strange symphony by philipp weber at DMY berlin 2013

philipp weber has re-appropriated a trumpet and employs it as a new tool for blowing glassvideo still © philipp weber

over the past 2000 years, very minor alterations have been made to the 1.5m long steel pipe used in the technique of glass blowing. investigating the history of this process, designer philipp weber asked himself, ‘what would happen to the glass, if the function of this tool radically change? would craftsman be able to adapt to a new pipe?’

weber observed that the device very much resembled that of a musical instrument, and decided to translate the mechanism of a trumpet into something used for blowing glass. working together with an engineer, he created a new implement–developing an allegorical bond between craft and music. in collaborating with a glass blower in belgium by the name of christophe genard, the designer encouraged him to use the revised tool, driving the craftsman to ‘improvise’ the shape of the glass, by playing the valves, forming the amorphous material from inside and activating different air streams. thus, the process of glass making became a performance.

video © philipp weber

‘strange symphony’ by philpp weber is being showcased in the DMY berlin 2013 ‘new talents’ program which recognizes the work of emerging designers, offering them a platform in which to exhibit their forward-thinking approaches and research based projects to the greater public.

worm’s eye view of a ‘strange symphony’ performancevideo still © philipp weber

video still © philipp weber

trumpet head and appliance hardware which are merged to create the new tool

left: full view of the revised glass blowing tool by philipp weberright: an outcome of blowing glass using the trumpet

by playing the valves of the instrument, the craftsman is able to manipulate the glass

resulting glass piece

details

collection of glass objects blow using the trumpet tool

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berlin design week starts with the opening of the 11th DMY international design festival at berlin’s historic tempelhof airport:from june 5 to 9, 2013 DMY international design festival will present more than 500 designers from around 30 countries who show pioneering products and prototypes at berlin tempelhof airport. for the second year in a row, DMY hosts the design award of the federal republic of germany and presents all submissions and nominations in a large survey exhibition, which will also be on display at berlin tempelhof airport. as an additional attraction, DMY presents in cooperation with create berlin the 2012 successfully launched ‘night shift – long night of design studios’: more than 50 studios open their doors on the evening of june 6 throughout berlin.

central exhibitionin the hangars of berlin tempelhof airport, over 500 international designers, companies and universities present new products, prototypes and material innovations. 14 renowned universities provide insight into their current design research while design institutions from all over the world show group exhibitions as well as country and city presentations, including for instance the lodz art center or the house of design in groningen (NL).

country focus – polandpoland is the fifth host country of the DMY international design festival. in cooperation with the polish institute berlin, this years’ country focus draws particular attention on the design landscape of poland. with presentations from more than 40 design studios, companies, design universities and thematic exhibitions, the focus provides a comprehensive look at the contemporary design production of our second largest neighbouring country: from retrospectives of established design studios and developments of established brand producers, project shows from all leading design schools in the country to new projects and prototypes of talented young designers. in the professional field, the focus is on premium brands in the branches of interior design, furniture, lighting and home accessories.