| SPAIN PLAYTIME - FRESH AIR IN SPANISH DESIGN |
A breath of fresh air sweeps through the Furniture Show in Milan. From 16 to 21 April 2008 the vibrant energy of Spanish contemporary design will be the protagonist of a major exhibition promoted by the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade (ICEX), a body responsible for the internationalisation and promotion of Spanish businesses, in collaboration with the Economic and Commercial office of the Spanish Embassy in Milan, at the Tunnel of the Hotel Nhow in Milan.
More than a simple overview of the nation's companies and designers and the latest product innovations, Spain Playtime aims to transmit a complete image of Spanish design and enterprise, communicating the values that underpin them – effervescence, vivacity, quality, the fun aspect and the successful combination of tradition and modernity – all with a seductive and captivating language.
This is why the thread running through the whole layout design – entrusted to Ana Mir and Emili Padrós of the Emiliana Design studio, is the theme of the "game", the element typical of Spanish culture, understood as a joyful activity that contributes to the overall development of the human personality, and particularly of its capacity for creativity and fun.
Playing with typologies and new uses for objects and spaces, rather than with forms, colours, textures, lights and materials, or with concepts and ideas, even in the most complex production processes, becomes the imperative driving the overall layout, but which is also clearly legible at the level of the individual products. The peculiarity of the Spanish design of recent years has been that of accompanying the primary function of the object with those characteristics of joyfulness, liveliness or poetry that are endemic in Spanish culture, made possible by the mental openness of the local industry, which has been able to see in the naiveté of some pieces that extra pinch of humanity that every industrial product should incorporate.
There are explicit references to the game even in the graphic of the exhibition, conceived by David Lorente from Actar, the well-known editor based in Barcelona specialized in architecture, design, graphic and contemporary art.
The soccer field, the deck of cards, the track field and the target of the rifle range became the symbolic elements of the strong visual impact, utilized in the coordinated image of the exhibition and in the big yellow-red panels that signal the beginning and the end of his internal journey organized around functional areas.
The result is a strongly evocative itinerary, containing more than 50 products, to be seen, touched, tried out, all under one umbrella: a happy and cheerful mix of pieces by the companies (40 brands involved) and the best known designers, ideas by young designers and innovative and avant-garde proposals, suggesting new interpretations and meanings of Spanish design, which expresses all the sunny brightness of its Mediterranean culture.
Captures of the products presented at the exhibition:
Bonn by Toni Pallejà (Porcuatro)
By simply folding a 3mm metal sheet Pallejà has designed this origami like side table. It comes in 8 different colour references (Matt epoxi paint).
Cul is Cool by Ramón Úbeda & Otto Canalda
It, meaning "the backside is cool", emerged during in the exhibition entitled Bath Love. The first version of the seat was sculpted in white marble or black basalt, as if it were an artistic piece. This mass produced version surprises for its lightness, weighing barely two kilograms. It is made from EPP, a high quality expanded polypropylene normally used in determined sectors of industry, though rarely on furniture.
Branka by Jorge Pensi
A stackable chair constructed with a profiled steel frame, powdercoat or chrome finish. Injected aluminum profile back supports, in powdercoat or polished finish. Seat and back in polypropylene with optional upholstery in fabric or hide. Arms in either polypropylene or injected aluminum, finished in powdercoat or polished. Accessories: detachable desk tray, felt glides, trolley and linking device.
Muga 2 by Jorge Pensi
It represents a contemporary version of the former Muga. In this case the rear side of the adjustable back is produced in polypropylene whereas the front part is upholstered with fabric or leather. The base is now produced in polyamide or polished aluminium. It program offers a very wide range of combinations of different arms, bases, wheels and fabrics.
Pol by Jorge Pensi
Stackable chair with or without armrests, polished 20 x 20mm tubular steel frame, in chrome or epox y polyester paint, fiberglass reinforced polymide-6 armrests, polypropylene seat and back and optional upholstery on front, all according to samples.
Ronda by Jorge Pensi
The screen of it is made of curved wood finished in natural oak or wenge, with two matt opal polyamide diffusers which provide upwards atmospheric light and a direct light around their feet suitable for reading or working. The programme also includes freestanding, suspended and ceiling lights.
Shape by Jorge Pensi
It is an elegant, abstract and multifunctional object that can be used as a stool or auxiliary table. Mix of fiberglass and MDF lacquered in high gloss lacquers.
Freddy by Fernando Salas
It is a robust and comfortable stool, its original seats gives it a 'friendly' look, making it into something of a character in itself. The legs are steel, chromed or painted, and the seat comes in three materials: cast aluminum, natural birchwood or polyurethane integral.
Lineal Comfort by Lievore, Altherr, Molina
Elegance of the essential, is the main characteristic of this collection, created to harmonize with the most contemporary architecture of the public areas and to give a fresh look to the domestic ambients. Different sizes and framework finishes, together with a variety structures, make this.
Smile by Lievore, Altherr, Molina
Romantic, somewhere between the orient and the occident, it is a memory-lane chair that smiles at us from an imaginary space in between the classic references. Made in wood, the collection is characterized by its shared visual lightness, structural sturdiness and multi-faceted ness, suitable for both contract and home use, all as a result of a direct in contemporary language. The family comprises a stackable chair and carver, both models with 2 back versions: slats or board.
Sigma by Lievore, Altherr, Molina
It is a lamp that seems to be designed in a single gesture, defining the base, the stand and the long arm housing a generous light source. This unique line makes it visually clean with no joints or connectors. The whole lamp is made of high-density resin finished in black or white lacquer.
RCA by Gemma Bernal
It transmits a certain nostalgia for objects no longer current but of strong character, due to its formal features, which evoke those old metal screen microphones. Its functional solutions are simple, and lend themselves an easy, intuitive use of the lamp.
Don by Gemma Bernal
It is basically a wooden shell shaping in a single seat, back and armrests. The shell is covered in the front side with an upholstered cushion, showing the wood (natural or stained oak) in the rear and armrests. It is presented on three different metal bases: four chrome legs, a cross pedestal base and a swivel pedestal base. It is a very suitable piece for different enviroments: as visitor chair, as group chair in lounges, as seating for conference tables, hotel rooms.
Showtime Multileg Cabinet by Jaime Hayón
The Collection is inspired on classical Mgm musicals. It exhibits passion for finding ways were things that are not supposed to match, coexist in elegance. The legs inspired by different styles and periods can be combined and placed where the user decides. Shiny lacquered doors and exterior sides. Inside and back panel are matt lacquered. Legs in turned alder wood / lacquered shiny.
Showtime Chair by Jaime Hayón
In this case the chair honours the name of this collection, the compromise between organic forms and classical details is key to its development. Steel tube structure painted in white, seat and back interior made of beech ply wood and upholstered.
Arenal by Ximo Roca
It is a collection that stands out for its simplicity, solidity and adaptability. It is a highly multi-purpose collection, since it is suitable both for home environments and communal areas. It is made of iron tubing lacquered in various colours and has three versions which differ in terms of their finish for seat and back: fabrics with synthetic fibre, perforated iron or wicker.
Funghi by Jaime Hayón
It are inspired on forest life and one of the most singular shapes found here: mushrooms. The collection has been conceived in earthy colors and made of ceramic to recreate subtle forest light and texture.
Arenal by Ximo Roca
It is a collection that stands out for its simplicity, solidity and adaptability. It is a highly multi-purpose collection, since it is suitable both for home environments and communal areas. It is made of iron tubing lacquered in various colours and has three versions which differ in terms of their finish for seat and back: fabrics with synthetic fibre, perforated iron or wicker.
Rita by Ximo Roca
A collection of chair, armchair, stools and living-room armchair that is characterized by its formal lightness and comfort. Totally stackable and suitable for use indoors and outdoors, both in the home and in communal spaces.
Hit by Vicente Soto
Available as both a chair or as a footrest, it is a model which displays sharp lines and provides a breath of fresh air and youth through its well-defined design. With its variable back-rest, this piece fits in well whatever its surroundings. The structure is in metal with an upholstered seat and backrest.
Ibiza by La Granja
Barstool with beech wood structure. The seat is beech plywood board. It can be painted in any colour in the Concepta sample book.
Frida by Joan Gaspar
It is the contemporary reinterpretation of a popular Spanish kitchen chair. This version is stackable and suitable for indoor or outdoor use. The separate seat and back pieces are made of injected plastic (with UV protection). The tubular steel frame comes in stainless, chrome or painted finishes.
H2O by Joan Gaspar
It is the contemporary reinterpretation of a popular terrace table. This version is stackable and suitable for indoor or outdoor use. The top is comprised of two pieces of injected plastic (with UV protection). The legs are made of matte anodized high-strength aluminum. There are ten possible combinations of top and base colors.
Julia by Joan Gaspar
Injected with polyamide or polycarbonate. Stackable (20 units). Water drainage system. UV protection. Polyamide (PA) chair: Indoor and outdoor use. Colours: orange, lime green, sky blue, red, ivory, white, black. Polycarbonate (PC) chair: Indoor use. Colours: transparent no colour, black, red, orange.
Julieta chair by Joan Gaspar
It is the little sister of the Julia chair; it is a light, stackable chair designed for the littlest ones, in school, at the playgroup or at home, both indoors and outdoors. It is injection moulded in polypropylene or polycarbonate. It is available in 2 heights and manufactured in 6 opaque colours and 2 transparent colours.
Julieta table by Joan Gaspar
Table for indoor use. The legs are injection moulded in polyamide or polycarbonate. Protection against UV rays. White MDF top. Table available in two heights. The legs are manufactured in 6 opaque colours and 2 transparent colours.
Lorea by Zoocreative
Like a simple sheet of paper, this fruit basket emerges from intelligent and delicate folds of ply wood. Available in several colors: wenghé, cebrano, tigris and white oak.
Virtual by díez+díez diseno
Vertical steel wall shelving, that dissapears among the books once one starts using it. It has 6 shelves painted in silver. Distance between shelves 15 cm.
Clip by odosdesign
Table for contract supplies and the hotel and catering sector inspired by the classic paperclip stationery item. The structure is manufactured in stainless steel or epoxy painted. Table tops in different materials and colours.
1+1by odosdesign
The hole becomes the differentiating element of 1+1, a sofa that proposes a new form of distributing space and generates a multitude of compositions. The hole enables you to "divide" the sofa, playing with the number of seats, 1+1, 1+2, 3+1, 2+3, etc., and can also be used to place lamps or coffee tables.
Nasu by J.M. Ferrero
An original design for a seat collection: chair, an armchair, a stool, a bench and an easy chair based on a beech wooden structure and two kinds of legs: a metallic tubular skid structure, and a central metallic column with a swivel mechanism. We want to emphasize in its design the elegant harmony of the curve that describes its wooden seat and back part. Its back is wicker-worked with synthetic material.
Po'light by J.M. Ferrero
In the daytime, it is the most sought after item when the sun starts burning. In the evening thanks to its lighted mast, it transforms into a new concept of night umbrella ideal for dinners with friends or just to spend some hours in summertime.
Rocking Chair by Ana Mir
It surprises because it rocks laterally. Its organically shaped polypropylene seat adapts perfectly to the body. The structure is made of galvanized steel. It can be used both for interior and exterior spaces.
Tokio by Ana Mir, Emili Padrós
It is a screen for communal spaces that is characterized by its formal simplicity and its ease of assembly. It allows you to separate environments, creating a visual barrier full of nuances of light and shade. It is manufactured with beech plywood or coloured MDF and can be finished in different colours and with different graphic applications.
Punto by Josep Lluscà
Table suitable for both public and private spaces. Produced in two heights, 720 or 420 mm. Structure composed of a lacquered, grit-blasted steel disc which acts as the base, welded to a steel tube, lacquered to match. The top comes in different sizes and shapes: round, square or rectangular. The top is finished in compact laminate.
Stacky by Josep Lluscà
It is the new program of stools designed for public and private spaces. With its innovative design, it is fully stackable for easy storing and transport. Made of steel, aluminum and synthetic materials to create the profile of unique product distinguished by its functionality.
Modular Modules by Roviras y Torrente Ass.
It is a collection of container modules built based on plates and 3 types of aluminium profiles. The system allows you to form modules of various sizes and configurations. The modules come completed with doors, drawers, wheels and shelves, and can be fitted to the wall or be free-standing in space.
Merendero by José A. Gandía Blasco
The name refers to the popular spaces in Spain where friends meet to share and enjoy food. This self-standing shelter offers protection from the sun while providing a small intimate meeting space. Suitable for 4 persons, produced in anodized aluminium, polyethylene and plastic fabric.
Autoband by Martí Guixé
It is the game of the 20th century, a metaphor of the thousands of highways that surround us. Easy and quick to assemble and disassemble, it allows us to give rise to small scale worlds using only tape, an element of graphic signage allowing different variations to be included, such as tolls, service areas and exit ramps.
News by Martí Guixé
The use of a graphic element of great visual impact, very common in commercial communication, means that the visibility of the rug comes from its formal topology rather than applied graphics. In doing so, the qualities of visual impact and associated elements are heightened.
Cameo by King & Miranda Studio
Cameo has come about through the fascination with a luminous torso, homage rendered to the female torsos that Henry Matisse drew in 1950 and that, still today, are a masterful lesson in his faith in joie de vivre.
Guiri by King & Miranda Studio
In Spanish, Guiri is a slang word used for disorientated tourists. In its versions of table and floor lamps, Guiri has a functional appearance; its malleable and adjustable silicone mask provides ambient and reading light and we are surprised with its multiple positions by moving the head.
Mitzi by King & Miranda Studio
Metal desk lamp with washable textile screen. Matt nickel finish.
Low by Werner Aisslinger
It is more than just a horizontal looking sofa, Werner Aissinger has conceived It like a relax and multimedia island. The tray on the side is the perfect lid to hide the clutter of wires and connections of those electronic objects that surround us: lap tops, MP3, cell phones, etc.
Maia by Patricia Urquiola
The design focus for the outdoor collection was the industrial reinterpretation of the traditional weaving. The collection breaks the archetype of braided furniture thanks to the new contemporary geometry. Combining a high-tech fibre dressing a wide aluminium framework makes the collection gain in lightness and modernity. The design is completed with a comfortable three-dimensional cushion.
Re-Deco Mirror by Lladrò
The collection creates a new interpretation of this traditional Spanish company, through a decorative twist to the classic figurines. Underpinning this new initiative is the idea that any classical piece can evolve thanks to a new decoration, taking on a new meaning. The mirror frame is made of wood and decorated with white porcelain figurines.
Clea by Christophe Mathieu
It is a table lamp which is the fruit of the combination of the latest pop art trends and 21st century innovations in materials. Its design is based on the ergonomics, aesthetics and modernity of implements from the 60s. Made from injected polycarbonate, it can be supplied in the following colours: red, anthracite black, white and chrome. The switch is incorporated into the base.
Duna by Antonio Miró
It is based on the idea of the torches used by our forefathers. Conceived for outdoor illumination, its flowerpot-style base is filled with sand. A special ball and socket joint, makes it a flexible and extremely useful lamp, as it can rotate 360° pointing in any direction. The Perspex shade is available in white or red with a white interior.
Twist by Luke Pearson, Tom Lloyd
It is an occasional table series. A single surface twists and turns to form an object which is at once complex and calm. The base material is MDF and curved natural veneer. The base contains steel rods for the foot.
Campanela by Herme Císcar, Mónica García
The ceiling lamp seamlessly combines ethereality and robustness. The subtle, sinuous geometry of the ceramic screen contrasts with the tension and forthrightness of the cord that it holds it.
Flod by Azuamoline (Martín Ruíz de Azúa, Gerard Moliné)
The shape of the stool is a compromise between natural forms and technology. Its organic appearance is actually the result of the most natural transition from the base, to the footrest and to the seat. The use of a single material (rotational molded polypropylene) simplifies greatly the production process and facilitates recycling.
Bichos y flores by Javier Mariscal
This rug is a woollen refuge for children, an enclosed place where they can play in the company of those who they get on well with and have an understanding with: friends, bugs, flowers. Available in red, orange, pistachio and pink. Handmade, hand tufted 100% Wool (New Zealand).
Roca by Javier Mariscal
As its name indicates, is a tough chair that is balanced through the lightness of its feet. The chair is like a nest suspended in a latticework of branches, a safe and welcoming refuge. Chair composed of two joined pieces of glass fibre: the shell, made of glass fibre with polished finish, and the seat, fabric upholstered and foam filling. Base metal tubing tracing a geometric figure.
Little field of flowers by Tord Boontje
It is a small domestic space for dreaming with one's eyes wide open. In keeping with the Studio Boontje philosophy, it is inspired in nature and uses a decoration of forms and layers to attract and seduce the observer's imagination and arouse his or her emotions.
Potten by Renske Papavoine
The textile containers are the result of intense experimentation with a new material: a conglomerate of coloured fabrics with an external latex skin. Pottens offer us unexpected sensations, they show their multicolour interior in song and are soft and gentle to the touch; their appearance invites us to touch them, feel them and play with them. It are manufactured in the workshops of Bhopal Rehabilitation, and contribute to the project to help those affected by the chemical disaster that in 1984 caused a humanitarian tragedy in this city in India.
Ex by Josep Martínez Font
It is a spherical lamp that seems to be magically floating in the garden. Its resistant polyethylene shade together with the stable metal legs allow this lamp to become an occasional outdoor seat. It is presented in different diameters and colors.
Tonk by Gabriel Fontanillo
It is a modular armchair in easily recognizable organic forms. Conceived to inhabit public interiors, its sectional structure enables it to be adapted to meet the requirements of any setting. Wooden structure covered in Bultex rubber. Upholstered in various finishes and completely removable. The armrests, made of square stainless steel tubing, allow you to close the composition at any of its extremes.
Ágora by Lola Castelló
Chair and armchair versions, light and subtle, with enveloping curves. The moulded, curved seat is cushioned with fire-proof upholstered polyurethane foam. Made in beech wood, finished in natural or whitened beech or stained in wenge or dark grey. Upholstery in fabric or leather according to Puntmobles colour card.
Guerrilla Containers by Stone Designs (Eva Prego, Cutu Mazuelos)
These containers, space separators or seats for the ground take their name from the kitbags that are used for the trenches. They reinterpret this item for war, to transform it into something homely and friendly piece. It are made and sewn by hand with the same technique as sacks of coffee. Upholstered polyurethane foam and plywood.
Curve by Rafael Rodríguez Sevillano
Table and bench manufactured in HPL mouldable and digitalizable, with metal structure protected for outdoor use. Top and seats made of 8mm curved compact laminate, a durable, hygienic material that is very resistant to impact, water, damp and sunlight and easy to maintain. It is available in 3 different decorated models.
RS2 Football Table by Rafael Rodríguez Sevillano
Table football was invented (with the name futbolín) by a Spaniard in 1937. Over the years the contraption has been improved upon and it remains today one of the most beloved and popular group games in Spain. It is the most contemporary version known: the use of stainless steel makes it ideal for all sorts of ambiences and weather resistant. Available in various finishes and the players can be personalized.
Wall Champions by Rafael Rodríguez Sevillano
Manufactured in stainless steel bar, varnish covered beech wooden handle and aluminium injected players covered with polyester painting and hand painted in the colours chosen by customers. The hanger has given a lighter touch to an ordinary object, in an attractive packaging well becoming a very original and functional gift.
Cubrik by Antoni Arola
The search for innovative material solutions resulted in this lamp: a cube-shaped hanging lamp, with a steel reticular structure. It is formed by flat square plastic shades that allow the user choosing the amount of desired light, or even projecting an image depending on one's mood.
Onda by Jesús Gasca
The shapes mimic the curves of the human body as well as the curves of a wave. The seat is molded to the contours of the sitter and provides lumbar support by hugging the lower back. The seat has an extra soft rubber 'skin', which is molded simultaneously with the shell so that the final product incorporates two different materials, densities, and colors. With its stainless steel frame, it is suitable for both indoor and outdoor use.
Add Up by El Último Grito (Roberto Feo, Rosario Hurtado)
It is a collection of tables with a simple frame construction assembled in apparent randomness, as a consequence of its assembly the different sections of the top overlap creating an interesting mixture of finishes and materials. The tables come in standard sizes but also work as a system to generate larger project installations. Enamelled steel tube in gray, white and fluorescent yellow, with glass and wood surface tops.
Jazz by Diego Fortunato
It is an innovative piece that breaks the classic mould with a design based on organic forms. This compact structure is the result of the application of polyester resin in a single mould. Other aspects are the lacquer – available in white, red and black – applied in the last stage of fabrication.
Leg In by Francesc Rifé
Top of MDF lacquered in black or white and base of is gauged steel thermo-reinforced lacquered in black or white.
Fenix by I+D Vilagrasa
Wastepaper bin made of steel for different purposes as intermediate areas, which is self-extinguishing. The system consists of a cone-shapped upper ring, which, in case of fire inside the container, generates an air circulation that extinguishes the flames and hinders the fire from propagating. According to legal prescriptions we have carried out corresponding tests that certify this features (LGAI 20005530).
Spain Playtime - Fresh Air in Spanish Design
Tunnel of the Hotel Nhow
via Tortona 35, Milan - Italy
16-21 april 2008
Info Spain Playtime
T. +39 02 781400
spainplaytime@mcx.es
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edited by:
Federica Capoduri
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In cooperation with:
Nicola Mela
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