Off the grid

“Although quite voluminous, the seats of the [Wire collection] act like chameleons,” says Muller Van Severen – the Designer(s) of the Year for the September edition of Maison & Objet Paris. “When the sun shines through them, they become invisible,” they add. A series of objects created for Solo House – an architectural home set within 100 hectares of natural landscape in the north of Spain (designed by OFFICE Kersten Geers David Van Severen), the seats are an exercise in balancing transparency and strength. The gridded form creates an abundance of welding points, while keeping a basic shape of a mattress that is then folded. While originally conceived as outdoor furniture, the seats can also be used inside.

Breaking boundaries 

Design duo Atelier Caracas – based in Venezuela – are inspired by ‘masters’ of Italian design and the radical stage of design of that era, which featured a far less serious approach and used unlikely materials across a plethora of furniture and interior designs. Noticing little experimentation with upholsteries in collectible design, Atelier Caracas started playing around with the idea of incorporating classical textile and upholstering methods into strident and colourful geometries, creating pieces that explore the boundaries of colour, sensuality and construction. Their Home Office collection features a three-piece ensemble, comprising a chaise longue, a globe-shaped bar and a container box. The pieces in the collection merge subtle tones with unexpected pops of colour, curved and organic shapes with strictly geometric corners, decorative elements with smart functional gimmicks, and traditional upholsteries with unexpected fabrics. The result is a series of unconventional and innovative pieces that concurrently nod to modernity and vintage design.

Traces of light 

Lidia Covello’s whimsical Bōru screens feature two separate sheets of OmniDecor glass joined together, where the glass acts as an architectural element and function – dividing yet allowing one to see through space – but also as an independent furnishing item that looks to define a new type of interior design. Inspired by the designer’s adopted homeland of Japan, the screens reflect one’s need for harmony and freedom. Its sinuous shapes are discreet, transparent and fluid – just like light that passes through glass. 

Heart of Glass

The Cassina Perspective is the brand’s approach of combining innovative new products with its iconic collections, yet it also allows for collaborations with special partners: in this case, a duo of vases designed by English designer Bethan Laura Wood and produced by Venetian hand-blown glass experts Venini. Colourdisc is a perfect synthesis between centenary art and contemporary design, featuring a fruit bowl and a cylindrical flower vase. They each comprise a series of coloured compositions of discs and diamonds in Murano glass, cast in metal forms and placed around a brass volume – and available in two light finishes. One can even choose to add an optional blown glass vase in amber or horizon blue for an additional pop of colour (and to make it easier to fill up with water for flowers). The colours of the decorative glass are sourced from the Venini Archive, and they overlap and create a third shade. When hit with sunlight, the colours reflect on the vase to create a kaleidoscopic effect. 

Natural beauty 

Some of the most loved furniture designs are now being recreated in outdoor editions as more people begin to favour indoor/outdoor living. Minotti’s latest outdoor collection features some of its indoor favourites – including, as featured here, the Sendai family of seats designed by Inoda+Sveje, complete with elegant and airy lines. The Sendai Cord Outdoor features an upholstered volume, stylised through the skilful use of cord in colours including ecru, burgundy and dark brown, and reminiscent of the nautical themes of summer. The light aesthetic of the chair creates a harmonious contrast when combined with bulkier seating systems, with a swivel system that is completed by a natural teak finish.

Play time 

The new In & Out rug collection designed by Deanna Comellini for GT Design is inspired – just as its name suggests – by the hula hoops of our childhoods. The series of circular and oval-shaped rugs features a ribbed texture that has been handmade using a non-toxic technical yarn, and is resistant to wear-and-tear, UV rays and even bacteria. Hula Hoop is available in circular and oval models and across seven colour combinations, including: Penny, a brick-shade red with white and orange accents, created as an ode to the Pennsylvania Railroad Company trains’ colour scheme; Racing, alluding to British Racing Green, the official colour of British race cars from the early 1900s; and Jet, a metallic grey recalling the shade of an airplane’s fuselage. The versatile rug collection can be adapted to any type of indoor and outdoor space.  

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Barrage’s pieces are a product of her month-long residency at Schloss Hollenegg for Design in Austria last year – which was supported by Lebanese organisation House of Today. Much like design-led non-profit, Schloss Hollenegg’s mission is to also nurture young emerging designers by creating space for design research, thinking and critique. Barrage looked at the history of objects found across the castle, with one sparking her imagination: measuring over two metres in height and composed of blue and white Chinese porcelain bound together by bronze arms.

Traces of Light is a result of this study, two large candelabras that play with the idea that things once used to provide light are now used only for special occasions. Barrage’s pieces are therefore more symbolic than functional. Featuring hand-blown glass produced in Vienna by Robert Comploj of Studio Comploj, Barrage has adapted the shapes typical of her work, which is often reminiscent of sea creatures, to the medium of glass. Here, the stacked shapes float weightlessly. 

Traces of Light was exhibited last month at an exhibition titled ‘Ashes & Sand’, held in the castle’s historical rooms, which investigated glass while exploring its vast possibilities and potential uses, techniques, innovations and provenance. 

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The installation, titled Fruits of the Desert, is abstractedly shaped like a fruit-bearing desert bush, consisting of over four hundred original glass components and more than 60 metres of metal branches, proving that no task is too big when using Bohemian glass. The desert inspiration plays a powerful role in the overall custom-made installation, referencing the regional landscape and heritage of the region.

Mihailović also drew inspiration from traditional calligraphy by using fluid forms and organic lines. “I tried to imagine the people who lived here in the past, decades before us, before Kuwait became one of the richest countries in the world. I envisioned how they survived and how, in such a hostile land as a desert, they had no other choice but to depend on the gifts of nature. I captured that hopeful moment when fruits appear, as they float above an unusual tree,” the designer says.

The glass sculpture plays with contrasting symbolism, representing a moment of fertility in an otherwise harsh climate with the depiction of the precious desert fruit, set against images of rainwater that is represented using crystal drops that levitate some five metres above the installation. “I connected the concept of fertility with the image of a fruit similar to a chestnut, pistachio or sunflower seed. I sketched the ideas and from the beginning, they formed into the shape of cracking balls. They best expressed the essence of the theme and prevented it from becoming too monotonous and obvious,” Mihailović  explains.

The lower section of the sculpture consists of 277 custom-made glass components of Czech crystal that are  organically shaped and encase the branches. The fruits are in clusters of 10, ranging from already opened to still ripening to closed, with the larger fruit  created using Lasvit’s white opaque glass that features a slightly golden layer on the inside. Some of the smaller glass fruits differentiate in tone, while the entire installation is dominated by amber tones.

“This sculpture has sufficient breathing space surrounding it to function as the centerpiece of the interior,” the designer explains. “Both daylight and artificial light enhance the overall impression from the installation and draw attention to the beauty of hand-made glass at any time of the day. The rays pass through transparent crystal and highlight its elegance, while the inner lighting shines from within, creating a warm and friendly atmosphere. These two effects may be combined to achieve a varied atmosphere.”

Because the desert landscape significantly affects Kuwait’s architecture, most houses have a rectangular shape arranged around a central courtyard. Similarly, in this family residence, the courtyard provides an enclosed yet comfortably opened space, shielded from the wind and direct sunlight of the harsh desert climate. This provides a space for quiet contemplation – while enjoying views of the dynamic glass sculpture. The designer also carefully added a chandelier from the Cipher Collection by Yabu Pushelberg, placed over the meditation fountain feature, comprising 14 meters of branches and 86 original glass components. Together, the sculptures represent a unified vision while also acting as powerful individual elements. lasvit.com 

Read more: Lasvit’s enchanting chandeliers have been scaled down for the home

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Al Ali’s work lies at the nexus of design, art and architecture, and explores the crossovers between each of these, using painting, material exploration and digital fabrication that is largely inspired by structures of nature found in regional flora and fauna. “Pushing the boundaries of traditional practices through the advanced techniques of modern technology enables my work to capture the elegance of nature,” she adds.

Having co-founded the collaborative group of interdisciplinary designers called MRM, together Al Ali and her colleagues explore the crossovers between craft and technology with works commissioned by and exhibited at Art Dubai, Amman Design Week and the Sikka Art Fair. She has also been shortlisted for the RIBA President’s Silver Medals.

“Studying traditional practices and crafts informs the process of experimentation as they are timeless case studies of material engineering,” Al Ali shares. “Innovation is born from utilising the technologies of today to question and answer the problems of tomorrow through the knowledge of traditional techniques. My work builds on a keen interest in crafts and past material interventions by designers and engineers to create unique and innovative compositions and solutions.”

Her projects such as the Desert Series and the latest Nudi series explore the physical and architectural potential of glass – a material that dominates the majority of Al Ali’s work. In the Desert Series, an interplay of light through the rippled patterns in the glass translates to light paintings on sand, which are rendered using standardised panels of glass in an exploration of depth and pattern.

In the Nudi series, Al Ali experiments with freeforming glass through the lens of behaviours found in the depths of the sea. Nudi offers theatrical compositions of glass that are reminiscent of marine life, its petal-like arms seemingly in motion. This project explores the illusion of movement, where – with the aid of light and refraction – the piece looks like it is flying. Nudi also functions in the dark, doubling as a light element as well as being a mirror.

“Glass-blowing as a technique dominates the glass presence in the art world, while in the word of architecture, glass is treated merely as an enclosure that allows for transparency. We see very few examples of pushing the boundaries of glass beyond the vertical plane,” Al Ali remarks.

“My work explores techniques of kiln-forming, in which industrial glass sheet processes allow [the material] to express and function [in order] to provide structural and aesthetic solutions in freeform. Furthermore, I am currently working towards constructing a glass lab within our production facility [in order] to invite interdisciplinary practices of art, design and science, and create a space for innovation. This is to provide solutions that transcend our current understanding of what this incredible material can do, in both artistic and architectural scales.”

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