revolutionary in its time, mixed with something less familiar.’

The result is ‘On and On’ – a lightweight chair with a round seat, gently splayed legs and a smoothly arched backrest. When not in use, the chairs can be stacked rotationally. ‘Very often when you make a chair stackable you take away 15 per cent of its beauty. It’s a compromise as it has that added layer of functionality,’ explains Osgerby. ‘But there’s something about the circular way that ‘On and On’ stacks that is self-choreographed. You don’t just stack it forwards; you place the chairs, so you have this spiraling effect which is rather beautiful,’ adds Barber.

Moulded in one piece, the chair’s secret strength lies within its simple crossbar leg support detail that’s discreetly hidden under the seat. ‘It was a real challenge to get the structural requirements into such a simple form,’ says Barber. ‘But it’s the same with all projects – the simpler the object, the harder it is to produce.’ The chair will be joined by two stools in Milan and, if all goes well, a whole collection will follow.

It’s still an anomaly to work with a brand where sustainability forms the starting point for the conversation, say the designers. ‘This material that Emeco has developed is redefining the sector a little bit,’ says Osgerby. ‘We’re not in the business of designing pieces for the wow factor, or for a laugh. We want to create beautiful objects that people want to live with forever, and plastic does give you that chance. What’s exciting about this particular polymer is that it doesn’t downgrade. Like aluminium, it can be used again and again.’ On and on.

As originally featured in the May 2019 issue of Wallpaper* (W*242)

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INFORMATION

‘On and On’ chair, from €295, by Barber & Osgerby, for Emeco, available from autumn 2019, and on show at Salone del Mobile, 9-14 April

For more information, visit the Emeco website and the Barber & Osgberby website

ADDRESS

Hall 24
Stand B11: C08
Fiera Milano
Rho 20017

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Upstairs at the east London HQ of British furniture brand Established & Sons, Sebastian Wrong crosses his long legs and perches on a Quilt sofa, designed for the brand by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec. Assistants are sent away so we can talk alone. ‘I’m not Kim Jong-un,’ he laughs, although, coincidentally, the sofa is a shade of North Korean red, and the company Wrong co-founded, left and rejoined last spring has had as tumultuous a past as many a wayward state.

During this year’s Salone, in his resumed role as Established & Sons’ design director, Wrong is launching the brand’s first new collection for six years. It’s a big moment for the rock ‘n’ roll furniture manufacturer, which, since its birth 13 years ago, has suffered the departure of its five founders (former chairman Angad Paul committed suicide in 2015), huge debts, loss of direction and near extinction, before being brought back from the brink last year by three new owners.

Five new pieces, including the handblown ‘Filigrana’ light by Wrong, will be unveiled within the Fiera. Two sofas by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec and Konstantin Grcic are headline acts, there’s a light by young Swiss designer Dimitri Bähler, and a chair by octogenarian Italian Mauro Pasquinelli. They represent a fresh start, says Wrong, and signal a move into ‘more accessible, competitively priced, relevant products’.

Almost the opposite, then, to what E&S became known for when, in 2005, it wowed Milan with a daring debut collection of eight pieces by Britain’s best designers, including Amanda Levete’s ‘Chester’ sofa, the limited-edition ‘Aqua’ table by the late Zaha Hadid, and the ‘Zero-In’ table by Barber & Osgerby. E&S’ original mission – to make everything in the UK with Paul’s steelmaking family firm, Caparo – challenged the traditional (mainly Italian) production landscape.

From left, ‘Barbican’ divan, by Konstantin Grcic, a geometric sofa available in three textile combinations, with memory foam pads; ‘Light’ lights, by Dimitri Bähler, a series of lamps, made from Japanese paper and carbon fibre, that emit a soft, diffused light; ‘Filigrana’ lamps, by Sebastian Wrong, a set of four handblown, acid-etch suspension lights, available in three colourways; ‘Cassette’ sofa, by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, available in distinct metals, this sofa is easy to assemble and take apart.

Jay Osgerby, who worked with E&S from the start, recalls: ‘Established was a phenomenon; it totally unsettled the market. Everyone, from Flos to Vitra, was talking about this ambitious young powerhouse.’ High-octane parties accompanied every launch; in 2005, E&S laid on four double decker buses to collect visitors from all over London and bring them to a bus depot in Hoxton to see the collection. ‘The parties had such glamour and energy,’ says Osgerby.

‘We were fuelled up and firing on all cylinders,’ says Wrong. ‘It was a very free-spirited platform, and we took risks and worked with amazing people.’ Did they ever say no to anything? ‘Occasionally,’ he laughs, ‘but being ambitious and outspoken were our core principles.’

For years, E&S steamed ahead, making high-concept, costly pieces, ignoring the late delivery times and distribution problems that were starting to tarnish its glittering reputation. ‘There were consistent delays,’ recalls Simon Alderson, co-founder of design retailer Twentytwentyone. ‘It had such a diverse range, and a huge supply base, but if you have too many variants, you run into problems.’ In 2007, realising that Caparo’s skills in making pressed car parts were not easily transferrable to the furniture sector, E&S had to abandon its ‘British Made’ tag and produce in Italy. Still, the collection grew and became increasingly random.

Alderson finally gave up on the brand in 2015, but last year, his faith restored by the new regime, he reintroduced pieces from the E&S back catalogue, including the Wrongwoods collection by Wrong and artist Richard Woods, and the ‘Zero-In’ table, which, thanks to a slicker production process, now sells for £950 instead of £1,500. Alderson says, ‘The fact that Sebastian is back has given me confidence. He’s a great figurehead and curator, and understands the brand like no one else.’ Sales, finances and distribution – E&S’ former weak spots – are now overseen by three new owners with promising skill sets: Vincent Frey is the grandson of Pierre Frey, founder of the Parisian fabric house; London-based Patrick Mueller-Hermann is a management consultant; and Swiss investor Ramzi Wakim has a background in hotels.

The new team’s first move was to cull the collection by two-thirds, relegating 102 products to the archive. Taken together, the remaining 42 pieces no longer look like they’re about to break into a fist fight. ‘At times the collection has been confusing,’ Wrong concedes. ‘Our DNA matches the perception of what British design – its edginess – is all about. But we do need to change from being a company that makes objects you look at with curiosity to one that makes things you want to live with.’

Wrong is well placed to oversee this transition. He left E&S in 2012 and a year later joined Danish brand Hay as design director. As well as launching more than 30 products, including the Wrong London lighting range, he injected the mid-market Scandinavian brand with pizazz, hosting glitzy launches in Milan’s La Pelota, where once E&S had partied. His four-year stint at Hay, he says, has given him ‘insight into design development and costs, and what products must do to deliver. Established is not there yet,’ he adds, ‘but it’s early days.’

E&S has always drawn star designers and it was not hard to reel in Grcic and the Bouroullecs. ‘As a designer, Established was brilliant to work for,’ says Osgerby. ‘You want your producer to have ambition and belief and a desire to get the job done.’ And while big names sell and headline acts draw attention, Wrong doesn’t want to abandon E&S’ experimental roots.

Over the years he has put graduation projects by the likes of Shay Alkalay of Raw-Edges and Wouter Scheublin into production and given countless young designers a break. The Pasquinelli project is something of a departure. When Wrong came across a chair by the veteran designer in a factory in Italy, he hunted down an unrealised 1976 design of another chair by Pasquinelli and set about producing it. (It’s the first time that E&S has ‘rebooted’ a living designer; in his heyday, Pasquinelli was well known among the chair experts of Manzano.)

‘Priced at around £550, it’s a working chair and relates to a period I like very much,’ says Wrong. ‘And we need some bread and butter chairs in the collection.’ The other new pieces also ‘fill the gaps’ and cater to a world in which ‘meetings take place on sofas rather than in boardrooms, online retail is on the rise, and battery life is a constant battle.’

Anyone who remembers what a ballsy game-changer E&S was is rooting for them. ‘It helped us create three of the most iconic products we’ve ever made,’ says Osgerby. ‘I hope it can carry on making brilliant pieces.’ Alderson adds, ‘The quality of design is so high, it deserves to succeed. It was such a positive addition. It didn’t follow trends; it invented its own language.’

As originally featured in the May 2018 issue of Wallpaper* (W*230)

See more of Sebastian Wrong’s ‘Filigrana’ lamp. Video: courtesy of Established & Sons

INFORMATION

Established & Sons’ new collection is on view at Pavilion 16 D43 from 17 – 22 April at Salone Del Mobile. For more information, visit the Established & Sons website

ADDRESS

Rho Fiera
Strada Statale Sempion, 28
20017
Milan

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'Random' bookcase, €1,769, by Neuland Industriedesign, for MDF Italia. 'Cheminy' vases, from £150, by Alnoor; 'Building' vase, from £500, by C + B Lefebvre, both for Roche Bobois. 'Dibbets Diagonal' rug, from £9,750, by Rodolfo Dordoni, for Minotti. '+Modo' kitchen, price on request, by Jorge Pensi, for Poggenpohl. 'KV6M-14' tap, £990, by Arne Jacobsen, for Vola. 'Aro' stools, €1,308 each, by Lievore Altherr Molina, for Bernhardt. 'Softer Than Steel' chairs, €385, by Nendo, for Desalto. 'DC' table, price on request, by Vincenzo De Cotiis, for Ceccotti Collezioni. 'Lucky star' pendant, £1,120, by Maurizio Galante and Tal Lancman, for Driade. 'Husk' armchair, £444, by Marc Thorpe, for Moroso

‘PK25’ chair, £8,206, by Poul Kjærholm, for Fritz Hansen. ‘Birds on a Wire’ hook, from £147, by Barber & Osgerby, for Magis. ‘Enigma 545’ pendant, £815, by Shoichi Uchiyama, for Louis Poulsen. ‘Center’ rug, €812 per sq m, by Jan Kath. ‘Cleopatra’ chaise longue, £2,854, by Geoffrey Harcourt, for Artifort. ‘Portico’ cabinet, from €8,400, by Ferruccio Laviani, for Emmemobili. ‘PK25’ chair, as before. ‘Ippolito 90’ outdoor light, £835, by Alessandro Pedretti, for Artemide

‘Atelier’ chair, €4,750, by EOOS, for Walter Knoll. ‘Rabbit & the Tortoise’ table, €382, by Studio Juju, for Living Divani. ‘Toy’ vase, €1,556, by Guillaume Delvigne, for La Chance. ‘Zig Zag’ chairs, from £1,120 each, by Gerrit Rietveld, for Cassina. ‘Stacking A TR’ light, €2,842, by Rockwell Group, for Leucos. ‘Rabbit & the Tortoise’ tables, from €459, by Studio Juju, for Living Divani. ‘Minibooxx’ shelving, €995, by Denis Santachiara, for Desalto. ‘Pixl–Miroir’ bookcase, £1,530, by Fabrice Berrux, for Roche Bobois. ‘O’ candleholder, £175, by Minimalux

‘Giò P-PL 40’ wall lights, €247 each, by Michele Sbrogiò, for Leucos. ‘Elbe III’ bench, £1,270, by Eva Marguerre, Marcel Besau and Daniel Schöning, for E15. ‘C1-C4’ cushions, from €58, by Elena Castaño-López, for Sancal. ‘Dalida’ bookcase, £3,030, by Carlo Ballabio, for Porada. Rocket cocktail shaker, £9,250, by Asprey. ‘Arborescence’ candelabra, €490, by Ora-Ïto, for Christofle. ‘Totem’ vase, £710, by Jean-Christophe Clair, for Roche Bobois. ‘Mist’ vases, from £61, by Tamer Nakışçı, for Nude. ‘Yanzi’ light, from £972, by Neri & Hu, for Artemide. ‘Voido’ chair, from £431, by Ron Arad, for Magis. ‘Trois’ table, £2,412, by Poltrona Frau. ‘Five’ table lamp, €1,172, by Tobias Grau

‘Max’ sofa, from €6,126, by Antonio Citterio, for Flexform. ‘Geometrics’ cushion, €200, by Doshi Levien, for Kettal. ‘Gemma’ door knob, £35, by Olivari. ‘Zigzag’ planter, from €1,070, by Emiliana Design, for Kettal. Serving platter, £41; bowl, £75, both by Alvar Aalto, for Iittala. ‘Forest’ stool, $577, by Arik Levy, for Bernhardt Design. ‘Triade’ vase, from £450, by Roche Bobois. ‘Eileen’ writing desk, £3,635, by Antonio Citterio, for B&B Italia. ‘Gaja’ chair, from €350, by Kazuhide Takahama, for Cassina. ‘Bilia’ table lamps, £488 each, by Gio Ponti, for Fontana Arte. ‘Anisha’ table lamp, from £285, by Lievore Altherr Molina, for Foscarini

Illustrator: Leonie Bos. Interiors: Amy Heffernan. As originally featured in the December 2017 issue of Wallpaper* (W*225)

Influential textile designer Lucienne Day was known for her love of patterns based on plant forms. A passionate gardener, her work drew flowers, grasses and shoots from nature, and transformed them into abstract designs for wallpapers, textiles, carpets and ceramics.

To celebrate the designer’s centenary year and to mark the relaunch of Day’s ‘Flower Brick’, London furniture showroom Twentytwentyone conceived an exhibition entitled ‘Day for Flowers’.

The ‘Flower Brick’, originally introduced by Day in 1966, is a contemporary interpretation of the decorative Delftware produced during the 18th century to hold ornate floral displays. While the originals were produced in England by Bristol Potteries, Twentytwentyone has teamed with British-made ceramics brand 1882 Ltd to produce a limited edition of 100.

‘Lucienne Day responded to the decorative potential of a rectangular ceramic form by designing three quite different surface patterns for two sizes of flower brick,’ explains Twentytwentyone, which invited ten creative individuals from the worlds of fashion, design, interiors, architecture and journalism to design a floral display using a ‘Flower Brick’.

The floral displays, created by Michael Anastassiades, Barber & Osgerby, Paula Day, Max Fraser, Suzy Hoodless, Margaret Howell, Philippe Malouin, Alex Mowat, Nikki Tibbles and Faye Toogood were showcased at the ‘Day for Flowers’ exhibition.

While some went for crisp architectural statements – à la Barber & Osgerby, who filled Day’s black-and-white ‘Triangles Flower Brick’ with a regimented arrangement of dried bulrushes – others chose more wild and natural compositions, such as Margaret Howell, who created an arrangement of meadow flowers and grasses in the ‘Papercut Flower Brick’.

Paula Day’s arrangement included buds from her mother Lucienne’s favourite rose, New Dawn, while Max Fraser’s explosive arrangement of grasses, aliums, craspedia globosa and poppy heads was inspired by fireworks.

‘The arrangements illustrate the versatility and enduring appeal of the Lucienne Day’s design,’ said Twentytwentyone. ‘We are certain that the creative wealth and spirit of those involved will provide a dramatic and inspiring summer show of floral creations – and a fitting tribute to Lucienne Day.’

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Twentytwentyone website

ADDRESS

twentytwentyone
18c River Street
London EC1R 1XN

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The 20th anniversary of Wallpaper* this year has called for celebrations of all kinds – among them a staff knees-up for everyone who had ever worked for the brand, a pop-up gallery on Mayfair’s Cork Street, and a panel discussion at the V&A. But best of all was an intimate dinner at Claridge’s recently. Joining forces with Dom Pérignon and its chef de cave Richard Geoffroy, we gathered some of our closest friends, representing all the creative disciplines we cover – design, architecture, art, fashion, food and, of course, fine wine.

Wallpaper* was founded in 1996. And as we washed down food by chef Simon Rogan with successive glasses of Dom ’96, we realised that, as Francis Albert Sinatra would say, it was a very good year – for all present.

Barber & Osgerby founded their studio in 1996 and created the ‘Loop’ table, which would attract the attention of their first major patron, Giulio Cappellini. John Pawson, who designed our subscribers’ cover this month, published his seminal book Minimum in 1996. And Amanda Levete, then at Future Systems, brought architectural finesse to London’s Docklands with her West India Quay Bridge.

1996 also saw Ron Arad reinvent the wheel. Not literally, but with his rolling circular bookcase, while Tom Dixon conceived his iconic ‘Jack’ light. Peter Saville, being Peter Saville, moved into his outlandishly louche Mayfair flat. ‘The Apartment’, as it was known, was perhaps a prototype for the Wallpaper* aesthetic. ‘I should have bought it,’ he quipped.

A young Ben Evans, now director of LDF, was working behind the scenes in 1996 to propel a similarly young Tony Blair to 10 Downing Street. Gregor Muir, now director of Tate’s international art collection, was laying the groundwork for his book of record on the YBAs. Lucky Kunst! That’s the title of the book – not a comment on Gregor’s fortunate double decade. Conceptualist artist Joseph Kosuth put the finishing touches on The Boundaries of the Limitless, which remains one of Japan’s largest works of public art.

Our younger friends were well on their way to success in 1996. Artist Conrad Shawcross finished his foundation course at the Chelsea School of Art. Simon Fujiwara was a boarder at Harrow, where he would be mentored by his eventual muse Joanne Salley – now the subject of his video installation at London’s Photographers’ Gallery. Designer Beatrix Ong was interning at Harper’s Bazaar and hot British fashion talent Simone Rocha was just celebrating her tenth birthday.

Finally, 1996 was also a very good year for Dom Pérignon. It was the year that Richard Geoffroy took the helm, and produced one of the brand’s best vintages. So it was fitting that we toasted its newest release, the P2, an exceptional champagne in its second Plénitude (stage of maturation).

It’s hard to improve on a classic, but whether among champagnes or creatives, maturity clearly has its perks.

As originally featured in the December 2016 issue of Wallpaper* (W*213)

INFORMATION
The December 2016 issue of Wallpaper* is out now! Subscribe here

Students at Oxford University’s Magdalen College have had their library transformed by Wright & Wright Architects.

The Grade II* listed 1850s building was originally built as a school hall. It had been reworked into a library by Giles Gilbert Scott in 1930, whose efforts included the installation of a new floor. But despite his changes, there were only 48 desk spaces and not enough shelving to hold all the books.

'Scott had altered the building so much that we could gut the inside,' says Clare Wright, founding partner of Wright & Wright. So the Camden-based firm built a free-standing, three-storey oak structure in the building, a ‘room-within-a-room’ technique they had used at the Women’s Library in east London. 'We really like playing off the old fabric of a building,' Wright adds.

Meanwhile, much-improved administrative offices and another reading room are housed in the lower ground extension that sits beneath the school hall building and runs in an L-shape along one side of Longwall Quadrangle. Natural light is delivered via roof lights and from big windows that look out onto the newly-landscaped garden. The garden’s wide steps, which double as seating on sunny days, encourage students to break with centuries of tradition and cut diagonally across the lawn.

The new library spaces are decked out with Barber & Osgerby chairs, designed in 2014 for the Bodleian Libraries. Desks were designed by Wright & Wright and complement B&O’s seating, with their blue linoleum tops. The architects were also responsible for the design of the robust-looking reading lamps. With the workstations and Allermuir 'Open Lounge' seating for the less formal areas, the library can now accommodate 120 students.

Through this £10.5m project, one of Magdalen College’s unloved corners has been turned into one of its most popular spots.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Wright & Wright Architects website

Photography: Dennis Gilbert

When photographer Koto Bolofo first visited London’s Commonwealth Institute in 2011, he found a forgotten architectural relic in the centre of London. Shrouded by park trees, overgrown with wild strawberry plants and home to a family of foxes, ‘it was like a dormant cathedral,’ he remembers. ‘Despite the buzz of the traffic whizzing past on Kensington High Street, you wouldn’t even know it was there. That was the strange thing.’

The visit had followed a call from his long-time friend, design entrepreneur Sophie Conran, who is also the daughter of Design Museum founder and trustee Sir Terence Conran. ‘She said, “You know the Commonwealth Institute?’’’ says Bolofo, retelling the conversation. ‘Well, my dad’s bought it and he’s going to turn it into the new Design Museum. Would you like to photograph the renovation?’

South African-born, London-based Bolofo, famed for his award-winning fashion photography and films, was apprehensive about taking on his first ever architectural project, but agreed to a test run. At the time, the 1962 Grade II*-listed building, just south of Holland Park, had been empty for more than a decade. It was yet to be publicly announced as the museum’s new home and it would be a year before ground broke on its £83m John Pawson-designed facelift.‘I was doing 8-12 second exposures, which I’d never done before, so I wasn’t even sure the pictures were going to come out,’ Bolofo remembers. Happily, the Design Museum were thrilled with his ‘non-architectural’ approach and so he spent the next five years revisiting the site every few months in order to track its transformation.

‘I fell in love with the building,’ he says. ‘I photographed it like I would photograph a woman – for me, it had so much femininity. The lines, the curves, there is absolutely nothing masculine about it.’

As the construction team dug out the foundations to reinforce the structure and stripped the building back to its skeleton, Bolofo captured the still moments in between; the rhythmic twists of the roof trusses, the empty walkways and the piles of debris illuminated by shafts of ethereal light. ‘I know nothing about construction; I had to use my instinct and my knowledge of form in order to document it. It was like watching a butterfly emerge from its chrysalis,’ he says.

With the butterfly now almost fully emerged, the finishing touches are being made to the museum’s interior, while, on the second floor, a dramatic cafe and restaurant space is promising to steal the show. ‘Because it’s such a significant and important building, there is very little we can actually do in terms of design in the interior,’ explains Jay Osgerby of Barber & Osgerby, the design studio tasked with fitting out the restaurant interior. Instead, the duo set about creating a scheme that made the most of the restaurant’s spectacular views outwards across the tree tops of Holland Park and inwards towards the cavernous atrium. For this purpose, the duo developed what they describe as ‘quiet and refined’ pieces of exclusive furniture and lighting that will let the view do the talking. A new wooden chair and a range of upholstery is in development with Vitra, while a number of lighting pieces are being produced by Flos.

The menu, provided by Sir Terence’s food, wine and hotel group Prescott & Conran, will ensure that the whole operation lives up to its founding father’s exacting standards. ‘Seeing this quite remarkable project on the cusp of completion makes me tremble with excitement and anticipation,’ beams Conran, who cites the museum as his most rewarding achievement. ‘It really does feel like our moment has arrived, and seeing the Design Museum move to this magnificent building demonstrates just how important design has become to industry in this country. It makes my rather long career absolutely worthwhile because it is putting design at the very heart of British creativity.’

As originally featured in the October 2016 issue of Wallpaper* (W*211)

INFORMATION

Ahead of going on permanent display in the new Design Museum’s atrium in November, Koto Bolofo’s photographs will appear at 34 Cork Street for ’Wallpaper* magazine is 20! Construction Sight’, an exhibition to celebrate our 20th-birthday issue, in collaboration with Cork Street Galleries.

’Wallpaper* magazine is 20! Construction Sight’ is on view through to 8 October, Monday to Saturday 10am-6pm

For more information on Koto Bolofo’s work, visit his website

Photography: Koto Bolofo

ADDRESS

34 Cork Street, Mayfair, W1S 3NU

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Scandinavia's leading design festival is always a well-anticipated event, boasting new products and fresh talent aplenty. This year, the sprawling halls of the Stockholmsmässan revealed a varied trove of launches this year, as design pilgrims from across the globe flocked to the 2016 edition of the Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair.

Welcoming visitors in from the cold was an installation by design duo Barber & Osgerby, who inherited the distinction of this year’s Guest of Honour from fellow London-based designer Ilse Crawford. Triptych recalls the pair’s impressions of Nordic winters, featuring animal hides and sheepskins draped across oak benches.

The installation was divided into three distinct areas, separated by felt screens produced by Nordifa and featuring furniture by the pair for Knoll, Vitra and B&B Italia. ‘Each space offers the visitor an environment for relaxation, meeting and working under a canopy of paper lanterns,’ say Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby.

Inside the main halls, Atelier 2+ flexed its green thumb with a greenhouse for Design House Stockholm. Nearby, Klong was in the mood to entertain with a sideboard by Ania Pauser, and a drinks trolley by Broberg & Ridderstrale; Berlin-based design studio My Kilos presented the tastily inspired ‘Black Stracciatella’ collection; and Kullaro took a moment of reflection between the main halls, presenting an arched standing mirror.

Swedish designer Alexander Lervik’s name cropped up repeatedly throughout the halls, where he unveiled several new projects with a raft of brands including chairs, tables and a lamp for Tingest and a wall hanging system for Absolut Art. Outside of the fair, the omnipresent designer took over the windows of Stockholm department store NK with a kinetic installation of his new launches; inside, he presented a particularly memorable residential elevator for Aritco.

Elsewhere in Stockholm, Form Us With Love celebrated a decade of design at Sweden’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts; Wästberg joined forces with Massproductions for a new showroom in Hammarby quay; and Staffan Holm's sculptural glassworks stole the show at Designgalleriet.

Back at the fair, we stepped into the hot seat, with new chairs and sofas by the likes of Normann Copenhagen, Fritz Hansen, Lars Beller Fjetland, Articles, Gemla, Per Soderberg and more.

Other brands left a lasting impression by going big and bold with their stand design. Italian lighting stalwart Foscarini and Taiwanese design studio NakNak both vyed for the most Instagram-worthy booth at the fair, while Kinnarp invited us into their two-storey, mock house. Bolon tapped Doshi Levien for a stand that had curves in all the right places; while we gravitated towards Flos’ pitch-black stand in the main hall, where its lighting collection was presented sparingly across large containers.

The fair’s platform for new and emerging designers – the ever-popular Greenhouse – proved fruitful. Here, Stockholm-based studio Oyyo’s graphic textiles caught our eye. Canadian outfit MSDS Studio put a contemporary spin on 17th century designs with new collection ‘Source Materials’, while fellow Canuck Thom Fougere’s coffee table made from Tyndall stone was also noteworthy. It’s a promising sign of the shape of things to come.

INFORMATION

Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair ran from 9–13 February. For more information, visit the website

A stroll down Mount Street in London reads like a Who’s Who of fashion’s finest, revealing stores from the likes of Céline, Simone Rocha, Roksanda Ilincic and Delfina Delettrez. This week, the well-heeled Mayfair street welcomed its latest shopping shrine in the form of J&M Davidson’s new boutique – the brand’s second in the city and third worldwide – with interiors conceived by Universal Design Studio.

Launched in 1984 by Anglo-French partners John and Monique Davidson, the British label initially focused on handcrafted leathers, before branching out to handbags, leather accessories, clothing and knitwear. Celebrating its 30th anniversary last year, the brand has gained a cult following, especially in Japan where it maintains a flagship in Tokyo’s Aoyama district.

Housed in a Grade II listed building, J&M Davidson’s freshly launched London store takes its cues from Mount Street’s terracotta period buildings. Decked out in a muted palette of dusty taupe, earthy grey and blushing pink, the interiors are anchored by clean, minimalist lines, and brushed brass fixtures.

'We were keen that the space had a strong dialogue with its place whilst reflecting [J&M Davidson’s] commitment to craftsmanship, quality and attention to detail, expressing the timeless and understated nature of the brand,' explains Jason Holley, co-director of Universal Design Studio. The London firm was founded by duo Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby in 2001 to focus on architecture and interior design projects.

The centrepiece is a cantilevered staircase crafted from solid terrazzo marble, while its luxurious leather-wrapped handrail is a joy to grip on our descent to the lower floor. The terrazzo flooring continues throughout the space, coupled with bespoke cast-glass plinths and heavy concrete countertops. Ethereal qualities resonate further in the store’s soft, rounded fittings and vintage furniture pieces, sourced in collaboration with interior designer Nicholas Chandor.

Information

For more information, visit the J&M Davidson website

Photography: Charles Hosea

Address

104 Mount St
London W1K 2TL

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The eclectic, crafted work of British-born, Hong Kong-based designer Michael Young marries engineered technology with a sculpted artistic flair. Producing everything from industrial watches to functional furniture for the likes of Coalesse and Lasvit, in addition to special collections for various galleries, his sense of experimentation is imbued with East-meets-West influences.

Curator Maria Cristina Didero is investigating that experimentation with a fine tooth comb, focusing on his works in aluminium in an immersive installation at the Centre d’innovation et de design at Grand-Hornu in Boussu, Belgium.

It's ever so exciting when the subject of a solo exhibition magnifies one section of a designer’s oeuvre. Yet what is created here is even more special. Didero and Young present an accidental history, demonstrating the evolution of one chemical material. We see Young's work deconstructed in the 12 installation stands that take over the neoclassical space. His rock-style 'Oxygen' chairs from 2015 are displayed in their original moulding; while the more simplistic, recycled aluminium 'Chair 4A' is shown dismantled with each part spread across the wall.

The versatile quality of the material is also shown hanging from the ceiling. Scaled up against a 2.2kg weight is Young's 'Lessthanfive' chair for Coalesse, emulating the extremely light-weight quality of the metallic element.

Both Didero and Young took Grand-Hornu’s architectural silhouette as a starting point for the show. ‘It has been a very interesting journey up to this show,’ Didero explains. ‘The first time we visited Grand-Hornu we were very inspired by the architecture of this building.’ To wit, the works are cleverly set out in an L shape that relates to the symbol of the element itself (AL).

Yet what makes the exhibit a uniquely alluring experience is one particular added extra. In extension to Young’s pieces, there is a section dedicated to other designers' works in aluminium. Titled ‘The Crypt’, Young and Didero have recognised contributions from the likes Jean Prouvé, Charles and Ray Eames, Barber & Osgerby and Ross Lovegrove to the world of aluminium design. ‘We made a selection based only on our personal taste,’ Didero adds of the humble approach and collection.

‘AL(L) Projects with Aluminum’ is a rare moment in the limelight for the metal – the experimental industrial development of which is so effectively shown through the contemporary designers that have made it possible. The show presents those included in what Didero describes as a ‘collective, choral experience with the material’.

INFORMATION

’AL(L) Projects in Aluminium by Michael Young’ is on view until 29 May. For more information, please visit CID at Grand-Hornu’s website

ADDRESS

CID at Grand-Hornu
Site du Grand-Hornu
Rue Sainte-Louise, 82
7301 Hornu

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But to the science. This year we have restricted the core top 100 list strictly to product designers. And employing complex algorithms, ‘big data’ and the purest subjectivity, we have ranked them according to influence, market value, quality and quantity of output, reputational shift and that more mysterious sense of momentum, of rightness for right now. Those who have had a good year will find themselves risen up the ranks; others may get that sinking feeling. We have also added extra lists: of architects who turn their pencils to product design; of CEOs and other corporate chiefs who have matched vision and ambition with surefootedness; of graphic designers who snap our grid; of interior designers who create and compose the most seductive of spaces; and of designers yet to hit 40 but already making an impact. Or course our rankings are a provocation, but they are also a mapping of power and influence, of larger shifts and forces.

Let the debate begin...

Sir Jonathan Ive, Apple’s chief design officer, has changed behaviours and created ‘needs’ we never knew we had, turning technology’s cult underdog into the world’s most valuable company. With Steve Jobs gone, and everyone alert to the slightest Apple miss-step, Ive is now facing greater public scrutiny. The many and various permutations of the Apple Watch and strap, and the offer of a high-end version – a shift from Apple’s usual policy of limiting choice and upgrades to under-the-bonnet performance enhancements – are seen as Ive’s innovations. And rumours and counter-rumours about the Apple Watch’s success, or lack of, continue to swirl. The latest chatter is that Apple is working on a self-driving car, currently being tested in California.  

Outside of Ive, Marc Newson is the world’s highest-profile industrial designer. The pair are also long time pals. Little surprise then that Ive recruited Newson to help out with the design of Apple Watch. He has no official title at Apple but Newson says that 60 per cent of his time is now spent on Apple business and he makes monthly trips to Cupertino. Newson already had watch experience, launching the Ikepod line in the 1990s. He has also designed concept cars for Ford so it seems a relatively safe bet that Newson is currently at work on the Apple Car. And if the last year wasn’t eventful enough for Newson, this May one of his ‘Lockheed Lounge’ chairs sold at auction at Phillips in London for £2.4m, the highest price yet paid for the work of a living designer.

London-based designers Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby have had a breathtaking year, capped by the publication of a monograph celebrating their work, and the award of the 2015 London Design Medal in September. This supremely versatile and gifted pair have been on an unstoppable tear ever since their universally lauded design for the Olympic torch in 2012 lifted them into truly rarified air. The pair now helm three studios, each founded to expand the range of projects they can take on, ranging this year from an understated shower control for Axor to the contract to design interiors, exteriors and livery for the new London Crossrail line.

An Eindhoven Design Academy alumnus, Jongerius’ career began with the Droog-infused Dutch design renaissance of the early 1990s. Always one of the most influential and intelligent voices in design, she made waves in 2015 with a call for restraint in the design world’s ceaseless quest for the novel. ‘It’s time to rid ourselves of the obsession with the new.’ She practised what she preached, too, finally unveiling the long-awaited fruits of a four-year process of revisions to her iconic ‘Polder’ sofa for Vitra, and revealing subtle tweaks to the design and scale of the collection, while remaining true to its groundbreaking aesthetic.

Oki Sato took Milan by storm in April with an audacious retrospective of his work over a single year, showcasing his impressive range and attention to detail in collaborations with companies ranging from Glas Italia and Moroso to Chocolatexture and Tod’s. In fact, he designed more than 100 different products over the year, and routinely works on more than 400 designs at any one time. This year, Sato, who initially set up Nendo ten years ago with five fellow architecture graduates, also received the crown for Maison & Objet’s Designer of the Year, opened a Milan office, and shifted into large scale architectural projects for the first time, winning commissions for a shopping centre in Bangkok and a station and leisure complex in Kyoto.

Ronan and Erwan’s stellar mid-career status was highlighted last year with the award of the 2014 London Design Medal. Subsequently, France’s most influential industrial designers revealed the ‘Kaari’ table collection, their first collaboration with Artek, and the ‘Palissade’ range of outdoor furniture for Hay, alongside strong new work for Vitra and Glas Italia. Next up is their first electronic product, the Serif TV for Samsung, which is intended to integrate the television completely into the sphere of domestic design.

A product launch seen by 4.8 billion TV viewers, a first solo retrospective at the V&A, commissions everywhere; to say Heatherwick has had a good few years is an understatement. The British designer’s King’s Cross atelier is a global creative hub, responsible for everything from London buses to gin distilleries. Heatherwick is the quintessential contemporary creator, an architect, engineer and designer rolled into one, with an obsessive attention to detail and a delight in materials.

From health-tracking wristbands to app-controlled thermostats, Béhar is the designer for our perma-connected age. Last year, Chinese conglomerate BlueFocus Communication Group acquired a majority stake in his firm Fuseproject. His XO laptops for One Laptop Per Child are now distributed in 60 countries.

This year Morrison, whose career began in the 1980s, curated the prestigious ‘80!Molteni’ exhibition in Milan and added a collection of mobile phones to his well-respected Punkt collaboration, but he will always be the ultimate Super Normal guy, with a cool shop, transforming the everyday into desirable objects, including this cafetiere for Rowenta from W*068

Our joint Wallpaper* Designer of the Year, the work of German design superstar Grcic combines analytical rigour, formal discipline and a twist of humour. Recent projects include chairs for Plank and Magis, sanitaryware for Laufen, and branding and interiors for the Hugo Boss IMOCA 60 racing yacht.

A graduate of Jerusalem’s Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design and London’s Architectural Association, Arad is working on Tel Aviv’s tallest building, a show for the Royal Academy, and St Pancras’ sought-after Terrace Wires installation. He remains the design and architecture world’s great iconoclast

Despite his work for IDEO and the Muji CD player, Fukasawa’s sublime understanding of Japanese craft sensibility has few better expressions than last year’s ‘Cha’ tea kettle for Alessi, his ‘Roundish’ sofa for Maruni Wood Industries, this year’s kitchen appliances for Muji and his sleek smartphone model for KDDI.

Dixon remains one of Britain’s best-known design names, even outside the design community. His studio has been busy this year: working on apartments at Greenwich Peninsula and the Multiplex department store at Selfridges, and he has also just been secured by Caesarstone to work on a major collaboration

Hayon has long been revered for his radical embrace of colour, decoration and cartoon-figure curves. His recent highlights include a large ‘Urban Perspectives’ installation for Mini, sports-style pieces for Galerie Kreo, and a redesigned Room 506 at Arne Jacobsen’s SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen.

Collaborator Bruno Borrione finally got his name on the door last year as he and Starck formed a ‘new’ design agency, S++B. Since then, Stark has revealed a 2018 hotel design for Centre Pompidou Metz, created a prototype home for PATH and had various Milan launches with Kartell, Flos, Glas Italia, Axor, Magis and Tog

Humberto and Fernando’s creative upcycling and design improvisation – influenced by the street life of Santa Cecilia, the area of São Paulo where they have their studio – has been the basis of a string of bestsellers for Edra, as well as big-ticket edition pieces. The pair also work with local NGOs and workers’ co-ops.

The Spaniard is constantly proving she is at the top of her game with her hugely covetable creations. Not only is she our reigning Wallpaper* Designer of the Year, but she has formalised her ongoing collaboration with the Poltrona Frau group, heading up its design sector and becoming art director of Cassina.

Windows for Prada and a collection and installation for luxury leather maker Valextra helped demonstrate the versatility of Gamper, who made his name in 2007 with the found-object speed-design project ‘100 Chairs in 100 Days’. Milan gallery Nilufar then commissioned him to do similar with discarded Giò Ponti pieces.

Milan-based Giovannoni is as adept at futuristic furniture as at cartoonish homewares. His ‘Bombo’ stool for Magis, with its swivelling plastic seat and adjustable chrome-steel base, is widely copied, and his ‘Girotondo’ tableware for Alessi has sold over ten million units. He is now opening an office in Shenzhen.

Born in 1932, Munich-based designer Maurer designed his first light fitting in 1966 after a life-changing trip to New York, where he encountered the pop art movement. Simply called ‘Bulb’, his debut design was a brilliantly witty take on what a lamp could be and marked the start of a legendary career

This year, industrial designer Lovegrove - pictured here in W*101 - has applied his ergonomic forms to photorealistic rug designs for Moooi, while 2014 saw him produce 3D-printed gold jewellery for the Louisa Guinness Gallery. Material science, form and technology dominate, as with Liquidkristal, an architectural glass designed for Lasvit

Following Charpin’s takeover of Apartment 50 in Le Corbusier’s Cité Radieuse in Marseille last year, he has now commandeered the Robert Mallet-Stevens-designed Villa Noailles in Hyères for a new show. Last month also saw the opening of an exhibition of his tables and ceramic vases at Galerie Kreo’s London outpost.

This year’s Wallpaper* Design Awards judges, Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu combine city block-sized projects with more delicate small-scale work, garnering design awards and commissions from Camper, De La Espada and Le Méridien, as well as creating a clutch of boutique hotels, flagship offices and private dwellings

Häberli credits his motivation to his Argentine upbringing, and his problem-solving abilities to his Swiss heritage. He became a star for his ‘Origo’ dinner service for Iittala in 1999, and has gone on to work for brands such as Moroso and Georg Jensen. This year, he was chosen by BMW to design its annual Milan installation.

Hays is the driving force behind luxury American furniture label BDDW. Based in Philadelphia, he is as much an entrepreneur as he is a designer, having built the company up from a small Brooklyn start-up to a respected handmade furniture empire, with a Milan outpost and its own general store, within ten years

The soft, rounded forms of Dutch designer Bakker’s everyday objects are carefully crafted in metal, wood, glass and ceramic, often the result of painstaking production processes. His delicate forms found the limelight in Amsterdam this summer with a solo exhibition, ‘Containing Content’, focusing on his pourers (pictured)

Twins Nikolai and Simon began life as Texan builders with a Hollywood twist, but their skill and experimental approach saw them branch out into design at the turn of the decade. Now based in LA, the brothers’ new surrealist style graces spaces like the city’s Ace Hotel and the Guerlain store in Paris.

Pictured: Beast stool.

An alumnus of the Alchymia, Cavart and Memphis movements, De Lucchi is an Italian design legend whose work graces museums across the globe. He is responsible for bestsellers like the ‘Tolomeo’ lamp for Artemide, and the ‘First’ chair for Memphis. His new coffee maker for Alessi looks set to join that pantheon

From Peckham bottle recycler to Design Miami jury member, designer Boontje, known for his craft-inspired ideas, has come a long way, and his ‘Garland’ light shades are now a modern classic. He recently developed a jewellery collection for the Van Gogh Museum. Next up is an exciting commission for PostNL.

Pictured: Boontje's 'Chamber of Wonder' exhibition, at Swarovski Crystal World in Wattens, Austria

British artist Anthea Hamilton made international news last month with an installation inspired by a 1972 model by Pesce. Now 75, the Venetian designer’s career spans over half a century, and he has always ensured that his colourful, often otherworldly designs go beyond function and aesthetics

Milanese architect Dordoni has spent his career designing and providing art direction for some of the biggest players in Italian design – Artemide, Cappellini, Minotti and Foscarini have all benefited from his creative input. More recently, he set up Dordoni Architetti to focus on his architectural projects.

London-based design duo Luke Pearson and Tom Lloyd have become the go-to practice for public-realm design, with past projects including innovative healthcare furniture for the NHS and street furniture for the city of Bath. Recent projects include a contemporary workplace furniture collection for Teknion

Renowned for his refined designs and forthright opinions, the godfather of Italian design has had a consistent and influential presence in the industry for over 50 years. A steadfast supporter of sustainable, open-source design and small-scale, local production, Mari’s principles have always been years ahead of their time.

Pictured: W*090

Belgian-Dutch duo Nynke Tynagel and Job Smeets continue to explore the boundaries between art and design. From a roller disco inside Buenos Aires’ Faena Art Centre (pictured) to the irreverent ‘Banana Show’ lights at Belgium’s Samuel Vanhoegaerden Gallery, the pair’s refreshing maximalism was prominently on display

Last year, Lissoni secured a major commission from Ritz-Carlton to create a waterfront complex in Miami and a minimalist setting for a Renaissance art show in Milan. This year, he presented ‘1:1 Piero Lissoni’, an exhibition held in a vast New York loft in collaboration with a host of Brooklyn design studios

Branzi’s ‘Heretical Design’ show at Italy’s MARCA museum reminded commentators of the designer’s astonishing breadth and fecundity. He is a frequent collaborator with architectural magazines such as Domus and Casabella, and his shelving systems continue to attract the plaudits of a younger generation

De Cotiis’ work ranges from interiors for T’a bistrot in Milan, and the Upper Hills development in Shenzhen, to furniture for Ceccotti and his own label Progetto Domestico. Last year, he opened a gallery in Milan, and launched a limited-edition series inspired by Beirut in collaboration with Carwan Gallery

Conny Freyer, Eva Rucki and Sebastien Noel formed Troika in 2003. Their installations blend techno-longing with video and interactive elements, and grace spaces from Heathrow’s T5 to major galleries. Recent work, like Dark Matter and Limits of a Known Territory (pictured), show a more brooding, sculptural side

The London-based Cypriot has taken his first proper dip into furniture this year, designing a sofa for SCP. Boasting a similar geometrical characteristic to his captivating lighting objects for Flos, the long-time Wallpaper* collaborator has shown he can master both delicate precision and a sturdy framework.

Woodgate has brought his pared-down sophistication to the likes of Cappellini and SCP. He drew international attention in 2008 with his ‘Surface’ table for Established & Sons, and in 2014 he crowdfunded his lighting brand to produce a collection optimised for LEDs, including the ‘Core’ pendant in translucent marble

Stefan Scholten and Carole Baijings epitomise Dutch design diversity, creating fabrics and furnishings in an eclectic array of forms and colours for the likes of Hay and Moooi. This year they have released their first book, Reproducing Scholten & Baijings (pictured), which takes us on a journey of their creative development

A graduate of Jerusalem’s Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Gilad is one of those rare designers able to work with ease across varying scales of output, from limited editions to mass production. He even managed to reinvent the showroom with an inspired and witty conversion for Molteni & C in Brianza.

Sam Hecht and Kim Colin founded their London studio in 2002 and have since turned conceiving the beautifully useful into an art form. Their reputation rests on creating a few simple product designs, with a twist, each year for the likes of Muji, Droog, Herman Miller, Issey Miyake, and Established & Sons

Tokyo-based interior designer Katayama is head of Japanese firm Wonderwall, which strides across the globe from one hi-tech Uniqlo store to another, creating art-cum-retail projects like Ginza’s Comme des Garçons store, and a chocolate-bar ceiling for the café at Meiji, Japan’s largest chocolate company, along the way

The enfant terrible of Italian product design is never happier than when he is pushing the boundaries of taste. Recent work includes a hyper-masculine headquarters for his beloved AC Milan football team (pictured) and a much instagrammed, model-kit installation for Tommy Hilfiger at Milan’s La Rinascente store.

Wanders’ work ranges from breakfast pieces for Alessi to upscale interiors for the Mondrian South Beach hotel. The studio recently opened an appointment-only gallery space at its HQ in Westerstraat, housing the Dutchman’s collectable designs (which will set you back the best part of $40,000 at auction)

Baas has parlayed a winning way with colour-impregnated clay into a design empire, under his own name and, since 2012, as part of the entity DH PH. Despite this, he’s not too kooky to win awards, create iPhone apps or see his ‘Grandfather Clock Veneer’ sold by Phillips de Pury & Company New York for over $134,000

Focusing on sustainability, and characterised by robust raw materials and expressive lines, Motta’s furniture celebrates the exuberant energy of his native Brazil, and speaks to his passion for surfing, yoga and nature. This autumn he marks the 40th year of his career with a retrospective at New York gallery Espasso.

Pictured with Leandro Massarelli, June 2010, W*135. 

Tokyo-based designer Yoshioka creates installations exploring balance and transparency for clients like Swarovski and Cartier, while products for Glas Italia and boutiques for Issey Miyake (pictured) take more substantial forms. This year he held his first solo exhibition in Kyushu, at the newly renovated Saga Prefectural Museum

Born in Israel, educated in Switzerland and based in Paris, Levy’s vast resumé of work spans lighting, jewellery, graphic design, furniture and packaging. This year he added something new to the list, working with bentwood for the first time in a collection produced for Salone for the Czech company TON. 

Pictured: W*109

An apprentice of Michele De Lucchi for more than 11 years, Nigro is barely 40 but has already won the Designer of the Year award at Maison & Objet and designed collections for the likes of Ligne Roset, De Padova and Hermès (pictured). For this year’s Salone he created the scenography for Japanese car company Lexus

From traditional cabinetmaker to sought-after product designer, Diez’s career ranges from hi-tech manufacturing all the way through to contemporary kit furniture. The German designer - pictured W*158 -  has created products for Thonet, Moroso, Established & Sons, Hay and Emu, all of which share his trademark pared-down precision

Italian architect and designer Thun’s progressive, sustainably luxurious interiors are taking over the civilised world. This year saw the launch of Matteo Thun Atelier, devoted to handcrafted design, with a collection in glass and ceramic, as well as an island resort in Venice for Marriott, designed inside and out by Thun, pictured here

For more than a decade, New York-based designer Burks has pursued his ongoing fascination with the transformative potential of design in emerging economies. This plus stellar work with brands such as Roche Bobois, Dedon, Ligne Roset, Boffi and Swarovski saw him rewarded with a prestigious Cooper Hewitt National Design Award this year

Navone spent her early career working with Italian design doyens such as Ettore Sottsass and Alessandro Mendini. Her dedication to the craft of design is reflected in her lively work for brands ranging from Gervasoni and Crate & Barrel to Ercol, with whom she launched a seating collection this year, pictured here

A graduate of industrial design school ENSCI, Sempé - pictured here W*151 - is known for her versatility and lightness of touch. Since opening her studio in 2000, she has established long-term relationships with firms such as Ligne Roset and Wästberg. Her first cutlery collection, Collo-alto for Alessi, launched in Paris this year to rave reviews

Since his breakthrough in 2002 with the outlandish interiors for London restaurant Sketch, Duchaufour-Lawrance’s work has included identities for Air France and Yves Saint Laurent cosmetics, as well as furniture for Bernhardt Design and Ceccotti Collezioni, and lighting for Baccarat and Gaia & Gino.

Wired from the outset thanks to early chandelier collaborations with Ron Arad, Hussein Chalayan and Zaha Hadid, Waldemeyer’s work has tracked the LED’s rise as a source of entertainment. His technical background helps keep him on the cutting edge, with installations ranging from the wearable to the truly immersive

His latest monograph features a preface by Tom Ford and a forward by Zaha Hadid, but with a career that spans more than 60 years, the German-born Kagan has plenty of famous admirers to call upon. A prolific midcentury furniture designer with a sinuous style, this year he added a must-read blog to his many talents

Kitchen-design genius Wangen first turned heads with Boffi’s ‘K2’ monoblock, with a steel top that concealed the cooking system and slid out to become a dining table. He is currently reviving this own line with the minimalist ‘Forever’ kitchen, and he co-designed The Flushing Meadows Hotel & Bar, opened in Munich last year.

Hong Kong-based since 2006, Young has successfully married Chinese manufacturing capacity to his refined Old World design aesthetic. This combination is seen to best effect in his watch ranges, in his re-engineered Moke beach buggy and this year’s James Irvine-inspired ‘Chelsea Boy’ glass for WonderGlass.

Increasingly, the success of Jouin’s interior design agency JouinMankin is pulling him away from product design. His two-year refurbishment of a Saint-Lazare priory was shortlisted for a Wallpaper* Design Award, while the latest incarnation of his Rivea restaurant for Alain Ducasse opens in Las Vegas next month

Another year, another Red Dot award for Massaud, for a work chair and ottoman series for Coalesse. In recent years, the French designer has also completed some ambitious architectural projects and, for this year’s Salone, his first perfume as part of Brera’s Garden of Wonders exhibition (pictured)

The designs of Patrik Fredrikson and Ian Stallard sit in foyers, museums, stores, restaurants, hotels and private collections around the world, a sensuous fusion of form and rigour. At this year’s London Design Festival, the duo marked ten years since their first major collection with new pieces for David Gill Gallery, pictured here

The husband-and-wife team celebrated 21 years of their design partnership Palomba Serafini this year. The pair turn their hand to everything from lamps and bathtubs to super yachts, and recently completed the first standalone Kartell by Laufen showroom, in Milan, in part to showcase their own collection

Texan designer Hunt founded her eponymous company in 1984, and it went on to become one of America’s finest design brands, collaborating with the likes of Lindsey Adelman and Christian Astuguevieille. In 2014, Knoll acquired Holly Hunt enterprises for $95m, starting a new chapter in the history of the brand.

Pictured: 'Angelika’ sofa

Hutten set up his studio in 1991, joining the Droog collective two years later. His work follows a ‘no sign of design’ notion, making for functional objects permeated by a playful, conceptual attitude, and features in the permanent collections of museums such as the Stedelijk in Amsterdam and the Vitra Design Museum

Having worked as a model and bag designer for Raf Simons, Verheyden veered into home accessories in 2009 with his wife, Saartje Vereecke. His simple forms allow his rich materials to speak for themselves, and encourage users to appreciate the rituals of daily life. Collaborators include Joseph Dirand and Rick Owens.

Anglo-Indian duo Jonathan Levien and Nipa Doshi draw inspiration globally. Standout pieces include a cabinet for BD Barcelona that nods to the corrugated roofs of shanty dwellings and an armchair for Hay structured like a Japanese hand fan. They also rebranded cosmetics label Madina.

Pillet honed his skills with Michele de Lucchi and Philippe Starck before setting up his own studio. Along with curvaceous furnishings for the likes of Modus, Porro and Tacchini, he has also created sumptuous spaces for hotels in France (pictured is his makeover of Hotel Pullman Paris Eiffel Tower) and Morocco, and transformed Lancel’s retail presence around the world

Industrial designer Rasmussen is brand director at Neal Feay, which specialises in anodised aluminium creations. The firm has collaborated with the likes of Louis Vuitton, Dior and Design Miami, and most recently produced a digitalised ocean wave for this year’s London Design Festival at Somerset House, pictured

Working under the studio name Ora ïto, Ito Morabito has amassed a portfolio as substantive as that of any French designer. His re-imagining of the rooftop gym of Le Corbusier’s Cité Radieuse into art space MAMO made him the natural choice to design Cassina’s beautiful LC50 tribute to the architect for D’Days 2015 in Paris.

Having given Dutch Design capital letters, Droog has grown into a mini-empire. Co-founder Renny Ramakers opened the one-bedroom Hotel Droog concept in Amsterdam in 2012, a store and gallery in Hong Kong in 2013 and published an anthology last year. In 2015, her mini hardware store concept turned heads at Salone

Furniture is rarely as refined as that created by Fien Muller and Hannes Van Severen, with their rigorously austere pieces evolving naturally out of their creative backgrounds (his in sculpture, hers in photography). A colourful furniture and lighting collection for London’s Viaduct gallery this year hinted at a future direction.

Grawunder worked with Ettore Sottsass before going solo in 2001. She designs installations, interiors and objects, as well as pieces for the likes of Glas Italia and Boffi. She has a light installation at Robert, at the Museum of Art and Design in New York, and has had solo shows at Paris’ Carpenters Workshop Gallery.

Gitta Gschwendtner’s ‘Chair Bench’, which unites six iconic chairs from different eras and matches up their tops and bottoms randomly, is emblematic of her experimental approach to furniture. She has also designed exhibitions and is contributing to a new cancer centre for Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital in London

Parisian legend Pergay (sitting on the far left) continues to create in her eighties. She defined hi-luxe design before the current generation was even born (Dior, Hermès, Pierre Cardin and Fendi were all early adopters), and her vast back catalogue of curvaceous stainless steel designs has never been more coveted on the international auction circuit

Founded in 2006, the studio of Ralph Nauta and Lonneke Gordijn creates poetic works that tap into technology and nature. The duo’s Shylight installation at the Rijksmuseum, pictured, is shortlisted for a Dutch Design Award, while their kinetic glass installation for this year’s Venice Art Biennale explored human’s desire to fly

A furniture collection for Arflex Japan saw the quintessentially luxe designer experimenting with high-tech modelling systems to elegant effect. A former head of visual communications for Louis Vuitton, he set up his studio in 2000, creating crisply detailed interiors for the likes of Tacchini, Glas Italia and Ethimo

The line-up might change more often than a 1970s prog rock band (the studio started as a foursome in 2004, became a trio in 2009, and turned duo in 2014) but the work continues to intrigue. They bring a strong playful sensibility to their designs, creating products for the likes of Moooi, Thonet, Kartell, Moroso and Porro

The radical oeuvre of Israeli-born Benshetrit includes the shattered and reassembled ‘Vase of Phases’ for Rosenthal, and the brilliantly plumed ‘Peacock Chair’ for Cappellini. He also created an island of luxury residences in Abu Dhabi, the chic SoHo Synagogue in Manhattan, and is venturing into skyscraper design

Craig Bassam and Scott Fellows are masters of understated luxury. Their eponymous furniture line unites modernist architectural principles and artisanal production, and they have also collaborated with Bally, Herman Miller and Geiger. The duo launched a lifestyle gallery in Milan last year, and recently introduced a clothing collection, pictured

Stylist and designer Toogood imagined two opposite set-ups at this year’s London Design Festival – a cloakroom containing 150 compressed foam coats at the V&A, pictured, and a redrafted drawing room at Somerset House. Her client list includes Hermès, Tom Dixon and Comme des Garçons

Crafted in copper, hand-blown glass, brass and knotted rope, Adelman’s lighting designs have evoked everything from celestial bodies to sea creatures. The Manhattanite takes a hands-on approach and this summer created a music video to showcase her latest collection

The Brazilian designer spent his formative years working with Sergio Rodrigues before opening his studio in 2011. Recently named Maison & Objet Americas Designer of the Year 2015, he works mainly in wood and metal, producing furniture for his eponymous brand. This year saw new pieces in wood for Espasso (pictured) and his first monograph

Chan set up lighting design studio Isometrix in 1984. With a rare grasp of lighting technology, he has enhanced spaces such as Georges at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, The Wolseley in London, The Gramercy Park Hotel in New York, pictured, and The Upper House in Hong Kong. Among his collaborators are Jean Nouvel and Zaha Hadid.

Borrowing from a medieval armour-making technique, RCA graduate Hasan developed an acclaimed furniture range in hardened leather, which then translated into a Wallpaper* Handmade project with Poltrona Frau and a mannequin project for Fendi. He has also collaborated with Kvadrat and British interiors brand Linley

French designer Matali Crasset’s showstopping offering at this year’s Salone was the mobile ‘Self-made’ seat for Campeggi, which reimagined the sofa as a series of individual modules that could be carried like suitcases. She followed that up with a tabletop set that included impossibly understated, sycamore plates

A pioneer in the integration of technology and domestic design, French designer Lehanneur was this year appointed head of the Paris-based Aesthetics Research Centre of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei, the world’s third largest smartphone manufacturer. A 20-sided wireless speaker for Binauric was another 2015 coup.

Pictured: an otherworldly set for Audemars Piguet at Art Basel 2014

Making everyday objects special, Bergne’s hits include his ‘Dizzy’ glass, with a conical base that gives a spinning effect, and the stackable and infinitely adaptable ‘Square’ chair for Tog. His broad output also includes a hot milk service for culinary think-tank Milk Factory, and the torch for 2015’s first ever European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan

Alonso’s work (stackable steel cutlery for Italesse, reclaimed wood chairs for the V&A and folding tables for Cos and Hay) belie his intellectual design process. He creates products that are understated, poetic and functional, and was one of the winners of this year’s Swarovski Designers of the Future Award.

Midwesterner Bernett’s foray into design began with a chance encounter with Le Corbusier’s ‘LC4’. His ‘Metropolitan’ and ‘Tulip’ for B&B Italia, pictured, which pay homage to Ejnar Larsen and Eero Saarinen, are among the best selling chairs in the US. He has also worked for Cappellini, Ligne Roset and Design Within Reach

Marigold is best known for artfully awry shelves assembled from branches and crates, and metal homewares that take on wooden patterns. His eclectic client list ranges from Oyuna to Paul Smith and Sony, and recent work includes bowls and cups for Meissen, and galvanised steel shelving for SCP.

Pictured: Split series, 2007

Azambourg has put himself at the forefront of material technology with fibre-optic lamps for Galerie Kreo, a leather-and-foam briefcase for Hermès weighing only 700g, and seating for Cappellini created with the same techniques as Bugatti racing cars. He recently launched his own label, Auto-Edition

Bracher trained in New York and Copenhagen, led Tom Dixon’s design studio and was then creative director for Georg Jensen. Cindy Crawford’s beauty mark informed his ‘Tod’ table for Zanotta. Having lent his talents to Herman Miller, Humanscale and 3M, he is now lauded as the future of American design

Slovenian product and interior designer Zupanc’s work is witty, visually delightful and pristine. Her commissions include Moooi and Moroso, and her ongoing collaboration with Sè was unveiled in Milan last year and expanded with new pieces in 2015. She also has her own brand of precious and whimsical furniture

Willenz, who founded his Brussels studio in 2004, has an industrial, minimalist style, making him a favourite of Established & Sons, Cappellini and Hay. This year he worked with marble brand Retegui on a series of mirrors (pictured), shelves and accessories, and created bold, geometric rugs for Ligne Roset, Menu and Nodus

Vivid colour is the signature of Italian designer Lenti, who founded her eponymous company in 1994 after training in graphics. Cheerful forms and high-tech fabrics (often designed in-house) have made her one of the most sought-after names in garden furniture. She has just released a line of rugs with Maharam

De la Fontaine trained with Richard Sapper and worked with Piero Lissoni and Patricia Urquiola before founding design collective Dante-Goods and Bads with his wife Aylin Langreuter in 2012 (pictured is a table from the brand). He has also worked for Rosenthal, among others, for whom his timeless ‘Format’ collection remains a best seller

Stockholm-based Italian designer Nichetto has worked for a host of major brands. His impressive 2015 output includes the ‘Nick’ bed for Molteni & C (pictured), the ‘Plass’ light for Foscarini and silvered-glass side tables for Verreum, all shown in Milan, plus an installation of new lamps for Swedish company Hem at the London Design Festival

Park’s poetic pieces are crafted from slabs of translucent resin, tinged in block colours and seamlessly joined, providing a thoughtful meditation on purity and ambiguity. The South Korean designer splits his time between Rotterdam and Paris, where he recently had a solo show at Carpenter’s Workshop Gallery, pictured

Tiles are generally the bottom feeders in the design world, standing on the very last rung in a long rank of product that deserves the attention of the world’s top architects and industrial designers. An exception to this rule is the Italian ceramic maker Mutina who in the span of just ten years has attracted a kilowatt-like clan of designers into its roster, including Patricia Urquiola, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, and Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby.  

'We started with Patricia in 2008,' says Mutina CEO Massimo Orsini. 'It took forever to even get an appointment with her, but then she got it immediately. Now she and the other designers realise that we do things differently; we bring design to ceramics.'  

The latest to be lured into this promise is Konstantin Grcic. Though the German designer is famed for his chairs, lights and furnishings, he’d never designed ceramics before. 'It’s a completely new world,' he said by phone from Fiorano, where Mutina was celebrating their 10th anniversary with an exhibit in their Angelo Mangiarotti-designed industrial headquarters. 'I’m very much a product designers. I never work on architectural elements — the walls and floors are always a given. So there was something very elementary but also very radical about tiles.'

Grcic cut squared tiles of 30x30cm and 60x60cm that each feature a different, partially glazed geometric form on the surface that creates a half raw, half finely glossed effect. The tiles come in six different earthy tones.     

'80 per cent of production of ceramics today are made from fake wood, or fake stone and it’s extremely annoying,' adds Ronan Bouroullec, who together with his brother Erwan also presented a new collection for Mutina, their second for the company. 'But now Mutina has entered in this field with a new direction, great quality and they’re such a big success.' 

Entitled 'Rombini', the Bouroullec brother’s tiles required two years of research and are composed of three models: tiles, mosaics and relief elements that can all be used together to create unusual surfaces. 

'The [Bouroullec’s designs] are very particular, but they follow their wonderful poetry, while Grcic’s are very rigorous and geometric,' Orsini remarks of the new collections.  'All of our work involves techniques that are never used anymore. The degree of difficulty is very high,but that’s also what makes us unique.'

Now in its ninth year, the British Land Celebration of Design recognise past, present and future talent in the city and beyond. The four winners are awarded with a medal designed by London Jeweller Hannah Martin, illustrating the Cockney Sparrow

With a new edition of the London Design Festival comes a new selection of winners for the London Design Medal. Now in its ninth year, this accolade is an important step in recognising past, present and future talent in the city and beyond, and the four winners announced this morning mark an important celebration of London and its creative energy.

The British Land Celebration of Design, re-christened after the London developer’s involvement which started last year, pays tribute to Barber Osgerby, who won the Panerai Medal for their multidisciplinary, multi-skilled work as a partnership for the past 25 years. Legendary set designer (and once Wallpaper* Design Award Judge) Sir Ken Adam was awarded with the Lifetime Achievement Medal, paying tribute to his work on legendary film sets and, as the jury explains, ‘someone who has been a leader in his field throughout his career.’ The other two awards were given to Concrete Canvas co-founders Peter Brewin and Will Crawford and Dutch designer Marjan Van Aubel, who respectively won the PCH Design Innovation and the Swarovski Emerging Talent awards. 

The winning quartet forms a strong view of London design, and a stronger still argument in favour of a London-based arts education: Sir Ken Adam trained as an architect at the Bartlett School, while Barber Osgerby, the duo behind Concrete Canvas and Aubel all came out of the Royal College of Art at different times. ‘One of the reasons why we do these awards and the reason the whole festival exists,’ explains Festival director Ben Evans, ‘is to continue to position London as a leading design place, and the only reason that we are able to sustain that, and to continue to do that on an incredible basis, is through people coming here and choosing to be here.’

Barber Osgerby were chosen for the Medal because of the diversity of their work, which springs from their background in architecture but expands to a variety of furniture, product and interiors works – what Evans admiringly calls the ‘breadth and depth’ of their practice. The criteria of the Medal, he explains, is to recognise someone who has had a consistent and rich period of excellence in their career, and the British duo are a fitting example of that. ‘They are the most eminent designers who can turn their hand to pretty much any application of design and do it successfully,’ he argues. ‘Let's not underestimate how difficult that is, to be multi skilled in your design application; I think they are a very good example of that.’

This multi-skilled feature is well exemplified by the other winners as well. At just ten years of age, Concrete Canvas has contributed to revolutionise what concrete can do, and its two founders have stretched with ease the fields of its application. From civil Infrastructure and mining and petrochemical sectors to furniture objects, the material has proved incredibly from an application point of view and its creators have emerged as true business-minded innovators. 

Dutch designer Marjan Van Aubel has similarly been able to do things with design that are innovative and brave. Her work, from the Current Table made of solar panels to the foam porcelain objects, is permeated by a mix of innovative ideas and thorough scientific research. Her work looks more into science and the impact of new inventions and technologies than into pure aesthetics, merging the two with nonchalance. ‘This is the most challenging of the categories,’ Evans explains, since the judges don’t have a lifetime of work or a wide experience to draw on. ‘We are trying to honor someone we have an instinctive view of their future.’ Van Aubel wowed the jury for her brave approach to design, her ability to combine design and scientific notions and most importantly, for the ideas. ‘She is very much a designer full of ideas,’ enthuses Evans, ‘and in my view, in the heart of every great design is a wonderful idea.’

The award, which will be celebrated this week at Canada House, celebrates the immense contribution the four designers have made, in different measures, to the quality of our lives. 'We experience design all day, every day, and we don't really think about it,' explains Evans. ‘You only notice it when it's really bad or really good, and all these people give us great pleasure, the design ideas they offered us are great moments, that's what makes life good.’

Ed Barber and Jay Osgerby won the Panerai Medal for their multidisciplinary, multi-skilled work as a partnership for the past 25 years. They were chosen for the Medal because of the diversity of their work, which springs from their background in architecture but expands to a variety of furniture, product and interiors works, including the Olympic torch, pictured, and new trains for the upcoming Crossrail

Tha pair have demonstrated a particular design sensibility, and an ability to reinvent mundane objects - their exercises in sitting are particularly valid, as demonstrated with the Tip Ton chair for Vitra, left, and the Pilot chair for Knoll, right

Earlier this year, they reated a collection of kitchen and tableware for Royal Doulton, featuring simple shapes punctuated by intermittently matte or shiny surfaces

Legendary set designer (and once Wallpaper* Design Award Judge) Sir Ken Adam was awarded with the Lifetime Achievement Medal, recognising his work on legendary film sets and, as the jury explains, ‘someone who has been a leader in his field throughout his career.’ Trained as an architect at the Bartlett School, Adam went on to design some of the most iconic film sets, ranging from the James Bond movies to Kubrik’s Doctor Strangelove, whose War Room is generally considered the best film set ever designed

From civil Infrastructure and mining and petrochemical sectors to furniture objects, concrete has proved it’s metal from an application point of view and its creators have emerged as true business-minded innovators

The Swarovski Medal for Emerging Talent was awarded to Dutch designer Marjan Van Aubel, whose work looks at science and the impact of new inventions and technologies, merging them with brilliant aesthetics in her design work

Louis Vuitton is providing a little respite from the Salone-filled streets of Milan this week with a show dedicated to its 'Objets Nomades' at Palazzo Bocconi.

The French giant has transformed the opulent interiors of Milan's Palazzo Bocconi into a scene straight out of a luxury jungle safari this week, as part of the city's annual Salone del Mobile festivities. Arranged across the Palazzo's marble and marquetry floors and interspersed with lush green foliage, the exclusive 'Objets Nomades' collection of lighting and furniture was originally launched in 2012 and is inspired by the maison's history of innovative luggage design. 

'Before Louis Vuitton, all trunks were leather and had domed tops - the idea being that if it rained the water would run off,' explains Jay Osgerby of London studio Barber Osgerby, one of the founding design firms behind the 'Objects Nomades' collection. 'Then along came Louis Vuitton and invented this impregnated canvas finish in the familiar check pattern, that meant you could have a square, stackable, flat-topped trunk with 20 percent more storage capacity. Their success as a company has always come through careful thinking about the market and through beautiful making.' It's this philosophy, or savoir faire as Vuitton calls it, that the Nomades collection seeks to celebrate.

Barber Osgerby's portable, solar powered 'Bell' lamp, blown from Murano glass and housed in a hand-stitched leather enclosure, was debuted back in 2012 alongside a portable, hanging cabinet covered in recycled leather off-cuts by the Campana Brothers. Featuring alongside was a knitwear-inspired leather hammock and a folding travel stool by Atelier Öi. Since then, the collection has grown year-on-year, fortified by products such as a portable 'Beach' chair by Maarten Baas, a perforated leather 'Surface' lamp by Nendo and Patricia Urquiola's ingenious handbag that folds into a stool.

For 2015, new additions include a 'Concertina' chair, side table and lamp made using a series of folding leather panels by design studio Raw Edges. 'We like to find a principle and then to try and apply it to different objects,' say the London-based duo. 'In this case we started with the armchair, which is the most challenging, then applied the comfort, foldability, strength and finally the mechanism to the table and light, which was a very joyful process'. Gwenaël Nicolas' folding fabric lamp and roll-up, leather-edged canvas bed were inspired by Ernest Hemingway's travels to Africa, while Damien Langlois-Meurinne's elegant valet stand and hanging plant holder, assembled from leather-covered poles and gilded brass brackets, nod to Louis Vuitton's historical made-to-measure trunks that opened up to reveal clever storage compartments and mechanisms. 

Following this year's debuts, the meticulously crafted collection now comprises sixteen luxury items fit for the most discerning of travellers, from the deck of a superyacht to the dunes of the Sahara and beyond.

The sleeping security guard is already the star of this year's edition of Frieze. He sits, we assume he sits there still, head propped against a wall of the Hauser & Wirth stand, snoozing oblivious, tweeted and Instagrammed, gone social, possibly even viral. It doesn't look like a happy sleep, or a tormented sleep or an active sleep, just a standard preparation for death sleep. Frieze can get you that way.

Visitors look at the tagged-up security guide and smile or think about a prod. Is he art or just a lazy sentinel? He is art of course - phew, no unpleasantness required then - actually Sleeping Guard by Christoph Büchel. And he is part of what is easily the most interesting and successfully conceived stand at the fair.

Curated by Mark Wallinger, a new signing for Hauser & Wirth, the stand is cluttered and domestic. Titled 'A Study in Red and Green', it is a take on Sigmund Freud's study in Hampstead and greater than the sum of its Louise Bourgeois, Martin Creed, Paul McCarthy, Roni Horn, Subodh Gupta (amongst others) parts. It feels nocturnal, like the seemingly random-but-not-stops of a restless unconscious. Perhaps these are the security guard's dreams. Who knows what he has seen. There are other interesting things to look at, disorientating and random in their own way, but nothing as arresting.

Carsten Höller has created a kindergarten at the Gagosian stand. Which is nice. Cory Arcangel's carpet on the Lisson Gallery stand is a success. The gallery goes big on Arcangel's video pieces and Ryan Gander's concrete sculptures and to good effect. Thomas Dane's stand is well composed and I liked the paintings by Ella Kruglyanskaya, a New York-based Latvian, at the Gavin Brown stand which looked French and flighty and funny though no one else seemed much taken.

There is a strong showing from Brazilian galleries this year, including Galeria Luisa Strina from Sao Paulo and the excellent A Gentil Carioca from Rio. They are a welcome addition to the mix, even if most of the action is around the cluster of blue chips during the press and VIP opening (how 'V' is always hard to know. The Frieze caste system remains impenetrable.)

The experience (more of an 'assault' in the past) is also generally more civilised this year. BarberOsgerby's Universal Design Studio has designed the tent and the aisles are wide and there is more air in the air but still too few places to sit down and get your bearings. The VIPs - men in art scarves and art spectacles, tottering ladies in leopard print skirts with taut, tortured looking faces - are as worth watching as ever. And listening too.

The more abundant air is kissed, dinner arrangements made (and probably forgotten) before they wobble or glide back to their idling luxury sedans which will spend much of the rest of the day snarled and stuttering amongst other luxury sedans. While our security guard, happily or unhappily, remains oblivious.

ADDRESS

Frieze London
Regent’s Park
London NW1 4PJ

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Design duo Barber Osgerby's new show 'In the Making' at the Design Museum is aptly timed. It's unlikely to have escaped your notice that interest in how things are made is gaining traction. The days of design appearing without any hint of the physical systems or material changes are long gone - only the tech sector is content to roll out shelves of shiny gadgets with little hint as to how they were made. Modern design is more acutely about process, foregrounding the skills not just of the designers but of every stage of their supply chain.

Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby know this better than most. Since founding their design studio in 1996, the duo have built up an eclectic but never ostentatious portfolio, collaborating with many of the biggest names in furniture manufacturing - Knoll, Vitra, B&B Italia, Cappellini, Venini, Flos, et al - as well as working on high profile projects like the £2 coin and the 2012 Olympic Torch. Not only that, they have a clutch of design awards and a pair of freshly minted OBEs to their name.

'In The Making' is the studio's first Design Museum exhibition. When Deyan Sudjic initially floated the idea, Barber and Osgerby thought about a retrospective show, but it swiftly became apparent that other ideas were bubbling up. 'There are themes we've never talked about, even in our recent book,' says Jay Osgerby. 'We're most passionate about seeing how things are made,' adds Barber, 'we always visit the factory whenever we meet with a manufacturer.'

'In The Making' is a physical presentation of this fascination, a 'collection of curiosities,' according to Osgerby. Explains Barber: 'We want to see how the manufacturing processes work. How things like waste products and intermediary stages work - sometimes the unfinished object is more magical.' This is a show about production, but also about objects. Removed from the context of the machines or craftspeople that shape them, each exhibit stands alone, spotlit on a plinth, offering us another way of seeing the strangely familiar.

Although the show only includes three items penned by Barber Osgerby themselves, it's safe to say that every item has some kind of personal relevance, regardless of the age of the manufacturing process. The designers are also keen to stress the educational benefits of such an approach. 'It's a nice antidote to the click and buy generation,' says Osgerby, 'we want to make people more fascinated by making.'

Kicking off with the vast front section of a London Underground train, shaped in several layers of superformed aluminium, 'In The Making's' curatorial process was akin to stepping up to the production line and removing an item at a critical stage, with each object labelled to show what stage it was 'paused' at.

Some are more recognisable than others - the marble emerging from the tube of glass, or the block of cedar wood pencils caught mid process. Others are far more abstract, some tantalisingly so, such as the graphic simplicity of the die cut felt used to make tennis balls - paused at 50% with a neat pattern of lozenge-shaped holes - or the blob of pure silicon before it has been shaved into wafers for making chips, or even the pure crystal that will ultimately become one of Swarovski's precision optic lenses.

Many of the objects on display are shown emerging from processes that are hundreds of years old, like the corks cut from a slice of bark, or the lovingly honed and finished cone of brass that's en route to becoming a French horn. More contemporary objects sits alongside, such as the pre-routed billet of aluminium destined to become a MacBook or the raw injection moulded foam of B&B Italia's Charles Sofa, sans upholstery.

'We tried to go for everyday objects, but we also wanted to get across as many different production processes as we could,' says Barber. The studio's own Tip Ton Chair is shown before the injected plastic has had a chance to fill the mould, leaving an uncanny-looking half-finished object ('It was brave of Vitra to let us show this,' Osgerby muses).  

The presentation increases the sense of focus on a singular point in the journey of what are often very pragmatic objects - pencils, house bricks, tennis balls. 'It's like a jewellery shop,' says Barber, as he reaches across to make last minute adjustments to a spotlight or caption. Ultimately, as Sudjic notes, Barber Osgerby are 'designers who still care about things,' and the exhibition conveys a sense of wonder at the world (bolstered by a series of captivating process videos along one wall).

Even the most prosaic item has a hidden story - the metal bar that holds a fork's tines in place before being struck off at the very end of manufacturing, the fact that mixer taps are always produced in mirrored pairs for efficiency, or the modern aluminium drinks can being punched out from a flat sheet, rather than rolled up. 'In The Making' offers an insight - albeit a carefully curated one - into the realm of manufacturing, hopefully helping to inspire new generations of designers to take up the torch.

ADDRESS

Design Museum
Shad Thames
London SE1 2YD

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Design duo Barber Osgerby have beaten everyone to the finishing line, scooping the Design of the Year 2012 at last night’s Design Museum awards ceremony for their Olympic Torch, fighting off competition from the likes of architecture firm Foster + Partners, and fashion designer Mary Katrantzou.

Britain's current Olympic mania may have given the pair a push in the right direction but their flame-burner – which also picked up the Product Award – rightly wins praise for its supremely functional, lightweight form, striking aesthetic and the advanced technology used to create it. The torch is crafted from an aluminium alloy, developed for the aerospace and automotive industries and features 8,000 holes (representing the number of people who will carry it), created using a new laser-cutting technology called Fire on the Fly.

In five short years, the annual awards have become a prestigious celebration showcasing the cream of the creative crop. They span seven diverse categories (with nominees and winners currently on display at the Design Museum until 4 July) ranging from transport to graphics and digital. Category winners this year included Hopkins Architects for their London 2012 Velodrome, which secured the Architecture Award, and RCA Graduate, Kihyun Kim, who won the Furniture Award for his balsa wood chair.

The esteemed panel of judges included our very own editor-at-large, Henrietta Thompson, culture pundits Evgeny Lebedev and Sir George Iacobescu, as well as Dutch designer Hella Jongerius.

Many of the winners and nominees have graced Wallpaper* print and web pages this year, including the Olympic Torch and David Chipperfield's Hepworth Wakefield (winner of our 'best new public building' Design Award), which shows that great minds think alike when it comes to spotlighting the best design.

Architecture nominee: Spaceport America, New Mexico by Foster Partners
Photography: Nigel Young. Courtsey: Foster Partners

Architecture nominee: The Iron Market, Port-au-Prince, Haiti by John McAslan Partners

Fashion nominee: Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty, New York, USA by Andrew Bolton with the support of Harold Koda of The Costume Institute, New York USA
Photography: Sølve Sundsbø

ADDRESS

The Design Museum
Shad Thames
London, SE1 2YD

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Jay Osgerby likes planes. He grew up near a Royal Airforce base in Oxfordshire and watched the planes ascend and descend. Edward Barber likes boats and sailed as a child. Ascent, the pair's debut show at London's Haunch of Venison - the penultimate show at the gallery's temporary Burlington Gardens home - picks up on this love of boats and plane design, if as elegant abstractions.

The exhibition's eight limited-edition pieces are fantastic fins, foils and glowing discs. 'Those things that have evolved or that have been engineered to move swiftly through air or water often have an intrinsic formal beauty,' says Osgerby. So Foil V looks like part of a remarkable polished-brass plane. And Planform Array V and Planform Array H, huge eight- and 13-piece mobiles with each wooden segment wrapped in Japanese paper, come off like tributes to the earliest aviators.

The pair also brought in craftspeople used to working with complex designs. They collaborated with a British boat builder on Frame 1, for instance. 'All these pieces are produced by skilled craftspeople who are able to combine computer-aided production techniques with their traditional skills,' says Barber, 'something we refer to as "engineered craft".'

ADDRESS

6 Burlington Gardens
London
W1S 3ET

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With its triangular form and 8,000 holes referencing the number of people who will carry it, Barber Osgerby's prototype for the 2012 Olympic torch has already been dubbed 'the cheesegrater' after its unveiling at St Pancras Station today, but the designers aren't phased. 'We were searching for a nickname ourselves but maybe this works best,' they told us. 'Perhaps we should approach Alessi to turn it into kitchenware once the Olympics are over...'

Like its namesake, it's an agile, lightweight and functional piece of kit, coming in at 800m and 800g. Crafted from an aluminium alloy developed for the aerospace and automotive industry that is extremely strong and heat resistant, its diaphanous form allows people to see right to the heart of the torch and view the burner system that keeps the Olympic flame alive as it takes its 8,000 mile journey across the country before lighting the cauldron during the opening ceremony on 27th July 2012.

We caught up with Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby to find out what inspired their design and what hurdles they had to jump to bring it to fruition.

Scoring this commission is something of a gold medal in itself. What did it mean to you?

The Olympic torch is the ultimate design object for industrial designers. Along with the medals, it's one of the two things that last once the games are over. These are the things that go in the museums.

What was the brief and how did you reconcile the weight of expectation with what you wanted to achieve?

It was a pretty hefty document! But the client was very progressive and encouraged us to innovate. Very occasionally you work on a project that completely finds its own way and this was definitely one of them.
We agreed that we wanted the design to represent the torch relay in some way, hence the holes. And when we were researching the games we kept coming across trinities, like the three words of the Olympic motto - faster, higher and stronger - and the fact that this will be the third time the games have been held in London. So this provided a cue for its three-sided form, which is actually very beneficial for grip, as are the holes. Narrative and practical issues kept coming together in the design.

Has the production process taken you into any uncharted territory?

To cut the holes we are using a brand new laser-cutting technology called Fire on the Fly - the fastest in the world. This technology wouldn't have been possible had the games been a few years ago but it's essential for ensuring the torches are finished in time, as there are 80 million holes to be cut.

What were the biggest challenges?

We were keen that the torch should be more than just a trophy and also be about performance. Yet, we weren't aware of exactly what the Olympic relay might entail. The torches need to be able to withstand everything from icy conditions on the top of Ben Nevis, to severe gales and torrential downpours, so the design took a lot of refining.

Have you been racing across the country testing it out?

Yes. And we've been putting it through its paces at BMW's wind tunnel. Thankfully it passed.