Material Intelligence, for Furniture and Interior Design

May, 2011

i Saloni Has No Patience for the Status Quo

 

Unique amongst the major international fairs, the Italian exhibition isn’t afraid to mix commercial and residential furniture. Indeed, as the lines between work and home continue to blur, it seems the differences between the design and materials found in these once-very-different markets are fading fast. Manufacturers sell to both markets; most designers work in both markets; consumers live in both places. Why force everyone to run from one exhibition to another to make sure they’re seeing everything?

My photo essay of i Saloni is captures the readiness of Italian furniture designers to move their markets firmly toward the future, by helping, or even forcing, them to take an honest look at evolving materials and their excellent applications.

I’ll lead off with designer Lorenzo Damiani’s New Life Installation, an impressive focal point of the conceptual design show-within-a-show, Salon Satellite. It was a house-sized construct of composite wood, shown as panels, bowls, flasks, vessels and furniture.  

Damiano’s message: “Demonstrating the worth of ‘worthless’ materials in alternative ways, with the aim of protecting resources.”

In his own words: “Using resources and materials responsibly, striving to give dignity to materials normally perceived as worthless. Proposing alternative uses of existing materials: this is the challenge of today, and above all, tomorrow.

“This is why I chose to use pressboard [composite wood panels] in a different way. In the future, the distinction between valuable and less valuable materials will disappear, because they will ALL be valuable. Why not get ready now?”

 

Texture, accent and detail

Working from the same playbook, a representative from the first office furniture exhibitor I visited had an equally earnest message: “You’re a journalist? You have to help us show people how much TFM surfaces have improved, and how well we use it in high-quality furniture! People still have old ideas about laminates.”

The woodgrain textures were indeed impressive, with realistic grain ticking and a silky wood finish. It’s important to note that a great surface like this won’t stand on its own; the piece’s design and quality execution is also critical to convey the message, “This is first-class furniture.” In this case, higher value is built with metal worktop edges and corners (purely decorative), textured woodgrain TFM even on the insides of cabinet doors, and paper-foil wrapped contours on the underside of worktops.

 

Horizontal-grain textured edges

Using a heavy linear woodgrain TFM panel on full-height cabinet doors adds extra visual interest, and continuing the grain orientation with matching edgeband on the door edges is truly a standout execution.

 

Double edges, great woodgrain

A creamy white edgeband, topped with a second edge of textured matching woodgrain nicely defines these pieces, and actually draws more attention to the texture detail on the tops, doors and edges.

 

Combinations working together

A flexible 2-D woodgrain-textured laminate on the worktop and end panel is complemented by an extremely well-executed panel edge done in paper foil.

 

Warmth and realism for the home

This residential collection, again TFM, is further testimony that a strong woodgrain on well-designed furniture raises its value exponentially.

  

 

Patterns and touch inspired by fabric  

Driving home the point that furniture is fashion, a TFM surface whose design and texture matches fashionable clothing. This manufacturer uses façade or surface texture (“Facciate Struttura”) as major selling point for its furniture.

 

Design Students Remap Material Genome

At team of students from FH-Aachen created "MaindMap," a standing/hanging puzzle entirely from compact laminate, one of the standout concepts in the Salon Satellite section of the show. Pictured, students Margarete Kainka and Daniela Eckert.