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alessi : (un)forbidden city
'(un)forbidden city' by officina alessi
image courtesy of alessi
in order to explore the potential of chinese product design. the results were shown in an exhibition curated by gary chang
at aether art space in sanlitun for beijing design week 2011 entitled '(un)forbidden city'. gary chang was joined by chang yung ho,
liu jiakun, ma yansong, urbanus, wang shu, zhang ke, and zhang lei. all eight architects stepped away from their usual large scale
architecture projects and undertook industrial design.
although vastly different, both china and italy have art and architecture rooted deep in their values and traditions.
the exhibition was a visual manifestation of the combined efforts of both societies.
(left to right) gary chang, chang yungho, liu jiakun, ma yansong, urbanus, wang shu, zhang ke, zhang lei
exhibition at aether art space in sanlitun beijing
image © designboom
the gallery space was transformed into a mahjong room, filled with 12 tables, eight of which displayed the tray prototypes.
each table had four drawers opened to reveal LCD panels displaying detailed information about the products and the show itself.
a specially commissioned soundtrack depicting the ambience of a mahjong room played in the background combined
with the whispers of the eight design concepts. one table was set aside for a set of 144 mahjong blocks,
each depicting one of alessi's iconic products. the reading room, full of alessi products and publications was painted red
to represent the color of the forbidden city.
mahjong table
image © designboom
chang yungho and gary chang enjoying a game of mahjong
image © designboom
'floating earth' by ma yansong
image © designboom
read designboom's article for more information about 'floating earth' by ma yansong.
'jane' by liu jiakun
image © designboom
read designboom's article for more information about 'jane' by liu jiakun.
'a lotus leaf' by chang yungho
image © designboom
'trick and treat' by architect and exhibit curator gary chang
image © designboom
detail of 'trick and treat'
image © designboom
'trayscape' by urbanus
image © designboom
'clouds root' by wang shu
image © designboom
'ming' by zhang ke
image © designboom
rendering of 'ming'
image courtesy of alessi
'opposition' by zhang lei
image © designboom
(from left to right) wang shu, zhang lei, alberto alessi, gary chang, chang yungho, zhang ke, meng yan and wang hui of urbanus
image courtesy of alessi
yung ho chang of atelier FCJZ for alessi: (UN
(UN)forbidden city is alessi's first exploration into chinese design: eight trays and containers conceived by eight of the most interesting components of contemporary chinese architecture.
wang shu for alessi: (UN)forbidden city
(UN)forbidden city is alessi's first exploration into chinese design: eight trays and containers conceived by eight of the most interesting exponents of contemporary chinese architecture.
liu jiakun or alessi: (UN)forbidden city
based on ancient chinese writing material, identical aluminum bars are tied together to create a versatile double sided tray.
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