shanty storage cabinet by doshi levien for BD barcelona
shanty storage cabinet by doshi levien for BD barcelona
all images courtesy of doshi levien
doshi levien (nipa doshi and jonathan levien) has conceived a set of storage cabinets that resemble the improvised dwellings fundamentally found in developing countries across the globe. london studio’s ‘shanty’ storage units for BD barcelona feature monochromatic or colorful corrugated patchworks on their façades, disguising rationally and carefully considered volumes within for hiding belongings. the ‘shanty’ collection of furniture is being presented at the 2014 salone del mobile.
doshi levien BD barcelona storage units come in a patchwork of corrugated color
‘shanty’ derives its name and appearance from the improvised dwellings found primarily in developing countries
‘shanty’ in black
‘shanty’ in teal
‘shanty’ in green
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Clever name! Way to read the zeitgeist, furniture designers. I wonder if anyone will be offended by a design duo out of London producing high-end finery that co-opts the misery of the world’s poor as “inspiration?” Maybe more of the creative class could be trying to improve the actual zinc-sheet hovels in the planet’s megaslums, much less the lives of those who eke out an existence there, rather than trying to come up with more overpriced “cool” for this year’s Milan fair.
I think to dismiss all slums as being places of misery is rather naive and judgemental. Besides, the real inspiration behind the work is the beauty of improvisation and we express an admiration for the skill and independent will of people to create their own home, a preferable term to “hovel” that is rather derogatory. Furthermore to imply that the only valid definition of design should be about fixing problems is rather a narrow viewpoint.
By DL studio.
@DL STUDIO “Besides, the real inspiration behind the work is the beauty of improvisation and we express an admiration for the skill and independent will of people to create their own home…to imply that the only valid definition of design should be about fixing problems is rather a narrow viewpoint.”
While to fix the problem may not have been the point, but to respond to it delicately should have been. As objects, they are beautiful, however, the inspiration does not read in the furniture. There seems to be zero improvisation or hand skill involved, nor the ability to even independently adapt this to your home – where I see the most creative potential. The horizontal “panels” are merely graphic and the material which is pretending to be sheet metal doesn’t even seem to be metallic at all. Where shantytowns are inherently polymorphic and unique, this piece is in the same form in a few monochromatic versions. There is beauty in the resilience of slum-dwellers to create homes from cheap, simple materials, but how can a designer justify faking it (at a much higher cost) in an attempt to create “poverty-chic” furniture for a demographic so completely removed from that of its original inspiration… Hm.