Friday, July 16, 2010

CHOICE BEDS
















Low-Wave by Hannes Wettstein - Severe volumes for amazing functionality. Hannes Wettstein has designed the Wave series that mixes classical elegance with ergonomic comfort. The inside of the headboard houses a moving mechanism with two positions to ensure adequate support for comfortable reading. The whole range of Wave beds is available with covers in fabric, leather or micro-fibre with a matelassé design, all completely removable.

Extrabed by Fabien Baron - Detachable bed with fixed staves, satined stainless steel structure and wooden honeycomb base and headboard. Available in Canaletto walnut or matt lacquered in light grey, quartz grey or red color. White nylon feet.

Siena by Naoto Fukasawa - An essential look and a base and headboard in a drastically reduced size are the distinguishing features of a project by Naoto Fukasawa which conveys a great sense of lightness, thanks to the base projecting from the whole perimeter of the bed. The top of the back panel inserted into the base features a short turned-up section where you can rest your arm comfortably when you are seated. Two tubular metal supports hold up the frame; a version is available with casters at the rear that make it easy to move. The base frame contains a metal mesh with pre-curved beech wood slats.

Legnoletto by Alfredo Haberli - The appearance of LegnoLetto is anything but technical. There is no wooden frame, and the legs are not attached to the corners, as is normally the case. These characteristics, as well as the unusually high legs, are responsible for the ease and striking appearance of the bed. For different widths, five different choices of head and foot design and seven colors (including natural wood) offer a huge range of compositional options. This variety opens up endless images of a new kind of wooden bed.

Charles by Antonio Citterio - The Charles bed is characterized by the "inverted L"-shaped feet in polished aluminium, the signature trait of the Charles line, and by its classic simplicity. The Charles bed is available in a range of fully removable fabric covers and non-removable leathers.

links:
www.molteni.it
www.cappellini.it
www.bebitalia.it
www.aliasusa.com

images: (click on images to enlarge)
Low-Wave by Hannes Wettstein for Molteni&C (top)
Extrabed by Fabien Baron for Cappellini (2nd)
Siena by Nato Fukasawa for B&B Italia (3rd)
Legnoletto by Alfredo Haberli for Alias, c/o Steven Learner Studio (4th)
Charles by Antonio Citterio for B&B Italia (bottom)

PIERRE GUARICHE
















Pierre Guariche (1926 – 1995) was a student of Rene Gabriel at the school of the decorative arts in Paris. In 1951 he set up his own successful business, and created models for famous editors like Airborne, Steiner, Huchers-Minvielle, or Luminalite. In 1957 Pierre Guariche went to Belgium to manage the design department of a furniture manufacturer: Meurop. Rewarded for his work on numerous occasions, as the prestigious Rene Gabriel prize in 1965, he is considered today as one of the most talented of the young generation of designers emerging at the beginning of the 1950s.*

* c/o Decopedia

links:
http://www.architonic.com/dcobj/pierre-guariche/8101301/2/1
http://www.1stdibs.com/furniture_search.php?i_creator=Pierre+Guariche

images: (click on images to enlarge)
Kite wall lamp for Disderot c1950s, c/o Steven Learner Studio (top)
Tonneau chair for Steiner/Paris c1950s (2nd)
Steel rod upholstered arm chair c1950s (3rd)
Sideboard for Meubles TV c1950s (4th)
Equilibrium double-branch brass floor lamp c1950s (bottom)

Friday, July 9, 2010

GAETANO PESCE











Gaetano Pesce (1939 - ) is principal of the New York City-based international architecture and design firm Pesce Ltd, which undertakes diverse commissions in architecture, urban planning, interior and exhibition design, industrial design and publishing. In more than 30 years of practice, Pesce has conceived public and private projects in the United States, Europe, Latin America and Asia, from residences to gardens and corporate offices. Pesce's extensive body of work has been recognized for its emotive and tactile qualities, unrestrained use of color, and insistence upon innovative building materials developed through new technologies and has been described by prominent architecture critic Herbert Muschamp as "the architectural equivalent of a brainstorm".

Gaetano Pesce was trained at the University of Venice Faculty of Architecture. He has lived and worked in New York since 1980; previously, he resided in Paris for 15 years, which directly influenced the internationalism of his approach. Pesce has served as a visiting lecturer and professor at many prestigious institutions in America and abroad, including the Cooper Union in New York. He is currently a faculty member at the Institut d'Architecture et d'Etude Urbaines in Strasbourg. His work has been the subject of numerous publications and exhibitions, and in 1996 he was honored with both a comprehensive career retrospective at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris and the publication of the seminal volume, "Gaetano Pesce: Le temps des questions." Gaetano Pesce was the recipient of the influential Chrysler Award for Innovation and Designing 1993.

On the subject of his work, Pesce recently said: "For the past 30 years, I have been trying to give architecture back its capacity to be 'useful', by quoting recognizable, figurative images commonly associated with street life and popular culture, and by generating new typologies. I strive to seek new materials that fit into the logic of construction, while performing services appropriate to real needs. Architecture of the recent past has mostly produced cold, anonymous, monolithic, antiseptic, standardized results that are uninspiring. I have tried to communicate feelings of surprise, discovery, optimism, stimulation and originality".

Pesce is closely linked with innovative clients such as B&B Italia, Cassina, Vitra International and has recently just launched a home design collection called Open Sky. His architectural work can be seen across the globe: the Organic Building in Osaka, Japan, the Gallery Mourmans in Knokke-le-Zoute, Belgium, and the Schuman residence in New York. *

* Bio c/o dwr.com

related links:
http://www.gaetanopesce.com/
http://www.bebitalia.it/
http://www.cassina.com/
http://www.meritalia.it/
http://www.architonic.com/pmpro/gaetano-pesce/8100575/2/2/1
http://www.bonluxat.com/d/gaetano-pesce.html

images: (click on images to enlarge)
Serie Up 2000 armchair & ottoman for B&B Italia (top)
Feltri 357 armchair for Cassina (2nd)
La michetta sofa for Meritalia (3rd)
Organic Building, Osaka Japan (bottom)