Robert Thiemann, Editor-in-Chief of Frame Magazine
The 2013 edition of the Frame Moooi Awards were held at via Savona 56 in Milan during the Milan Salone 2013
This year Moooi took up temporary residence in the imposing 1700 sq mtr space and transformed it into a stylish assembly of colourful living quarters, new product displays, lounges and an artistic exhibition.
It was here at the invitation only function that the the FRAME Moooi award nominees exposition, exclusive ceremony and VIP cocktail evening took place
The winning design was chosen from a shortlist of nine products designed for a specific interior by sole juror Jana Scholze, curator of Contemporary Furniture at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum.
The winning entry was ” Impulsive Furnishing Unit ” by Itay Ohaly, Thomas Vailly and Christian Fiebig ( Design Academy Eindhoven alumni designer )was the winner of the 2013 Frame Moooi Award.
The winners received a cash prize of €25,000.
Of the winning design, Jana Scholze said: …. ‘After an inspection of all entries, it seemed clear who the winner had to be. This is the most advanced project; it shows where design is heading. The project works convincingly in the particular situation for which it was conceived, but it can be applied to multiple settings and conditions.
It is not the end product that matters but the approach the designers took in interpreting and responding to a demand. Offering a process that can result in various products changes not only conventional design production but also our understanding of design in general.’
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“We had a vision and we went for it. At first, people thought our ideas were too crazy. But it happened. We hope that this exposure will bring us new clients. Clients with space and a budget to set up new projects: a restaurant, or shop, or a hotel, or even chain of hotels” …. Christian Fiebig, Itay Ohaly and Thomas Vailly
Impulsive Furnishing Unit project concept
About ” Impulsive Furnishing Unit ”
Thomas Vailly, Itay Ohaly and Christian Fiebig’s wining design compresses a whole furniture factory to the size of a standardised plywood pallet so that it can be shipped and used anywhere.
The project was realised from scratch in the short time of 3 weeks.
The machine was used to create furniture for the 2012 Dutch Design Week (2012) C-Fabriek exhibition in Eindhoven, Netherlands last year, where visitors were invited to pitch in and make furniture, lighting, clothes, shoes and other items on experimental production lines.
The designers developed a new series of furniture together with the new production unit.
Following the basic initial project concept by Thomas and Itay of an adhoc furnishing of the exhibition, Christian a new CNC machine that is directly mounted on a plywood palette where it then cut one sheet of plywood after the other.
With this production unit a whole furniture factory is reduced to the size of a standardized plywood palette, which can be shipped and produce anywhere.
By adjusting the CNC machine to the thickness of each sheet, it will only cut one sheet at a time with each component individually cut into the desired shape.
As soon as the machine is finished with cutting the top sheet it will cut two holes as handles on one of the length sides of the board.
This side of the machine can then be opened and the cut board can be pulled out.
The CNC machine will smoothly drop on the next sheet to cut. Is one palette of wood almost finished it simple has to be stacked on the next palette, and the machine continues to cut sheet by sheet.
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Shortlisted Award Contenders
This year, the Frame Moooi Award received 861 submissions from a total of 71 countries.
In alphabetical order, here are the other 8 x nominated finalists:
The finalists were selected by juror Jana Scholze, Curator of Contemporary Furniture at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum.
The selection process was anonymous ie Scholze did not know the names or nationalities of the designs she reviewed.
On Thursday 11 April, the winners of the 2013 Frame Moooi Award joined juror Jana Scholze, curator of Contemporary Furniture at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, designer Marcel Wanders and Robert Thiemann, editor-in-chief of Frame in a lunchtime panel discussion at Area 56 (Via Savona 56) in Milan.
Musing on the theme the Future of Design, the panel will discuss how the winning project explores a new direction in interior design and what we can learn from this year’s entries.
