droog 'secret natures' at new york design week 09

‘clock inlays’ by formafantasma image © designboom

during the milan design week 09, droog presented ‘secret natures’ exhibition- new work by studio makkink & bey, formafantasma (andrea trimarchi & simone farresin), chris kabel, studio nacho carbonell, luc lachaert & d’hanis, nadia pedreschi and next architects.

‘secret natures’ exhibition travels to droog new york’s first event. hidden clutter, hidden meaning, hidden functions and hidden value all become illuminated at droog new york exhibition since its opening in february. the exhibition is from may 16th to june 30th 2009.

‘clock inlays’ by formafantasmaimage © designboom

formafantasma produced ‘clock inlays’ using intricately shaped inlays which are incorporated into chip board—transforming the material from under to upperlayment™.

‘tool inlays’ by formafantasmaimage © designboom

‘tool inlays’ incorporates carefully cut inlays in the shape of the tools used to make the furniture.

‘tool inlays’ by formafantasmaimage © designboom

see more images of ‘hidden inlays‘ by formafantasma.

‘seam chair & bench’ by chris kabel image © designboom

‘seam chair & bench’ are made of an inexpensive industrial packaging textile that is sewn into the form of the object. to gain rigidity, the textile outfit is filled with sand and placed in a high pressure high temperature oven (autoclave), in which the textile melts and cures. the sand is removed leaving a hollow interior and a strong yet lightweight chair and bench.

‘seam chair ‘ by chris kabelimage © designboom

‘seam banch’ by chris kabelimage © designboom

‘chroma key’ by minale-maeda, a set of furniture pieces upholstered in blue fabric image © designboom

a set of furniture pieces upholstered in blue fabric, ‘chroma key’ by minale-maeda brings the cinematographic technique of replacing a blue background with a scene of choice into the living environment, suggesting that objects can also join the world of make believe. minale- maeda render a classic upholstery pattern into the tone of blue through a moiré effect of white and blue stripes. ‘we began with the idea that most things are judged by how they appear, but often appearance can be an illusion. by bringing a technique that is normally limited to producers of visual culture (cinematographers) onto furniture, we are playing with the boundary between being in the audience and being a participant of visual culture. by bringing the technique into people’s home, in a way we are making the illusion more real,’ explain the designers.

‘chroma key’ by minale-maedaimage © designboom

‘skin’ by studio nacho carbonell image © designboom

in the ‘skin’ furniture, a thin, closely adhering and elastic layer allows the user to place objects underneath it. this layer adapts and takes the form of the objects, creating spontaneous contours that lead your curiosity to discover what hides beneath them. nacho wants us to become playful and child-like: ‘you’ll like playing hide and seek!’ he says and follow on to explain why he chose for the unconventional leg heights, ‘ it’s all about changing the point of view, one’s way of perceiving things’. the outermost layer of ‘skin’ can be stretched over the things you keep around you, hiding daily messes. with forms and their heights inspired by fantasy and dreams, nacho carbonell aims to change the point of view on things. ‘the intention is to revive one’s curiosity in what hides underneath. it’s not only about hiding but also about discovering.’

detail of ‘skin’ image © designboom

‘skin’ image © designboom

‘house of furniture parts’ by studio makkink & beyimage © designboom

architecture, furniture and storage all in one. studio makkink & bey used standard sheets of ply cut with cnc machinery, created a miniature house to stand within larger interiors of offices, studios and lofts. the functionality and character of the house can be changed as more or less furniture is used, with walls of stools, benches and table parts which are easily assembled.

‘house of furniture parts’ by studio makkink & beyimage © designboom

‘house of furniture parts’ by studio makkink & beyimage © designboom

‘obsession table’ by nadia pedreschi

‘obsession table’ by nadia pedreschi

an outcome of droog’s im masters at the design academy eindhoven, obsession table by nadia pedreschi is a manifestation of peoples’ desire to create a sense of order. the perfect lines on the table make our common mental act of aligning visible.

‘obsession table’ by nadia pedreschi

anamorphosis by luc d’hanis & sofie lachaert image © designboom

when porcelain platters meet reflective object, the distorted drawings of precious birds on the platter become perfectly reflected on the bottles or cups. the awareness of the birds’ potential extinction emerges only when objects are carefully aligned as a pair.

anamorphosis by luc d’hanis & sofie lachaert image © joris luyten

see more images of ‘ anamorphosis ‘ by luc d’hanis & sofie lachaert

‘ready made bookshelf’ by next architects image © designboom

more than any other object, a filled bookcase reflects the identity of its owner. at the moment of purchase this ready made reflects the collective intellect of centuries of literature: the top 100 of all time, everything you ought to have read – but never got around to. filling the case means replacing classics by a personal selection.

detail of ‘ready made bookshelf’ by next architectsimage © designboom

general view of the exhibition image © designboom