Eliminating Anything Superfluous: Designing in Metals

Essay for INOUT exhibition
2007

Aluminum, brass, copper, nickel, steel, tin, titanium; 0.5mm, 0.6mm, 0.7mm, 0.8mm, 0.9mm, 1.0mm, 1.1mm, 1.2mm, 1.25mm, 1.4mm, 1.5mm, 1.6mm, 1.8mm, 2.0mm, 2.2mm, 2.5mm, 3.0mm, 4.0mm, 5.0mm, 6.0mm, 7.0mm, 8.0mm; CNC laser, electronic discharge, punch, shear, water jet; bend, coin, electromagnetic form, hem, hydraulic press, hydroform, machine press, punch, roll, sink, spin, stamp, swag; hardware, rivet, seam, weld; anodize, enamel, plate, powder coat; industrial, semi-industrial; agriculture equipment, air planes, buildings, car bodies, cell phones, computers, fixtures, food packaging, furniture, hardware, industrial equipment, kitchen appliances, medical equipment, military equipment, satellites, scientific equipment, shipping containers, trains; Ron Arad’s Well Tempered Chair, Konstantin Grcic’s Diana tables, Donald Judd’s metal furniture, Enzo Mari’s Ameland letter opener and Elisabetta trays, Bruno Munari’s Sicilia waste bin, Isamu Noguchi’s Prismatic Table, Jean Nouvel’s Less table, Jean Prouvé’s Trapéze table; German DIN 476 standard, ISO 216, 1922, Dr. Walter Porstmann, A0 – 841mm x 1189mm, A1 – 594mm x 841mm, A2 – 420mm x 594mm, A3 – 297mm x 420mm, A4 – 210mm x 297mm, A5 – 148mm x 210mm, A6 – 105mm x 148mm, A7 – 74mm x 105mm, A8 – 52mm x 74mm, A9 – 37mm x 52mm, A10 – 26mm x 37mm; Computer Numerical Control (CNC), 1940s – 1950s, John T. Parsons, MIT Servomechanisms Laboratory; Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation (Laser), 1960, Theodore H. Maiman, Hughes Research Laboratories; laser combined with CNC, 1980s; exhibition, INOUT Config. 2, Swiss designers, 5 projects, 28 entries, 5 jury members, aluminum, A0 – 841mm x 1189mm, powder coated black, varying thicknesses from 1mm to 5mm; Joerg Boner, Ronan Bouroullec, Stephen Burks, Chantal Prod’Hom, Francisco Torres; Big-Game’s modular suspension lamp, Martino d’Esposito’s trash can, Emanuelle Jaques’ triptyque suspension lamp, Nicolas Le Moigne’s stools, Adrien Rovero’s small table; abstract form, clumsiness affords it a strong presence, economy is not in itself an asset, rude geometry yields an aggressive effect, the emphasis placed on the detail dominates; assessment of strength by comparison, diversity, expression of ideals within an imposed format, rich historical context, within uniformity there is great freedom.

The US Furniture Industry

Edited by Francesca Picchi 
Domus 901 March 2007 

Sixty years ago, when George Nelson wrote about ‘The Furniture Industry’ in the pages of Fortune Magazine, modern furniture of top design quality was difficult to find in the United States. But this is no longer entirely the case, as today a segment of the American furniture industry is focused on producing exceptionally designed contemporary furniture manufactured with the latest technologies. And with 23,177 people visiting the 2006 International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York City, where attendance has more than doubled since 1996, there is obviously an increasing interest in design. Indeed, two major American television channels, Bravo and USA Network, have both created whole series on the subject of design. This situation has created an exciting climate, new opportunities and according to Alan Heller, founder of the homonymous New York based furniture brand, “A window open for design that we have not seen in America since the 1960s”. Or indeed since the Eameses.

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