'in progress'
grand-hornu images, belgium
on now until september 12th, 2010

for a long time, progress was embodied in the industrial creation of new products
that responded to real needs of individuals, for the improvement of daily life.
concerned with the well-being of everyone, the designer played a key role in the
creation of these objects that was associated with the ideology of progress.

now in the twenty-first century, it seems appropriate to re-think this idea of progress, 
leading us to the responsibility of the designer, in the relationship that he / she establishes
with the industry, in particular, and more generally with the public.

designboom visited the exhibition 'in progress' at grand-hornu images, belgium,
a show which brings together nine international designers to explore this idea of progress.
on this occasion, the selected designers have produced a response to the theme in the form
of prototypes, micro-architectures, graphical installations or objects that explore the idea
of progress, discussing issues of technology, mobility, consumption, the rituals of life and death,
well-being, innovation and the environment.



'life cellspad'
image © designboom


french designer matali crasset is interested in the aspect of progress which is visible
on an individual level. the challenge which we face today is not to acquire knowledge
or information, but rather to digest it and appropriate it. progress occurs when a personal
project channels a direction, or a stance. crasset ultimately asks, 'how do we put our stories,
our personalities, and our passions in perspective with what is happening in the world around us?'

her 'life cellspad' is a hypothesis on the evolution of our domestic framework. it proposes
a return to the essential form of a minimal living platform, facilitating quotidian activities,
but having the particularity of becoming a general interface for everything that is immaterial.



'life cellspad'
image © designboom


in the domestic sphere, activities are organized at different heights: we sleep and relax at
40 cm and work and eat at 70 cm. the 'living scenario' which crasset has proposed is
organized around and on top of a platform located in the middle of the structure.

the platform permits an appropriation of the immaterial and the assimilation of different networks
which innervate the home. it is as though domestic objects (electro-domestic, electronic,
lighting-related, heating-related, domotic) have forfeited their materiality and melted into this
minimal living structure. it is constructed from hollow board panels in the form of strata at
0, 40 and 70 cm from the floor.



image © designboom


at floor-level, the hollow board transforms to a storage unit, within the cavities of the panel -
a place for energy memory and other networks. on its surface, a place for clothes, books,
containers for water and essential oils...



the purple 'pad' stands as the 'deep memory storage unit', and the pink 'pad' acts as the 'family and intimate memory storage'
image © designboom



essential oil and water purification containers
image © designboom



the 'workspace' section of the platform
image © designboom


at 40 and 70 cm above the floor, the hollow board becomes an interface, a diffuser
and an activity workspace. this research prefigures the integration of so-called 'intelligent'
material into the habitat, incorporating the hard and the soft, becoming a general interface
for the entire space, transmiting energy and light. here, we encounter a new typology of furniture,
one that represents the same thing for the interior hahat the iphone represents for communication.



'energy storage' unit
image © designboom



the line of yellow lights stands as the energy distribution line
image © designboom



the main platform holds a bed, hidden within
image © designboom



image © designboom



reèresentation of an inducting cooking panel
image © designboom



technical diagram of the induction cooking panel



represntation of a computer
image © designboom




rendering of 'life cellspad' and its various networks



technical diagram of the 'life cellspad'