arik levy: 2011 stockholm furniture fair lounge

arik levy portrait © designboom

today is the first day of the 2011 stockholm furniture fair where designboom is reporting live from the event’s main lounge that has been designed by this year’s guest of honour arik levy.

image © designboom

located in the entrance hall of the stockholmsmässen fair grounds, the communal lounging space consists of a huge, soft platform filled with cushions and sofa seating.

‘a fair can be extremely taxing physically, mentally and emotionally. I have tried to create a relaxed and uncomplicated spot where people can come and be sociable, relax, connect to the internet, meet up and be welcomed. it’s all about the people who come here,’ says the paris-based designer. overall, the lounge is monochrome and neutral in color – predominantly grey – with the accent of a bold yellow for the seating cushions. for levy, it is the visitors who will inject life into the space.

installation view of the lounge located in the stockholm furniture fair’s main entrance hall image © designboom

panels are suspended from the ceiling, acting like a canopy above a sea of sofas, reflecting the movement and behaviours of the platform below. hanging between these mirrored surfaces are a number of his ‘identity disorder’ sculptures, in which he has transformed items of furniture that no longer serve their original function. here one sees chairs taking on the role of chandeliers. through these pieces, levy questions whether or not the object is actually a chair with holes for lights, or a chandelier that looks like a chair. these types of questions are important within his practice. it is his means of finding a way of contributing to reflection and discussing what our purpose is and what we are actually doing here. ‘design can quickly acquire an over-sophisticated image. we forget that the world is actually about people, not tables and chairs,’ he says.

the shape of the seating units in a way, mirror the abstract geometric forms of the panels above. they create islands under this ‘shattered mirror’ in which people can easily pass through, sit down and relax amidst the hustle and bustle of the fair’s activities.

the reflective panels are abstract geometric forms image © designboom