sedie, tavolo, banco per scuola, Hispaniola-Design per Solidarietà, “Paco Y Paco”, Claudio Larcher, Modoloco

“It is not enough that we build products that function, that are understandable and usable, we also need to build products that bring joy and excitement, pleasure and fun, and, yes, beauty to people’s lives.”

 

[Don Norman,

director of The Design Lab at University of California, San Diego]

A few decades of attending fairs, magazines, conferences, and websites dedicated to furniture design and tables and chairs will come out a bit from the eyes, right? If it does not happen, you are very good at 'resetting' yet another copy of the copy, keeping only the essential memory. In this case, there will be enough room in the brain to look with fresh eyes, or at least detox, at the projects selected in this section.
Yes, because still of chairs and tables it is - mostly school desks and stools - but here the project is confronted with such 'other' and specific contexts, and with such a huge amount of constraints and restrictions to get out of it refreshed, toned, packed with content and - in some cases - poetic. This section includes the proposals made by a group of designers for the 'escuelitas' of the slums of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Another similar project is to Made in Slums for the school "Why Not Academy" in Nairobi. Here Francesco Faccin is on site from design to self-build furniture and equipment.

Then there is the experience of the Berlin based Cucula collective. Does anyone remember the Self-design manual by Enzo Mari? The year was 1974. The manual intended to elicit a critical view from the bottom with respect to the industrial monopoly in the production of furniture. Mari has allowed young Berliners to take advantage of his open-source furniture. Thus it was born a pilot initiative that designs and manufactures furnishing items with and for migrants.
In this section you will find also a school desk able to withstand an earthquake and save the lives of those who take shelter under it; a cardboard bed resistant to weight and humidity, ready in a few minutes, and more. Follow the insights on the blog... and if these days you visit the Milan Salone del Mobile keep calm and stay focused.

in this section

- HISPANIOLA-DESIGN FOR

SOLIDARITY:

PACO Y PACO

COSTA

BRICKS

ABC

L'AMACA (THE HAMMOCK)

BODY PART

PEQUENOS PASOS

SCUOLA X

BO&HIO

ABC

- ‘WHY NOT ACADEMY’ NAIROBI

- CUCULA – DESIGN & CRAFTS

- THE EARTHQUAKE-PROOF TABLE

- LEAFBED

Hispaniola-Design for Solidarity:

Paco Y Paco - Claudio Larcher / Modoloco

(Ph. credits: Max Rommer)