design

VNIITE: Discovering Utopia: Lost Archives of Soviet Design

31 August 2018 in Books Comment

VNIITE: Discovering Utopia: Lost Archives of Soviet Design

Authors: Alexandra Sankova and Olga Druzhinina
Editor: Mark Sinclair
Design: Spin

Edition of 2000

We are delighted to announce that VNIITE – Discovering Utopia: Lost Archives of Soviet Design is now available to pre-order. Written by the Moscow Design Museum’s Alexandra Sankova and Olga Druzhinina, the book tells the previously untold story of the VNIITE – the All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Technical Aesthetics.

Formed in Soviet Russia in 1962, by the design visionary Yuri Soloviev, this vast network contained Moscow’s most progressive designers. The ‘Vniitians’, as they were called, designed for the future and developed new theories and approaches to design in the USSR.

But more than ﬁfty years later, the organisation is all but forgotten. It’s hard to fathom how such an institution, dedicated to the promotion of utopian design, in theory and in practice, and the improvement of design standards within the Soviet Union, could have faded so far from view. After the disintegration of the USSR, the VNIITE and its library of images and prototypes were presumed lost.

Until now, that is. Thanks to the efforts of the Moscow Design Museum – and the discovery of the personal archives of some of the VNIITE designers – the story of this remarkable organisation is being pieced back together.

Alongside images of sketches, models and prototypes, the book also includes a selection of covers of one of the USSR’s hidden gems of graphic design – the VNIITE’s monthly journal, Technical Aesthetics. Showcased together for the first time, these covers chart Soviet graphic trends from the 1960s to the early 1990s.

In the pages of this book you can see some of the more compelling examples of utopian Soviet design. As the designer Paula Scher notes, the work offers a balance between ‘the communist desire for a perfectly-designed world against the real world of human competitiveness and inequality’.

Size: 240mm×170mm
Pages: 224
Print: Four colour litho
Cover: Foiled
ISBN: 978-1-9164573-0-0

Unit Editions

PH House — Norm Architects

19 August 2018 in Architecture Comment

PH House
Norm Architects

Norm Architects have restored and rebuilt a historic villa in Copenhagen after a devastating fire. The story goes that the house used to be inhabited by the renowned Danish architect, designer and cultural critic, Poul Henningsen.

The villa, located in Copenhagen, is said to have been the home of the famous, danish design-icon, Poul Henningsen. Today, a family of three resides in the historic house – a modern home that holds references to its original state – with beautiful high panels, parquet flooring, low, paned windows, teak furniture and – of course – retro PH lamps hanging over the kitchen island.

“The house being a former home – or summerhouse – of Poul Henningsen wasn’t my initial motivation to buy the house, but coincidentally I’ve been collecting his lamps for quite some time, so you’ll find them around the house.” says the owner.

Unfortunately not much of the original building was left after the fire in 2014, but while rebuilding the house it was possible, by increasing the height of the facades, to extend the top floor from approximately 40m2 to 100m2, which has made the house more suitable as a modern family home.

With a clean and minimal approach, the classic elements of the house have been restored and elegantly combined with contemporary details, making for timeless interiors and generally warm aesthetics. The dark mid-century teak furniture and minimal marble plinths create beautiful contrasts, boasting a clean and subtle elegance against the plain, white walls and dark inbuilt kitchen elements in sawcut smoaked oak.

With light coming in from different angles, every room of the house is bright, filled with daylight and comfortable to be in.

The ground floor of the house has been changed from small divided rooms into one big living area with windows on all sides, only subdivided centrally by bespoke elements; a large kitchen cabinet covered in dark stained oak separating the kitchen and the living room, and a central staircase, creating a dynamic, semi-open space with soft transitions.

The floating steps in solid oak create a flow between the basement, ground floor and top floor, connecting the house vertically in a harmonious and contemporary way with skylights flooding the staircase in natural daylight and increasing the sense of height in the house.

The minimal kitchen in smoked oak with bronzed brass handles, designed by Norm Architects for Danish kitchen manufacturer Reform is complimented by a sculptural kitchen island in a light grey ceramic stone, and both the kitchen and bathroom of the house sports slim brass faucets.

Norm Architects

Olma Posters

18 June 2018 in Design Comment

olma.ch

European Cultural Academy — Courses in Contemporary Architecture and Design

15 June 2018 in Architecture Comment

Courses in Contemporary Architecture and Design during Venice Biennale
Summer courses at the European Cultural Academy in Venice
May 22–November 17, 2018

European Cultural Academy
4013 Campo Manin
30124 Venice
Italy

Courses in Contemporary Architecture and Design during Venice Biennale 2018.
The European Cultural Academy, Venice offers three summer courses this year that focus on architecture, the Biennale and design, specifically developed to align with the 16. Biennale Architettura—FREESPACE topic. The courses are constructed by James Taylor-Foster Contemporary curator at ArkDes, Sweden’s national centre for architecture and design and former European editor-at-large at ArchDaily.

Contemporary Architecture
The course fosters an understanding of the relationship between buildings and the city at large. Buildings are not isolated objects: they must react and respond to very particular urban conditions if they are to stand the test of time and, of course, delight us. In Venice this concern is particularly acute. These fundamental observations form the springboard for this course. The course is a combination of theory, workshops and visits. The introduction to People and Places provides the theoretical background while the workshop Drawing, Modelling & Photography provides the practical component. This segment of the course examines the three core tools in the architects’ toolbox: two- dimensional drawing, three-dimensional modelling, photography, and film. Visits include amongst others the Fondaco dei Tedeschi (by OMA), Venice Biennale and Punta della Dogana (by Tadao Ando).

Venice Biennale
This course gets to the grips with the 16th Architecture Biennale. Tours and reflections by experts and practitioners allows you to take the time to really see and understand the Biennale, large in scale and, for that reason, oftentimes intimidating: its history, contemporary position on the world stage, it’s unique model of exhibiting, and why it’s considered to be so important. Explore various ways to find your place in it: either as participant, organiser or experienced visitor. Visit the best country pavilions and have private tours with the organiser of Fentress Architects and Studio Daniel Libeskind installations.

Design: The World Around Us
This course focusses on understanding the role of design in relation to the built environment. In order to do this, it examines design as a broad topic: we are not interested in chairs, tables, and coffee cups. Design as field impacts all of us—at every moment of the day and across multiple scales. By exploring its relationship to architecture and urbanism, we aim to reveal its enduring relevance. The course is a combination of design theory and the significance of design at all scales, and what it means for our daily life. Further it explores colour theory, including myths and truths about the perception of colours. Visits include the iconic design sights such as the Olivetti Showroom and Orsoni Colour Library and meetings at local design studios.

europeanculturalacademy.com