The curvature of the Love Handle lever mimics the contours of a grasping hand.

Precise alignment allows the Love Handle pull-handle to appear to be a single entity between two doors.

The mirror-polish finish of the circular leather rose at the end of the Love Handle knob alludes to the bond of the human touch.

Jonathan Ashmore, architect and founder of ANARCHITECT, commented, “We chose to create a triptych of door handles – many architect’s obsession – and turned them into an artistic expression of our most precious commodity – privacy. The designs evoke intimacy, love and excitement and the moments we hold most precious hidden behind closed doors.”

Jonathan Ashmore
Photo: Misha Obradovic

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Debuting at Salone del Mobile Milano, Black & Gold, Vol. 2 evokes the dichotomies of Bazazo’s native Beirut. A constantly changing city located at the intersection of east and west, this collection reflects an esthetic of timeless opposites. More than a color palette, it embodies the physical and ideological, blurring the lines between sculpture and functional furniture.

His Split Bench is a light and airy seating structure for two inspired by art deco curves, yet bold and strong with metal and wood.

Oculus Chandelier

The Oculus Chandelier is sculpture disguised as functional lighting.  Brass rings house thinly carved Carrara marble casings that shimmer with light while projecting beams through a suspended lens, creating a balance between ephemeral and dense materials.

Black & Gold, Vol. 2 can be viewed at Ventura Projects in Ventura Future at Via Tortona, 54, Milan.

Photo credits: Mansour Deeb

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The centerpiece of the Interweave collection is a long, flowing LED strip that weaves its way through the room, draped around a series of metal pillars suspended from the ceiling. Completely customizable, the individual parts allow people to become the authors of their own space. Special design features include motion sensor technology as well as remote control functions accessed by the Artemide app or Amazon Alexa. The metal pillar conceals a speaker while an optional fragrance dispenser and image projector can be included. The collection also includes a wall light.

“Great art and great design often happen when different worlds meet. Interweave is a metaphor for this, by focusing on the connections and intersections between the different materials, colours, textures, light and shade,” Says Dean.

Pallavi Dean

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Though contemporary in ethos, the four distinctive lines in the launch collection – Raa’, Ebly, Bahary and The Chameleon – are inspired by various Egyptian historical, geographical and cultural elements, with each item handmade in Egypt. TALATA specializes in embracing modern design principles and manufacturing techniques while incorporating historically significant mediums and themes.

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Hamra, Beirut

Five of their urban object-space constructions, Lost in Transition, which consists of two chairs connected by an arch, will be exhibited in the main outdoor courtyard of Alcova at Milan Design Week. Following their goal of creating projects within a contextual surrounding, the seating configuration of Lost in Transition forces physical face-to-face interaction, thus blurring the boundaries between objects and spaces.

Tessa + Tara Sakhi

A short film represents the chair indifferent scenarios:

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Developed as a tribute to the social activism of anonymous artists and graffitists, the limited collection combines marble, brass and a cone spry-painted with verses from Mahoud Darwish’s poem, On This Land.

A portion of the proceeds from Hey Banksy will go to Visualizing Impact, a non-profit organization for innovation and creation of impactful tools highlighting critical social issues around the world.

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Sixty pair of her limited-edition sandal, co-designed with Fratelli Rossetti, will be shown and available for the first time during Milan Design Week. Debs created a unique heel with a zig-zag pattern with contemporary mother-of-pearl inlay in natural solid walnut. The zig-zag pattern symbolizes the heartbeat of Milan and Beirut, two buzzing, creative sister cities.

“My passion for designing heels using our craft has come to life,” says Debs. “For me, craft is about a sense of spirituality in the craftsman – the soul is passed on to the product.”

Currently living and working in Beirut, she grew up in Japan and studied at Rhode Island School of Design in the United States. Her international travels have enabled her to form emotional connections with different cultures.

Nada Debs

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Addressing physiology, internal chaos and the need to restore or heal ourselves, The Cure evokes an inner spiritual and therapeutic message associated with the notion of time, the philosophy of karma and the need for forgiveness and self-reconciliation.

Interrelated themes connect the individual parts of The Cure:

• The arm chair’s back forms a Headstone silhouette, communicating a message of destiny and regeneration.
• The pendulum clock corresponds to time and the need to catch the moment before it’s too late, with the realization that there is always brightness and hope at the end of the darkness.
• The wall mounted lighting represented by ahalo with circular rays of light symbolize the majesty or prominence of the soul.

Photos: Bizarre Beirut

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Big Brands Build the Future

The exciting future in design as seen by major international forces, including LG Electronics and Dassault Systemes is showcased in this segment of the SuperDesign Show. Projects by the finalists for the seventh Lexus Design Award give a glimpse into what is yet to come.

LG electronics by Foster + Partner

Superhotel

With an international, yet distinctly Italian flair, this special project mixes specially-made handicraft and industrial products from a Who’s Who list of designers.

Innovative Materials and Smart Cities

In addition to three projects: Smart City, Materials Village and The Beautiful Side of Design, an event-exhibition, Smart City: People, Technology & Materials (March 13-14, 2019) will include workshops, conferences and debates.

A Pinnacle of Reflections by Matteo Thun & Partners

National and Transnational Pavilions

Intriguing special exhibitions from the Korea Craft & Design Foundation, Indonesian Contemporary Art and Design by Artura and Worth Partnership Project are not to be missed.

Contamination Between Art and Design

Thought-provoking exhibitions ranging from Normann Copenhagen’s professional furniture to intriguing Toys by Flavio Lucchini and the Modernism exhibition by the Ukrainian Prostir 86, provide additional inspiration.

Normann Copenhagen

Japan Loves Superstudio

INAX, the centennial Japanese sanitary brand reveals its new identity in it’s The Rituals of Water exhibition, among other important displays.

AND MUCH, MUCH MORE..

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The 52 exhibiting companies illustrate the transformation of working areas into fluid, flexible spaces for supply, reception and working areas that are designed to be adaptable to meet market demands now and in the future. In the role of think tank, Workplace3.0 explores the future, acting as a catalyst for developing ideas to respond to market challenges.

The exhibition is divided into four contexts:

• Liquid Space – deconstructed space with movable parts and modular furnishings to easily adapt to a variety of changing functions.
• Smart Office – the integration of cutting-edge technology into the furnishing elements.
• Privacy – dedicated work areas designed to promote privacy and concentration, which is often neglected in the prevalent open environments.
• Worker-centered Design – environments providing a healthy work environment, including the balance of natural and artificial light, proper ventilation and noise insulation as well as rest/recharge areas to boost concentration and creativity.

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