The Day of Design...

By roadvermin

biennale design st. etienne Hi again! This week we visited the International Design Biennale in St. Etienne in the south of France. We spent about ten hours walking around the three main exhibition titled - Cohabitation, Eden ADN, GOOOOD Food, Juste Avant La Transformation, Demain C'est Aujourd'hui and Between Art and Design - which were housed in three reclaimed old factories in the Cite du wood house Design.

Many of the exhibits demonstrated pieces which incorporated the themes of recycling, multi-functionality, the modern nomad lifestyle and minimalism, as well as advanced manufacturing techniques and the application of modern materials.

The works ranged from extremely well executed pieces, some of which are in production to artisan creations, and concept pieces from various designers and colleges from around the world. The main display area was divided by country showing selected creations by talented international designers. Even the 1664 bottles of beer were designer!

The first place we visited was the main hall 'Demain, C'est Aujourd Hui' (Tomorrows World Today) where we were introduced to ideas and prototypes from the likes of Ikea, EDF, Nikon, Nike, SNCF, Electrolux, Legrand, Renault, Panasonic and many more. There was almost too much to see and the crowds were swelled by hundreds of kids on educational school outings which made navigating the tight spaces between the stands quite difficult, but it was wonderful to see kids so excited by the colours, shapes and contraptions before them.

Perhaps the most colourful building was Cohabitation. Three paths circled the floor space one inside the other and each a different colour. The outer ring in blue represented cohabitation in the world, the green middle ring your area and the inner circle in orange the home. These spaces demonstrated tools, furniture and clothing that examined human interaction, sharing and socialization in the modern world.

The Eden ADN building held a collection of artworks that aimed to raise our awareness of the human races' manipulation of nature through genetics and also the new trend of control and surveillance which is gaining prevalence in western global politics. This exhibit had a little less to do with design but was a welcome addition to the event as it added something a different after looking at furniture for a couple of hours.

It would take far too long to write about everything I got excited about that day so I think it easier to simply tell you what I thought was the coolest thing. I suppose seeing Clampology by Jorre van Ast was a highlight, as was Antoine Phelouzat's Systeme de Rangement, because both were clever, colourful and fun just simple ideas executed cleanly. But, my favorite set was Surfaces for temporary encounters by Stephanie Magnin. Basically is was a sort of campsite with high tech elements including large black, orange and white PVC mattresses large enough for a dozen people, a platform made from milk crates and cable ties and some other camping related paraphernalia. It looked like an futuristic prehistoric human settlement, very back to nature. It made me want renounce city life and live in the little hard plastic dome thing and make tea in the post modern kettle over an open fire.