BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009

THE
LIMITS
OF
PUBLIC
SPACE
BLUEPRINT
August 2009 4.75
THE LEADING MAGAZINE OF ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN
EAST AT BERMONDSEY SQUARE
N55 IN COPENHAGEN
BIBLIOTHEQUES PAPER CITY
Stadium EVO is specically
designed for retail and
display applications, offering
all the benets of advanced
LED technology combined
with its unique design,
which will complement any
retail environment.
Stadium PRO, designed
for museum & gallery
lighting, offers excellent
colour rendering (RA=93),
integrated dimming system,
no UV or infrared radiation
and minimal maintenance
50,000 hours lamp life.
Concord Powerood 1969
evolution
in
spotlighting
40 years of excellence
T: +44 (0) 870 606 2030 / [email protected] / www.havells-sylvania.com
Stadium EVO & Stadium PRO
Available in either cool, neutral, warm white LEDs
Three colour options for versatile applications White, Silver
or Black
Long lamp life 50,000 hours for Stadium PRO & 35,000
hours for Stadium EVO
No UV or infrared radiation
Low surface temperature for easy maintenance
Building on 40 years of innovative
luminaire design, Concords spotlight
ranges have pushed the boundaries
of accent & display lighting, from
Powerood, one of the rst spotlights
designed to house the double-ended
halogen QT-DE 12 lamp, through the
well-respected Torus range to Stadium,
Concords new LED spotlight.
Stadium takes accent & display
lighting into a new dimension. Its
slim, at panel design, uses 16 x 1W
LEDs to generate up to 1200 lumens
and provides a highly adaptable
spotlighting tool for museums,
galleries and retail applications
Concord Stadium 2009
For more information about the hi tec furniture system contact:
[email protected] T: 01892 871 444 www.exbydo.com
_be inspired
_be successful
_be hi tec
SALES OFFICE & SHOWROOM
Silver Street, Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex CM24 8HD
T 01279 816001 F 01279 816089
[email protected] www.leisureplan.co.uk
KAMA COLLECTION
DESIGNED BY BENJAMIN FERRIOL
INNOVATIVE | MODULAR | OUTDOOR | FURNITURE
EDITORIAL
EDITOR
Vicky Richardson
[email protected]
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Peter Kelly
[email protected]
PRODUCT EDITOR
Gian Luca Amadei
[email protected]
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Tim Abrahams
[email protected]
ART DIRECTOR
Patrick Myles
[email protected]
SUB-EDITORS
Francis Pearce
Gwen Webber
INTERNS
Jocelyn Bailey
Ying-Wen Chang
CONTRIBUTORS
Bibliothque
Isabelle Chaise
David Cowlard
Dolan Cummings
Odile Decq
Edward Denison
Marie-Hlne Fabre
Ben Hughes
Karsten Huneck
Brendan Macfarlane
Jay Merrick
Hosang Park
Christopher Rainbow
Caroline Roux
Erik Spiekermann
Stuart Waiton
Sarah Wigglesworth
STAFF WRITERS
Emma Gritt
Nicole Robinson
PRODUCT RESEARCH
CONTENT EDITOR
Abi Reed
T. ++44 (0) 20 7336 5226
[email protected]
PRODUCT RESEARCHER
Esther Ademosu
T. ++44 (0) 20 7336 5204
[email protected]
F. ++44 (0) 20 7336 5201
PRODUCTION
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Clare Ovenell
[email protected]
PRODUCTION COORDINATOR
Jo Menzies
[email protected]
PUBLISHING
CHIEF EXECUTIVE
Russell Milburn
PUBLISHING DIRECTOR
Mike Callison
[email protected]
GROUP PRODUCTION DIRECTOR
Andrew Watley
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
John Band
EDITORIAL PRODUCTION MANAGER
Dan Gardiner
[email protected]
CIRCULATION DIRECTOR
Chris Ashton
[email protected]
SUBSCRIPTIONS MANAGER
Iain Bowers
T. ++44 (0) 20 8269 7829
[email protected]
ADVERTISING
GROUP SALES MANAGER
Joe Maughan
T. ++44 (0) 20 7336 5219
[email protected]
SALES MANAGERS
Alistair Fitzpatrick
T. ++44 (0) 20 7336 5214
[email protected]
Shelley Palmer
T. ++44 (0) 20 7336 5280
[email protected]
ITALIAN REPRESENTATIVE
Paolo Capitini
T. ++39 0399 715 671
[email protected]
CLASSIFIED SALES MANAGER
Craig Glinski
T. ++44 (0) 20 7336 5250
[email protected]
SALES EXECUTIVE
Rowena Peck
T. ++44 (0) 20 7336 5224
[email protected]
TECHNICAL
PRINTING
S&G Print Group
NEWSTRADE DISTRIBUTION
COMAG Specialist Division
T. ++44 (0)1895 433800
BOOKSHOP/GALLERY
DISTRIBUTION
Central Books
T. ++44 (0)20 8986 4854
BLUEPRINT
Boundary House
91-93 Charterhouse Street
London EC1M 6HR
www.blueprintmagazine.co.uk
COVER IMAGE:
PLAN OF BERMONDSEY SQUARE, LONDON
DRAWN BY EAST ARCHITECTS
studio62

studio62 Clerkenwell Road London EC1M 5PX

Strata Tiles Ltd T: 0800 012 1454
www.stratatiles.co.uk
specified by design
PROGRESSIVE MEDIA PUBLISHING
Boundary House, 91-93 Charterhouse
Street, London EC1M 6HR
T. ++44 (0)20 7336 5200
F. ++44 (0)20 7336 5201
(ISSN 0268-4926)
Blueprint is published monthly for $163/year by
Progressive Media Publishing, Boundary House,
91-93 Charterhouse Street London EC1M 6HR,
England. No responsibility can be accepted for
unsolicited manuscripts or photographs. 2009.
All calls may be monitored for training purposes.
SUBSCRIPTIONS
SINGLE ISSUE PRICE: UK 4.75; EU C =9.45; US $15.75; ROW 10.45
ONE YEAR: UK 46; EU C =115; US $170; ROW $207
TWO YEAR: UK 88; EU C =207; US $325; ROW $373
BLUEPRINT DIGITAL: 41.40 [Worldwide price, subscribe at www.getthatmag.com]
Blueprint Customer Services: [email protected]
Subscriptions Hotline: ++44 (0)845 155 1845 (local rate)
Fax: ++44 (0)20 8269 7277 E. [email protected]
Blueprint Subscriptions, Progressive Media Publishing, Progressive House, P.O Box 99,
Sidcup, DA15 0EN, UK. Subscribe online at www.getthatmag.com
How public is public space? We recently tried to find out with
a series of experiments in Londons most important squares
and spaces. Pictured above is More London, the civic (albeit
privately managed) space next to the Mayors office. The group
of conspicuous-looking individuals are Blueprint volunteers
testing out what is allowed, and waiting to see if and when
the authorities intervene. Over two days, David Cowlard
documented their activities, which gradually became more
challenging: from sitting in a deckchair, to drinking beer, to
playing football and, the most provocative act, wearing a hoodie.
You can read the results on page 44, with an essay by
Dolan Cummings of the Manifesto Club (which is holding
a programme of events, Freedom Summer, to challenge hyper-
regulation) and dispatches from architects around Europe.
One interesting discovery is that the CCTV cameras, which
our cartoonist Christopher Rainbow has drawn (see page 30),
exist as much to check up on security guards as to watch
you and me. The real issue, though, is not whether space
is privately owned and managed: there is very little difference
between the regulation of More London and Trafalgar Square.
But instead of public space being where individuals are most
free to interact, it is now where we are most constrained.
Ironically, this summer the London authorities are
creating initiatives to enliven the city. Perhaps they realize
that public space is only as lively as the people in it. During
July, Boris Johnsons Story of London festival will place 30
pianos around the city, and the Mayor will encourage people to
cavort Britains Got Talent style on the Fourth Plinth in
Trafalgar Square (for Anthony Gormleys installation). Of
course, this activity is itself highly regulated.
On this issue we had the pleasure of working with East
Architects to create our front cover. Profiled by Tim Abrahams
on page 38, East has created a special drawing of the practices
design for Bermondsey Square, a place where, until 1995
(when the law of march ouvert was abolished), thieves were
free to sell stolen goods with impunity.
Our public space experiments were unashamedly focused
on London, but for a liberal Scandinavian perspective, Peter
Kelly travelled to Copenhagen to interview the activist artist, Ion
Srvin of N55 aboard his illegally moored houseboat (page 56).
Finally to our back page. Paper City is by Bibliothque,
which is also designing a new Blueprint exhibition, Paper City:
Urban Utopias at the Royal Academy of Arts, 31 July-
27 October. See page 32 for a preview of the work that weve
published since we launched the page in September 2006.
Were looking forward to a great freedom summer in the city.
Vicky Richardson, editor
EDITORIAL
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
11
D
A
V
I
D
C
O
W
L
A
R
D
BLUEPRINT
How public is public space? We recently tried to find out with
a series of experiments in London?s most important squares
and spaces. Pictured above is More London, the civic (albeit
privately managed) space next to the Mayor?s office. The
groupof conspicuous-looking individuals are Blueprint
volunteers testing out what is allowed, and waiting to see if
and when
the authorities intervene. Over two days, David Cowlard
documented their activities, which gradually became more
challenging: from sitting in a deckchair, to drinking beer, to
playing football and, the most provocative act, wearing a
hoodie.
You can read the results on page 44, with an essay by
Dolan Cummingsof the Manifesto Club (which is holding
a programme of events, Freedom Summer, to challenge
hyper-regulation) and dispatches from architects around
Europe. One interesting discovery is that the CCTV cameras,
which
our cartoonist Christopher Rainbow has drawn (see page 30),
exist as much to check up on security guards as to watch
you and me. The real issue, though, is not whether space
is privately owned and managed: there is very little
difference between the regulation of More London and
Trafalgar Square. But instead of public space being where
individuals are most free to interact, it is now where
most constrained.
Ironically, this summer the London authorities are
creating initiatives to enliven the city. Perhaps they
that public space is only as lively as the people in i
July, Boris Johnson ?s Story of London festival will place 3
pianos around the city, and the Mayor will encourage p
to cavort Britain?s Got Talent style on the Fourth
Trafalgar Square (for Anthony Gormley ?s installation). Of
course, this activity is itself highly regulated.
On this issue we had the pleasure of working with East
Architects to create our front cover. Profiled by Tim
Abrahams on page 38, East has created a special drawing
the practice?s design for Bermondsey Square, a place w
until 1995 (when the law of march ouvert was abolishe
thieves were free to sell stolen goods with impunity.
Our public space experiments were unashamedly focuse
on London, but for a liberal Scandinavian perspective, Peter
Kellytravelled to Copenhagen to interview the activist
Ion Srvin of N55 aboard his illegally moored houseboat (
56).
Finally to our back page. Paper City is by Biblioth que ,
which is also designing a new Blueprint exhibition, Pa
City: Urban Utopias at the Royal Academy of Arts, 31 J
EDITORIAL
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
11
D
A
V
I
D
C
O
W
L
A
R
D
BLUEPRINT
Minotti S.p.A. 20036 MEDA (MI) ITALIA
via Indipendenza, 152 Tel. +39 0362 343499
www.minotti.com - [email protected]
Albers, seating system
design: Rodolfo Dordoni
by EDC
77 Margaret Street
London W1W 8SY
Tel. +44 020 73233233
Fax +44 020 75804020
e-mail: [email protected]
FEATURES
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
32 54
56
44 PAPER CITY: URBAN UTOPIAS
This summer, Londons Royal
Academy of Arts will host an
exhibition of drawings made for
Blueprints Paper City. Launched
as part of the redesign in 2006,
the back page has been host
to a vast range of ideas for
imaginary cities by architects,
artists and designers. Here,
we show a selection of those
already published alongside
new commissions, ranging from
Paul Williams to Alfredo Haberli,
and Sara Fanelli to James Wines
COMMENT
Writer and lecturer Penny Lewis
laments the growing aversion
to glossy images in architecture
magazines. She argues that this
isnt archiporn, but a legitimate
expression of imagination
INTERVIEW: ION SRVIN
Peter Kelly meets the artist,
activist and co-founder
of Danish arts collective
N55, and finds that despite
his enviable lifestyle, Srvin
is constantly fighting convention
HOW PUBLIC IS PUBLIC SPACE?
Blueprint has joined forces
with the Manifesto Club to test
the over-regulation of public
space. We record the reactions
of security guards and police to
the activities staged by a small
team of volunteers in some of
Londons most notable squares.
Writer Dolan Cummings reflects
on what public has come to
signify. While, photographers,
architects and sociologists
give their views on public space
in the UK and abroad
N
I
G
E
L
P
E
A
K
E
D
A
V
I
D
G
R
A
N
D
O
R
G
E
/
N
E
I
L
B
R
I
D
G
E
13
38
32
56
38 EAST ARCHITECTS
Taking its name from the
part of London where many
of its projects are sited, East
revels in the nitty-gritty
of planning and the meticulous
mapping of terrain. Focusing
on how things fit together,
the practice has applied this
attention to detail to ambitious
projects like the East London
Green Grid, as well as its
smaller, public projects like
the new Bermondsey Square.
Tim Abrahams reports
REGULARS
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
14
16
21
63 OPENING SHOT
Hosang Park captures the surreal
nature of a typical garden at a
modern apartment block in Seoul
VIEW
Paris celebrates film-maker
Jacques Tati; Wayne Hemingways
Kioskiosk at More London; Lizzie
Mary Cullen at this years New
Designers; Achtung! by Erik
Spiekermann; Jay Merrick explores
Joe Webbs Appalachian Cabins;
Letter From Istanbul; Sour
Grapes, and the Rainbow cartoon
PRODUCE
Gian Luca Amadei reports
on the new range of furniture
to come out of a collaboration
between furniture manufacturer,
Thonet and Japanese retailer,
Muji. The innovative joint project
revisits a selection of design
classics, as well as launching
new designs by Konstantin
Grcic. Also, Vicky Richardson has
selected the best new European
products from Londons contract
interiors exhibition, Design
Prima, which took place in June
69 74
76
82
REVIEW
Exhibitions: Odile Decq and Marie-
Hlne Fabre review President
Sarkozys Le Grand Pari(s)
at the Cit de l'Architecture
et du Patrimoine, Paris, and
Collect at the new Saatchi Gallery
Film: Ben Hughes reviews
Gary Hustwits highly anticipated
new film Objectified
Book: Tim Abrahams unpicks
Twenty Minutes In Manhattan
by Michael Sorkin
21
69
PREVIEW
The V&As Telling Tales: Fantasy
and Fear in Contemporary
Design; Rhne Alpes and
Romandie at SAM Basel; Robin
Hood Gardens at the RIBA; J S
Bach/Zaha Hadid at Manchester
International Festival; The
Dalston Mill by Exyzt, and more
PRODUCTS
PAPER CITY
Bibliothque proposes a clearer
way to negotiate London
B
E
N
O
I
T
F
O
U
G
E
I
R
O
L
C
A
S
T
R
O
D
E
N
I
S
O
F
C
A
S
I
65
BENEWORKS
WITH INTERNATIONAL
DESIGNERS.
Motivated employees are the key to the
success of an organisation and motivation
increases when the workplace becomes
a living space. Bene works with customers
and partners to create innovative ofce
solutions which provide employees with
an ideal working environment and fulls
the criteria of efciency, effectiveness
and expression. Ofce design, therefore,
becomes a management tool and also a
contributing factor to the success of an
organisation. This was the concept ad-
opted by the design studio EOOS, when
developing the Filo product range for
Bene. www.bene.com
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
16
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
17
OPENING SHOT
HOSANG PARK
Korean photographer Hosang Parks series of images titled A Square, gives
a birds-eye view of the small, landscaped parks that are provided with
modern apartment buildings in his home city of Seoul. I find that these
parks reflect the characteristics of this Korean metropolis, while also
revealing the distorted reality of a fabricated Korean-style space, and even
the stark realities of democracy in a comic way, says Park. The photographer
has recently been selected by the Jen Bekman Gallery in New York as part
of its Hey, Hot Shot programme, which rewards the best in emerging
photography, and will be the subject of a solo exhibition within the next year.
www.hosangpark.com
evolutin

classic special - CGT

Reception Desk
Introducing the UKs first
...available on all evolutin

standard, special & Clarke Rendall bespoke reception desks

To stand out and be remembered To bring light to a design For something different For the wow factor For the statement T
evolutin

light LCP-2W standard product plus graphics e evolutin

eclypse special - Capital One e

Let us help you meet your commitments to environmental issues such as recycling and sustainability, and
make a valuable statement about your Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Take advantage of a greener
way to dispose of your clients old reception desk through our new Reception Desk Scrappage Scheme.
evolutin

Scrappage Scheme...
I
& Clarke Rendall bespoke reception desks
For something different For the wow factor F To make any reception special
evolutin

classic BZ standard product Bespoke reception desk - Konica Minolta evolutin

elite EB3 standard product - special finish

L
Clarke Rendall is an
Accredited Associate of
Green-Works
Clarke Rendall is registered to carry
waste under the Control of Pollution
(Amendment Act 1989)
Every year in the UK, over 500,000 tonnes of furniture is sent to landfill at an approximate cost to Britains
businesses of 16million, but when we install a new reception desk under our new Reception Desk Scrappage
Scheme, we will dismantle and remove the old desk free of charge a service for which we usually charge 500
We are regularly complimented on the efficiency and nothings a problem attitude of our installation
teams, so isnt it just common sense to allow the same trained staff to do both jobs at the same time?
What happens to the redundant furniture?
As environmental charity Green-Works accredited associates, Clarke Rendall is dedicated to ensuring your old
furniture will have the most positive social and environmental impact. We ensure the desk acquired is either:
Recycled Refurbished Shipped abroad to needy causes
Our policy is that nothing goes to landfill - We will even provide a full audit trail for your scrap furniture.
How do I go about specifying a Reception Desk Scrappage Scheme project?
The quickest way to proceed is to call our support team today on 01908 391600 to discuss your project and
let one of us talk you through the process step by step. You can also register your interest in this exciting
new scheme by logging in to www.receptiondeskscrappagescheme.co.uk where you will be able to
download your dismantling and removal voucher valued at 500 and learn how and where to redeem it.
We see this bold new commitment as an important development in our industry.
Take this opportunity to be part of it right from the start...
DEALERS!
Call our support team now on 01908 391600 to learn how to participate and
discover the excellent incentives that make this package a winner for all involved!
S
heritage, themes all present
in Le Corbusiers 1943 report on
urban planning, the Athens Charter.
In 1958 Tati jokingly said, I am
not at all against modern architecture,
I only think that as well as the
permit to built, there should be
also the permit to inhabit. In 1966
he also admitted that above all,
the star is the set. If, on one hand,
his satires denounce the threat
of dehumanisation generated by
progress itself and question what he
perceives as an architecture of power,
on the other hand, both Mon Oncle
and Playtime display his aesthetic
fascination for the designs of his time.
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
Earlier this year, a full-scale
version of the Villa Arpel, the brilliant
parody of modern house design
that is central to Mon Oncle, went
on display at the 104, a new venue
in the north of Paris. Sadly, the
public was not allowed to step inside
the geometric, multi-coloured gravel
garden, nor to play with its jet
fish, its plastic water lilies or the
automatic garage and noisy gate,
or hi-tech gadgets in its laboratory-
like kitchen. The villa and garden
stood there, inanimate, and the
curators had even forgotten to add
words to explain the significance
of the set. Not a board, or leaflet
of explanation about the making of
the house and the fabulous designs it
contained was to be found anywhere.
Architect Rudy Ricciotti
recently said that the modernity
that Tati demonstrates through
the Villa Arpel reflects a certain fear
of minimalism, linked to the idea
of super cleanliness. An approach
expressed in many contemporary
art works stamped with a white,
hygienic, sort of totalitarian thinking.
Tatis ambivalent, hilarious and
poetic perception of architecture and
the post-war way of life can be fully
appreciated through the present
retrospective, 8 April-2 August. And
as far as a double bill goes, it is also
the opportunity to discover the new
Cinmathque Franaise designed
by Frank Gehry. With its curves
and drama, I wonder if it would
have won over Mr Hulot?
A Tati trip is what curators Macha
Makeeff and Stphane Goudet call
the major retrospective, currently
hosted by the Cinmathque
Franaise this summer. Over 650sq m
of design, fashion, film extracts,
soundtracks, costumes, accessories
and sketchbooks fill the space and
tell the story of this unique artist
and Jacques of all trades who began
his career as a music hall performer
and a mime artist. Tati died in 1982
and in 2001 Makeeff, along with
Tatis daughter, Sophie Tatischeff and
director Jrme Deschamps created
the company Films de Mon Oncle
to acquire the rights to Tatis films.
In 1959 Tatis film Mon Oncle
won an Academy Award for the
Best Foreign Language Film and
the Special Prize of the Jury at
Cannes. It was a platform for him
to develop a critical eye on societys
changes through the character
Mr Hulot, played by Tati. Following
this success, Tati felt confident
enough to dive into another
dimension and created the most
ambitious film of his career, Playtime.
Though the shooting of the film took
three years, beginning in 1964, Tati
had already been planning the films
set for years. The result was a full-
scale concrete, glass and steel city
built on the outskirts of Paris. But
the film was a financial disaster,
Paris is rediscovering the
film-maker Jacques Tati. Isabelle
Chaise reports on a series of events
that reflect on his simultaneous
love and fear of modernism

VIEW
21
Above: A
reconstruction of
the Villa Arpel, the
setting for Jacques
Tatis brilliant film
Mon Oncle
Below: A still
from Playtime
with Tati in the
foreground playing
Monsieur Hulot
budgeted at 2.5m francs (320,000),
the cost escalated to 15m francs
(2m). Eventually the set, Tativille,
was demolished despite Tatis pleas
to Andr Malraux, French minister
of cultural affairs at the time.
In an interview from 1967, Tati
makes his ideas explicit: in the first
half of Playtime, I direct the people
to follow the architects guidelines.
Everybody is filmed as if moving
in straight lines and feeling prisoners
of their surroundings. Modern
architecture would like typists to
sit straight, would like everyone to
take themselves very seriously. In the
first part of the film, the architecture
plays a leading role but gradually,
warmth, contact and friendship
as well as the individual I defend,
take over this international setting
and then neon advertisements make
their entrance and the world starts
to swirl and it all ends up in a merry-
go-round. There are no more straight
angles at the end of the film.
The relationship between Tati and
modern architecture is more complex
than it seems, however. Beyond the
exquisite jokes that punctuate his
films and made him so popular, Tati
provided us with a very subtle, yet
acute reading of our modern society,
questioning the functions of the city:
living, working, circulating and
embracing the notion of historical
L
E
S
F
I
L
M
S
D
E
M
O
N
O
N
C
L
E
B
E
N
O
I
T
F
O
U
G
E
I
R
O
L
22
Kioskiosk will offer a unique
opportunity for Londons creative talent
to sell its wares, Jocelyn Bailey reports
During July and August Blueprint
is media partner for a project curated
by Wayne Hemingway, and set in
one of Londons largest public spaces,
More London. The mission of Kioskiosk
is to give young creative businesses
an opportunity to showcase their
wares and talents in a central location.
The initiative will also highlight
the importance of young and talented
creatives to the economy.
There is a creeping awareness that
London, and Britain more generally,
will have to work hard to maintain its
global reputation for talent in design
and the creative industries. But this
reputation, built on the freedomof
entrepreneurship of previous
generations, risks being stifled by the
strength of the markets they helped
to create.
The rent for a shop unit on Neal
Street that in the 1980s cost 60
per week, is now worth 4,500 per
week. Even in Hoxton its not cheap
anymore. Unless you have some
substantial financial backing, you
just cant do it nowadays, Hemingway
says of his own experience. Although
the skills and the creativity still exist
in the UK, the conditions for growth
arent in place.
Central government isnt deaf
to this risk, but policy can only go
so far in setting the intentions and the
framework: at some point individuals
have to step in and lead by example.
The London Sustainable Development
Commission has identified 15 London
Leaders to do exactly this and drive
change. Wayne Hemingway is one
such leader.
Having sold his own fashion label
for a princely sum, financial freedom
has allowed him to focus on more
socially-oriented initiatives, such
as Kioskiosk. Although matching the
colours of More Londons slate-grey
setting, the kiosk itself, by Hemingway
Design, is likely to look out of place.
Hopefully, though, its prominence
will make a point and its position
outside City Hall is appropriate to
catch the eye of policymakers.
According to Hemingway, Mayor Boris
Johnson has been hugely enthusiastic
and has sponsored the project as part
of the Story of London festival.
Hemingway hopes that this
prototype will be the first of many
to roll out in cities all over the UK.
As well as making a political point,
being permitted to set up shop on
a well-trodden tourist path offers
imaginative businesses the chance
of some commercial success.
The kiosk will be open 2 July-
2 September at More London. Around
40 businesses are already signed up,
including print designer Kelly Allen,
Eye Lust magazine, artists collective
Artade, eel-skin bags from Heidi
Mottram and recycled hats from
Kate Langrish-Smith.
Throughout July Kioskiosk will
host a month of Sundays, events at
which the kiosks occupants will run
workshops and talks connected with
the objects they are selling. The first
workshop, on 5 July, will be a drop-in
craft day for adults and children.
For more information about the
Kioskiosk, see www.kioskiosk.co.uk
Above: A rendering
of Hemingways
Kioskiosk design
Lizzie Mary Cullen is a London-based illustrator
and artist whose work playfully depicts urban
space, such as in this representation of Trafalgar
Square. A graduate of Goldsmiths College,
London, she regularly exhibits with the Cynthia
Corbett Gallery, and will be featured in the One
Year On section of this years New Designers
exhibition, 9-19 July. www.newdesigners.com
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
;^hX]Zg BWZa J@
HVaZh d[XZ h]dlgddb q H^akZg HigZZi! HiVchiZY BdjciiX]Zi! :hhZm 8B') -=9
IZa %&',. -&+%%& q ;Vm %&',. -&+%-. q :bV^a hVaZh5aZ^hjgZeaVc#Xd#j` q LZW lll#aZ^hjgZeaVc#Xd#j`
RIN

CHAIR
DESIGN: HIROMICHI KONNO, A825 TABLE DESIGN: ARNE JACOBSEN
FOR MORE DETAILS OR TO ARRANGE A QUOTATION; CONTACT HUNTERS CONTRACTS LTD
Tel: 020 8592 2221 Fax: 020 8517 9113 email: [email protected] Web: www.hunterscontracts.co.uk
REPUBLIC OF Fritz Hansen
Also working
in partnership with
Symmetry is easy. Putting a picture
or a line of type smack in the
centre of a page is an easy default,
aided and abetted by software
that provides guidelines to snap
the element into position. Centred
arrangements in typography are
predictable and static. If they
are well-done, they look decorative;
if not, they come across as
authoritarian. Symmetry is boring.
After the First World War, artists
and designers felt the need for more
dynamic expression, symbolising
progress, the future. They turned
to asymmetry. Some of the
statements from movements such
as Dada or the Futurists sounded
as if asymmetric layouts were the
solution to overcoming strife and
struggle. Printing pamphlets, books
and posters designed according to
the new rules of typography would,
somehow, make the reading public
ready for a new society. Centred
arrangements were seen to represent
the old order, a kind of typographic
monarchy, with things becoming
less important from the top down.
Designing plans for a city
is like arranging toys, with architects
playing god. The easiest thing
is to place everything symmetrically,
following a grid, be that made
of squares or concentric circles
or both. One look from above (which
wasnt so easy before aeroplanes
or Google Earth) at Versailles
or St Peters Square shows how tidy
these plans are. From the ground,
however, the impression ordinary
people everybody except architects
get is one of feeling small and
insignificant. Which was exactly
the effect both the absolute king
of France and the infallible popes
wanted to achieve. Disagreement,
let alone contradiction were not
options with this architecture.
Hitlers Nazi party rallies in
Nuremberg also celebrated absolute
symmetry, as did his and Albert
Speers plans for post-war Berlin.
Cities that need centuries to grow,
ending up full and messy, did
not suit the plans of the dictators
who wanted to exercise and express
absolute power in their lifetime. No
wonder then that the public spaces
planned and built by the likes of
Louis XIV, Hitler, Stalin and Kim-Il
Sung never have cafes lining them.
Now take a look at the spaces
that do make us feel at home, and
make us want to spend time sitting
in cafes and watching children
play. They are all asymmetric. The
Grand Place in Brussels, although
rebuilt at the height of absolutist
rule, is slightly curved on all sides
of its rectangle. You would never
know that if you stood in the middle
of the large square, looking at all
the grand buildings with their
impressive facades. The syntax
of its construction is not evident,
but somehow the scale feels just
right. The best example for a large
public space with human proportions
is probably the Piazza del Campo
in Siena, the citys beautiful
scallop-shaped market square.
Not only do the buildings follow
a very weird curve around its
perimeter, but the squares floor
is shaped like a shallow bath-tub.
If you set out to walk towards
the tower of the Palazzo Pubblico
which dominates the space, you
soon realise two things: it is
nowhere near the centre and its
entrance is a whole floor lower than
the street surrounding the square. It
takes a lot longer to get there from
one of the cafes around the side than
one first thinks, because of the way
the floor is shaped and the distance
is visually foreshortened by lines
of stone that fan out from the tower
side of the square. If you travel
to all the other famous cities in Italy,
youll soon notice that all their
central squares feel comfortable
because they follow the same
pattern: they always dip at some
point, never have a geometrically-
measured centre and always
have a circumference that defies
easy definition from a pedestrian
standpoint. Why is it that the English
language only has the word square
to describe these places that arent?
A page can also be seen as
a square in the architectural sense.
Its elements are letters and words,
line spaces and margins instead
of buildings and blocks, streets
and squares, and it is always easy
to arrange them all in a predictable
symmetric manner. To make a page
feel approachable and eventually
easy to read, these tectonic elements
need to find their natural position.
Language has its own rhythm, and
as typography is visual language,
a designer has to understand that
rhythm in order to express it with
black and white marks, with words
and the spaces in between. Pure
symmetry will hardly ever do.
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
25
WHY IS IT THAT
THE ENGLISH
LANGUAGE ONLY
HAS THE WORD
SQUARE TO
DESCRIBE THESE
PLACES THAT ARENT?
Erik Spiekermann
set up MetaDesign
and FontShop, and
worked in London
from 1973 to 1981.
A teacher, author
and designer, he
travels between
the Spiekermann
Partners offices in
Berlin, and homes
in London and
San Francisco.
On balance, symmetry may be a bad thing.
Loved by dictators, shunned by libertarians, the
perfectly symmetrical simply doesnt feel right.
Ask anyone at a cafe on the piazza
ACHTUNG!
M
E
L
V
I
N
G
A
L
A
P
O
N
Worldwide project the finest murano glass
Mariposa, design Marco Piva.
UK Agent Monia Allegretti
[email protected] - www.lamurrina.com
Athens Barcelona Beijing Dubai Istanbul Jakarta
Los Angeles Lugano Miami Milano Moscow Munich
New York Roma Seoul Shanghai.
P
Architecture, suggest the mise-en-
scne of Cormac McCarthys brutal
boondocks novel The Orchard Keeper
or a location for the Coen brothers:
O, Non-Architect, Where Art Thou?
Leafing through the book (exquisitely
printed by the University of Georgia
Press) one of Rem Koolhaass most
brilliantly specious dictums comes to
mind: Where there is nothing,
anything is possible; where there is
architecture, nothing else is possible.
In 1875, two real estate
speculators drew two lines on a map;
the first from Chicago to Savannah,
Georgia; the other between New York
and New Orleans. Where the lines
crossed, they reasoned, would make
the perfect site for a great new hub
of culture and commerce.
They printed a pamphlet extolling
Highlands virtues: No better climate
in the world for health, comfort, and
enjoyment. No grasshoppers, chinch
bugs, canker worms, or mosquitoes to
destroy crops or personal comfort.
Three hundred people, including Joe
Webbs parents, pitched up. And
Highlands became his universe, a font
of vernacular from which his chestnut
and pine structures rose, dreams of
settlement brindled with light and
shadow, tapped by branch and leaf.
Webbs handmade craft objects
are not organic architecture as we
know it; that idea was paradoxically
denatured by Frank Lloyd Wrights
stylised tectonic metaphors. Nor have
Bruce Goffs Bavinger House, Herb
Greenes Residence, or Fay Jones
Thorncrown Chapel much to do with
what we encounter in Reuben Coxs
images. The pale, good-ole-boy
grin of Webbs crosscut saw; the
two-ton chunk of Detroit steel parked
next to a cabin, like a lurid clone of
the goddamn big car in Robert
Creeleys beatnik-on-speed poem,
I Know a Man.
Theres something hallucinatory
about Webbs mixture of simple form
and grandiloquent embellishment:
balustrades of thick, twisted twigs
mimicking thickets; staircases
constructed with random patterns
of interlocking mountain laurel or
rhododendron branches; the latter
often paired with a newel post cut
from an ancient mountain laurel where
its trunk once met the earth.
The late Jonathan Williams, a
poet and Highlands resident, noted
that the words heart, ear, hear, earth
and art are contained in the word
hearth: An anagrammatical slam dunk
as well as a gathering of sensual,
transcendent notions that collectively
resonate with feelings of being safely
at home, as Cox puts it. Hiedeggers
Huts in the Appalachians! Hewn,
chinked, shingled, and chimneyd by
jut-boned tradesmen paid five cents
an hour more than the 25-cent
minimum wage in 1938.
A graceful essay by Cox
accompanies his images, correctly
identifying Webbs work as the
confluence of things that dont
exist any longer in America: the
once endless supply of natural
resources and cheap, available land
in an unspoiled mountain arcadia
with even cheaper labour.
This was an Arcadia whose pace
and touch was rooted in the
construction of homes without the
use of plans or power tools, and Cox
confirms that these qualities have
largely evaporated and now leave no
linear point of departure beyond the
work, enshrining Webbs oeuvre in an
architectural equivalent of the
La Brea Tar Pits. He is the last, and
has no descendants in the tradition
of cabin building brought to America
in the 17th century by the Swedes.
In this strangely compelling book,
objective truths are felt rather than
understood. Google Earths pixelated
close-up of Highlands is understood
rather than felt: we know things
now, other things, endlessly. Its
rare to feel things in an unknown
way, but in these 59 pages, we do.
Jay Merricks focus
is drawn to a
compelling essay
by photographer
Reuben Cox on
the last fewrustic
cabins built by
Joe Webb in
the Appalachians
A fellow called Joe Webb purchased
46 hectares of land outside Highlands,
a small town in the Appalachian
mountains of North Carolina, in late
1918 and built more than 30 log
cabins there. Today, those that remain
seem extraordinary pragmatic,
Mannerist, and built in a kind of
constructive freehand. In an age
of velocity and temporal amnesia,
these humble buildings are the freeze
frames of one mans life in the middle
of nowhere; a life that produced an
architecture of brusque frontier
typology that had barely changed
for two centuries.
Reuben Coxs tritone photographs
of Webbs houses in The Work of Joe
Webb: Appalachian Master of Rustic
Above: Webb mixed
simple form and
grandiloquent
embellishment
Left: The building
techniques may
have been simple
but the cabins
still stand
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
27
28
Host tooneof thelargest textiletrade
fairsinEuropeandcool, designer coffee
houses, theTurkishcapital isaunique
mixof traditionandglobal influences,
JocelynBaileyreports
The drive from Istanbul Atatrk
airport into the city must be one
of the most scenic journeys of its type.
The road traces the shoreline of the
Sea of Marmara, an expanse of blue
fringed with the rusty red hulks
of shipping containers: picturesque,
but also a reminder of the significance
of trade in Istanbuls long and
complicated history. Im visiting the
city to attend the annual home textiles
fair, Evteks, the showcase event for
one of the countrys biggest exports.
Given that Istanbul has been
pivotal on the silk route for hundreds
of years, it is surprising to learn that
Turkeys home-grown textile industry,
as it exists today, is a 20th century
creation, borne of vast cotton fields
and industrialisation. Far from the
teeming souk I was, perhaps foolishly,
hoping for, the trade fair looked like
any other, overwhelming in scale
and uninspiring in its business park
setting. And the outlook of the textile
manufacturers showcasing in the vast
exhibition halls is decidedly global.
Primarily an export industry, most
of its designs pander to foreign
tastes. The English like heavy cottons;
the Greeks prefer lightweight sheers,
and the Russians go for bright colours.
Whatever your fancy, its all here.
In the entrance hall is the Trend
Forum. This year, presumably in
a bid to seem Europe-friendly, they
invited Dutch concept designer
Inkrit Berbee to create trends for
2010. So Berbee, in a floral kaftan
and designer glasses, guided us around
the pop-up pavilion displaying her
predictions for the future direction
of home textiles, which comprised six
moods, with names such as Emotion,
Erosion and the English Dandy. It will
be interesting to see if any of these
moods turn up in Habitat next year.
For a more authentically Turkish
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
experience I had to wait until our
scheduled stop at the Grand Bazaar,
which, in spite or, perhaps, because
of the onslaught of haggling and
heckling, is a popular shopping
destination for locals and tourists
alike. It is here that more traditional
hand-woven textiles such as kilims
are sold. The making of these carpets
is the winter pastime of shepherds
in Anatolia, where they are woven
from sheeps wool and coloured with
natural dyes. The production process
hasnt changed for centuries. It
is a pleasing irony that, overlooked by
industrialisation, the scarcity of the
shepherds handiwork has rendered
it a highly-prized commodity.
The Turkish economy has seen
unprecedented growth since 2002 and
the cotton empire has played its part.
The Evteks fair is the second largest
after Heimtextil in Frankfurt, and the
sense of national pride attached to it
is tangible. Sponsored by the Textile
Exporters Association, the fair is
viewed as a chance to demonstrate
to an international audience that
the Turkish economy, in contrast
to the rest of Europe, is doing just
fine. The national anthem was
belted out as Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan opened the fair in an
elaborate ribbon-cutting ceremony,
an event inconceivable at Londons
100% Design. Still, among producers
there is a sense of unease, and talk
of innovating to stay ahead, in the
face of the growing competition
from China and India.
But there is a conflict here.
Despite these forward-looking
postures, the business model
is undeniably traditional. Turkey has
been a secular state for a long time
now, but there were very few women
in evidence anywhere: business
decisions in an industry where the
customers must predominantly be
female are still left to the men. Even
the biggest players seem to keep it in
the family, brothers are now joint-CEOs
of companies started by their fathers
in the 1950s. And transactions were
conducted in a very relaxed manner:
suits with expanding waistlines and
receding hairlines lounging over
coffee and syrupy baklava, surrounded
by a milky haze of cigarette smoke.
That cant be good for the fabric.
As is often the case on such trips,
after two days I realised I had seen
little more than the inside of a
glorified tin shed and some very nice
restaurants. So, after a terrifying taxi
ride, I found myself in Istanbul proper.
The plan was to visit a design practice,
Autoban, which first came to British
attention when it won a Blueprint
Award at 100% Design in 2006. A
20-strong team led by two former
interior and product designers,
Autoban is a relatively young practice
that is now the designer of choice for
top Turkish fashion brand Vakko and
coffee chain The House Cafe. Later, sat
with a cup of apple tea on the buzzing
Istiklal Caddesi, I could appreciate its
work first-hand, and it was very cool:
the people, the food, and Autobans
decor itself made for a carelessly
stylish cafe in a very hip part of town.
Autobans refurbished warehouse
gallery is in the same area, the Tnel
quarter, which holds some of the
last, elegantly decaying, buildings
of the Ottoman empire, and is now
undergoing a slow process of
gentrification. Not far from the ancient
Galata tower, the area is populated by
workshops and artisans studios, and
Autoban relies on old-time expertise in
crafting its distinctively contemporary
products. The influence of pared-down
Scandinavian design is clear, but
as is endemic to Istanbul, it has been
blended with an Eastern influence:
brass, rich woods and ornamental
tracery all lend a luxurious flavour.
On rejoining the itinerary
I discovered that I had only missed
a visit to a new shopping mall, one
of an increasing number sprouting
all over the city. Turks are clearly keen
to be citizens of the EU. Far from being
a taboo subject, the failed membership
bid frequently crops up in conversation.
But for now, it seems they have
such a clear and proud sense of self,
it would be a tragedy to see any kind
of homogenisation creeping in.
Istanbul is a fascinating city because
of the mix of influences that have
informed its development. It has
managed to retain an authentic
exoticism that is rare in the face
of tourism opportunities perhaps
because it has always been a city
full of visitors, a trend this visitor
intends to help continue.
A LETTER FROM
ISTANBUL
Dinesen
Klovtoftvej 2, Jels
DK-6630 Rdding
T +45 7455 2140
[email protected]
www.dinesen.com
Showroom:
Sturlasgade 12 G
DK-2300 Kbenhavn S
T +45 3311 2140
Dimensionally
different ooring
The Dinesen family business
has been manufacturing
solid plank oors that
combine unique character
and dimensions since its
foundation in 1898.
Available in dimensions up
to 35 mm thick, 45 cm wide
and 15 m long, Dinesen
Douglas oors create a
distinguished foundation for
residential, commercial and
cultural projects.
Commercial project, Denmark
Architects:
Maali & Lalanda
FOUNDING PATRON OF
SAATCHI GALLERY
CITY LIMITS
It was good to see Pearce Marchbanks
fantastic Time Out cover, Planners
On The Rampage, from October
1974, at the Design Museums
Super Contemporary show. The idea
of architects and planners destroying,
rather than creating, the city recurs in
the Blueprint Paper City exhibition at
the RA this month (see feature, page
32). But theres one example you
wont see at the show: an effort by
eternally angry political cartoonist
Martin Rowson. Back in 2007,
Rowson drew a bile-heavy Paper
City for Blueprint that depicted a
giant, golden, fire-breathing effigy
of Norman Foster being dragged
through the streets of London by
enslaved architects, while shitting
out an endless stream of office blocks
across the city. Given that the show
will appear in a space designed by
Foster (a Royal Academician himself)
it was decided that its inclusion might
be a little impolite.
A-BORE-RIGINAL
Manners at the Royal Academy arent
always so impeccable. The grandees
of British culture who attended the
Academys annual dinner in June were
looking forward to some inspirational
polemic from guest speaker Germaine
Greer. But instead, Greer, who is
usually a dependable rent-a-rant,
offered up a buttock-numbingly dull
account of aboriginal art. The best
comment came afterwards from
RA President Nick Grimshaw who
congratulated her on a wonderful
speech, which he only understood
after reading three times.
PERISH THE THOUGHT
V&A director Mark Jones took a
particular interest in Blueprints cover
story last month, about a nuclear
waste facility in the Netherlands that
doubles as an art store. Apparently its
not quite as bizarre as we thought: the
less distinguished works in the V&A s
collection are themselves stored in a
nuclear bunker embedded in a hillside
in Wiltshire. The facility is also shared
by the Tate. Jones told Grapes that his
real worry is that, in the event of a
nuclear apocalypse, our society will be
remembered only by the second-rate
artefacts that survive safe in bunkers.
Interesting thought. We can, however,
take comfort from the fact that Studio
Jobs hideous Perished Bench, which
is part of the V&As new Telling Tales
show, would be vaporized. Even
mushroom clouds have silver linings.
ABOLISH THE MONARCHY!
Theres been a lot of coverage of the
newly-established Rubble Club, which
honours and celebrates buildings
demolished within their architects
30
lifetime. The idea was coined by Isi
Metzstein, but has been taken up by
Scotlands Prospect magazine. After
the news that Richard Rogers scheme
for Chelsea Barracks has been
dropped, perhaps there could be a new
branch of the club for architects
whose careers have been mortally
damaged by Prince Charles? Thanks to
Blueprint Twitter-follower @archiseek
for suggesting the name Poundedbury.
SPECIAL K
Arne Jacobsens Royal Hotel in
Copenhagen will be celebrating
its 50th anniversary next year and
to oversee the celebrations, its parent
company Radisson has drafted in the
son of its original manager, Alberto
Kappenberger, to oversee proceedings.
Kappenberger Senior (who is now
mythologized by the hotel as Alberto
K) worked closely with Jacobsen
on the Royals design and even lived
in the building for two decades after
its opening. He didnt always show
such good judgment though. His
son, who protests that this is a pure
coincidence, is named Roy Al.
A LITTLE TOO PUBLIC
Odd things happened when Blueprints
team of volunteers were testing out
the public spaces of London (see
feature, page 44). From suggesting
that alcohol could only be drunk out
S
O
U
R
G
R
A
P
E
S
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
of teacups, to describing the
picnic-ers as a health and safety
risk to nonexistent cyclists, security
guards offered much in the way of
Kafkaesque surrealism. The strangest
happening of all, however, came
courtesy of a rather rotund, middle-
aged civilian at Trafalger Square:
shrink-wrapped in a pink lycra
bodysuit he circled the volunteers
on a unicycle, while flapping his arms
and exclaiming, what every picnic
needs is a pink thing! Were not sure
what this tells us about public space,
except that someones going to have a
lot of fun watching the CCTV footage.
RAMBOLLING ON
David Chipperfield Architects has
asked us to correct a note in an article
about the Hepworth Wakefield in our
June issue. Ramboll UK designed the
bridge, not DCA, it said. In case we
didnt get the full picture, the press
department sent us this statement: In
our role as Design Team Leader we
were given the opportunity to
collaborate with the bridge engineers
from Ramboll on the footbridge
design. We were asked to work with
Ramboll to ensure consistency
between the building, the landscaping
and the bridge. Sorry for any
confusion... DCA might win lots of
awards for its architecture, but it
wont get any for its use of English.
www.burmatex.co.uk
designed for you...
on trend and on budget - the smart tailored loop from burmatex.
We listen to our customers and respond quickly to what they want. Thats why
were pleased to introduce Sector for 2009, our new tailored loop. This leading-
edge product combines function and sleek styling to create a smart, directional
look that will bring inspiration to your scheme without compromising your budget.
For more information call 01924 276 333 or email: [email protected]
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
32
PAPER CITY
URBAN
UTOPIAS
THIS SUMMER, LONDONS ROYAL ACADEMY
OF ARTS WILL HOST AN EXHIBITION
OF IMAGES CREATED FOR BLUEPRINTS
BACK PAGE, WRITES VICKY RICHARDSON
When we launched Paper City, as part of the
Blueprint redesign in September 2006, we had
little idea that our brief would produce such
a wide variety of responses and ideas about cities.
Since then more than 40 images have been made,
some of which are published here for the first time.
Now, as then, the condition and future of
cities is very much in the publics consciousness.
Urban master planning has become the bread
S
A
R
A
F
A
N
E
L
L
I
,
I
L
L
U
S
T
R
A
T
O
R
,
O
C
T
O
B
E
R
2
0
0
6
J
A
M
E
S
W
I
N
E
S
,
S
C
U
L
P
T
O
R
,
N
O
V
E
M
B
E
R
2
0
0
6
P
A
U
L
W
I
L
L
I
A
M
S
,
A
R
C
H
I
T
E
C
T
,
J
U
N
E
2
0
0
8
and butter of many architectural practices,
while planners and policy-makers are increasingly
aware that the vibrancy of cities is linked to the
creative industries.
We launched Paper City just as the 2006
Venice Architecture Biennale opened, with
a special focus on Cities, Architecture and
Society curated by Ricky Burdett. Dominated
by statistics and factual information informed
by the UN Habitat report, State of the Worlds
Cities, Burdetts biennale focused the discussion
away from aesthetic issues, and shaped the
urban debate for many months.
As the UN Habitat report had noted:
in 2007, for the first time in history, the worlds
urban population will exceed the rural population.
Most of the worlds urban growth 95 per cent
in the next two decades will be absorbed by cities
of the developing world, which are least equipped
to deal with rapid urbanization. This finding
has shaped the response of many of our Paper
City contributors.
But we also hoped to use the page to widen
the debate about what form cities could take,
and to blur the boundaries between the real and
imaginary by fielding ideas from illustrators, artists,
furniture, graphic and other types of designers.
We created a brief that simply gave the
dimensions of the Blueprint page (232mm x 314mm)
and asked for ideas that were unconstrained by the
usual rules. We emphasized that the drawing could
be a work in progress with an emphasis on
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
33
S
T
E
V
E
N
A
P
P
L
E
B
Y
,
I
L
L
U
S
T
R
A
T
O
R
,
M
A
R
C
H
2
0
0
9
A
L
F
R
E
D
O
H

B
E
R
L
I
,
P
R
O
D
U
C
T
D
E
S
I
G
N
E
R
,
M
A
Y
2
0
0
8
U
R
B
A
N
S
A
L
O
N
,
A
R
C
H
I
T
E
C
T
,
S
E
P
T
E
M
B
E
R
2
0
0
8
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
34
thinking big, and outside the framework of
official debate.
One of the most interesting things to see
is the approach taken by non-architect designers,
which you can see illustrated here. Perhaps
designers working outside their usual terrain,
feel more comfortable with the idea of proposing
large-scale ideas for the city. Architects on the
other hand, have preferred to make a comment
about existing urban conditions. In June 2008,
Paul Williams (see page 32) drew a bleak, abstract
representation of the widening gulf between rich
and poor, while in October 2008, Royal Academician
Ian Ritchie presented his thoughts about social
organisation, sustainability and trust in the form
of a painted diagram. A notable exception to the
apparent pessimism of architects was Laurie
Chetwood, who for our January 2009 issue imagined
a future London immersed in water, with buildings
sprouting mushroom-like growths and exuberant
flowering tops.
The exhibition will show more than 30
drawings by a range of designers, including
many new images by postgraduate students
of the RA Schools and RA architects and artists.
The installation in the Architecture Space is being
designed by Bibliothque, which itself has drawn
a Paper City for us this month.
Paper City: Urban Utopias will be at the Royal
Academy of Arts, W1, 31 July-27 October. For more
information see www.blueprintmagazine.co.uk
N
I
G
E
L
P
E
A
K
E
,
A
R
T
I
S
T
,
D
E
C
E
M
B
E
R
2
0
0
6
I
N
E
Z
D
E
C
O
O
,
R
A
S
C
H
O
O
L
S
S
T
U
D
E
N
T
,
A
U
G
U
S
T
2
0
0
9
R
O
B
I
N
T
A
R
B
E
T
,
A
R
T
I
S
T
,
S
E
P
T
E
M
B
E
R
2
0
0
7
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
35
M
A
R
C
A
T
K
I
N
S
,
A
R
T
I
S
T
,
A
U
G
U
S
T
2
0
0
9
C
A
R
L
B
U
R
G
E
S
S
,
I
L
L
U
S
T
R
A
T
O
R
,
A
U
G
U
S
T
2
0
0
9
P
E
T
E
R
C
O
O
K
A
N
D
G
A
V
I
N
R
O
B
O
T
H
A
M
,
A
R
C
H
I
T
E
C
T
S
,
A
U
G
U
S
T
2
0
0
9
THE WORLDS FI NEST BATHROOMS
FROM THE WORLDS FI NEST DESIGNERS
www.cphart.co.uk
www.cphartboutique.co.uk
Philippe Starck by Axor & Duravit
Jean-Marie Massaud by Axor Sir Norman Foster - Duravit
Call telephone sales for price enquiries
and to order your free brochure on
0845 600 1950
SHOWROOMS
Waterloo - Newnham Terrace, Hercules Road, London SE1 7DR0 - 20 7902 5250
Primrose Hill - 103-105 Regents Park Road, Primrose Hill, London NW1 8UR - 020 7586 9856
Guildford - Willway House, Woodbridge Road, Guildford, Surrey GU1 1DX - 01483 469 430
Manchester - Deansgate Locks, 1 Whitworth Street West, Manchester M1 5LH - 0161 214 7200
N
E
W
Patricia Urquiola by Axor Ross Lovegrove by Vitra
Sieger Design by Duravit
Jamie Hayon by AQhayonCollection
EAST
ARCHITECTS
LONDON
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
38
Architectural practice East is making
a name for itself by specializing in the
sorts of projects most architects baulk at.
Its director, Dann Jessen, takes pride in the
fact that the work relies on the type of local
knowledge that takes years to establish.
Indeed, it is as if East, which was set up
nine years ago on the fringes of east London,
actively enjoys all the parts of construction
that others hate. Its recently published book,
Expressing Interest, includes a plan locating
60 negotiations and agreements required
to implement works on its improvements
to Borough High Street. Licence sought
for attachment of highway light at 107/111
Borough High Street from F E Wright (UK)
Limited is just one example. Of course,
this is the stuff of architecture and if you
look at it a different way, Easts attention
to detail, its patience and dedication is just
AS ITS DRAWING FOR THIS MONTHS
FRONT COVER SHOWS, EAST ENJOYS THE
WAY THINGS FIT TOGETHER.
TIMABRAHAMS ALSO FINDS THE
PRACTICE ADEPT AT CREATING GOOD
PUBLIC SPACES AND A RARE EXAMPLE OF
AN ARCHITECT THAT RELISHES THE NITTY-
GRITTY OF PLANNING AND BUILDING
Bermondsey Square,
which opened earlier
this year, accommodates
the old antiques market.
Developed for Igloo
Regeneration, it features
icosohedron seating
by Jonathan Hares
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
39
what is needed. Not to mention
the very specific geographic focus.
Bermondsey Square is the latest
manifestation of a preoccupation with
eastern peripheries of the British capital.
Jessen, a native of Copenhagen, gestures
at a utility cover in the square which
has significantly reshaped this south-London
borough. Its all about the edges
of things. About how this utility cover
comes together with the paving, and
how the paving comes together, he says.
The square is notable for its simplicity,
for its rigour and the way it spreads out
into the streets beyond and lifts the whole
area. Our theory is if we sort out all the
edges the stuff in the middle will be all
right, says Jessen, who enjoys going into
detail about the reasons the utility covers
Above inset: Detail
of washed exposed
aggregate concrete mats
Left: Seats are made
from oak sleepers on
stainless steel rotating
legs that double-up
as traffic barriers
Above: A fabric plan
of Bermondsey Square.
The dragfaced paving,
using 200mm x 100mm
dark-blue clay bricks,
is reminiscent of corduroy
B
O
T
H
I
M
A
G
E
S
:
S
I
L
K
E
K
L
I
N
N
E
R
T
/
E
A
S
T
~L8 des|gned to uove
Les|gn: ||erry ~ubert www.g|rsberger.cou
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
41
to green spaces, says Jessen. The East
London Green Grid is an admirable
document, which has mapped the existing
state, planning proposals and funding
applications for a network of green spaces
stretching as far as Dagnam Park in the
north-east and Dartford Marsh in the south.
East is drawing up the framework
for one of the six areas, working with
four boroughs (Greenwich, Lewis, Bexley
and Bromley) identifying all the projects;
who owns them; what the plans are; how
the planners have prioritized them, and
then, in an early phase of delivery, looking
at 10 projects in detail. Its an attempt
to overcome the culture of piecemeal
funding applications. In the past,
Greenwich would apply for a little bit
of money for a park, all very nice, but
with no idea of the wider picture. Putting
them together is a better ideal, says Jessen.
The research is being put into
a geographic information system (GIS). East,
however, is more interested in geographic
areas, specifically connecting the parks
in the hills above the flats to the south
of the Thames: Woolwich and Belvedere.
The ambition is huge, especially given that
the South London Green Chain still has to
prove itself and architectural interventions
by the very nature of the terrain and budgets
must be minimal, but as the practices
or combination of surnames, but one that
reflected interest in a particular territory
and approach, says Jessen. The name also
suggests that you are going somewhere
else, which is about places being special.
Few practices, though, have actually
nailed their colours to the mast in such
spectacular fashion. Ian Simpson has
become virtually synonymous with north
Manchester and Mario Botta with Lugano
in Switzerland. Certain architects become
closely associated with a certain city or a
certain part of a city. Not just because they
are born there or because they build there
but because they come to redefine the very
place in which they live, often subverting
the urban grain and architectural vernacular
they know so well. But not many of them
have actually named themselves after
the area, which they may not come from
but which they are obsessed with.
Behind Easts built work crafted
open plans with rough finishes la mode
there is an impressive body of research,
not to mention a deeply held vision
of London as a wider network of public
spaces. It produced a primer document
which went on to become a framework
for the South East London Green Chain,
which in turn led on to the East London
Green Grid. Nowhere else in the world
has such a strategic approach been taken
in Bermondsey Square are that depth.
Bermondsey Square is an admirable
piece of rationalism. It has to deal with some
odd moments. Munkenbeck and Marshalls
raised L-shaped block forms one corner of
the project. Sarah Wigglesworths shelter for
76 bicycles presents a manic geometric facade
to the square and a blank wall to the street.
The square probably didnt need a feature
here, but Easts unfussy landscaping gives
it space to breathe. It has introduced the
catenary lighting draped from the new hotel
on one side and the mixed-used block on
the other. Jessen explains that both East and
Munkenbeck and Marshall came up with
the idea independently. It clears the decks
and allows for sculptural seating to become
incidental trinkets in the wide, textured
tapestry of the square. Indeed, an initial
model proves that this was the intention.
It is a breath of fresh air in a city where
hard-surfaced public squares, far from
providing open-ended usage, are actually
hugely proscriptive. (One thinks in particular
of More London, see page 36.) It is also
a justification of putting ones interest very
much at the heart of ones practice. East
started out in the late-Nineties with a range
of small urban improvement projects, east
of the Thames Barrier, and this was reflected
in the choice of name for the practice. We
chose a name that was not an acronym
Top left: A design
for Rainham Riverside
Walkway and cafe
in Havering, London
Above right: Working for
Design for London, East
has proposed Crossriver
Park, an idea for a park
that stretches across
the River Thames
Above left: A map
showing green spaces
in London, between
Charlton and Erith

BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009

42
snide remark. Ironically a name which
should be associated with a specific part
of London, for a while became associated
instead with a tiny part of its bureaucracy.
Such is the culture of envy in cities.
If anything, East should be given
more power not less. London is special, says
Jessen. Because there are edges everywhere.
Buildings are set back in compounds.
Everywhere there are little zones of no
mans land, sometimes fat zones of no mans
land. Perhaps we dont hear of practices
identifying themselves with geographic
regions because when you look at a place
in its totality architecture seems remarkably
insignificant. What is admirable about
East is its conceptual rigour as much
as its rigour in delivery. Edges happen
from the tiniest edge of the bookshelf
to the greenbelt, says Jessen. London
is like that and its not a gridded block city.
It is much richer because it has all these
intermediate areas, which you can use
or forget about. Often they are forgotten
about. We see a richness in that
came in 2002 when founding partner
Mark Brearley left to take up a position
at the then Architecture and Urbanism
Unit at the Greater London Authority,
which later became Design for London.
After he left, there was a suggestion that
East had won important contracts solely
because a former member of its practice
had gone on to bigger and better things.
Admittedly, the timing was a little
unwise. Barking and Dagenham council
said Brearley himself had suggested East
for master-planning work on Barking
Town Centre in January 2002, the same
month he resigned as a partner at East.
Naughty, but hardly a capital offence. If
you look at things the other way, Brearleys
appointment showed that East were exactly
what London needed. Someone to cajole,
encourage and advise planners, developers
and architects working in the capital. Since
a number of high-profile practices, Alsop,
DSDHA and Piers Gough, complained about
Brearley showing favouritism to his old pals,
East cannot be mentioned without some
mantra goes: look after the edges and
the centre looks after itself.
Its hard to imagine a high-profile
architect getting to grips with the endlessly
unglamorous mapping of terrain that this
requires; both administrative and geological,
especially with the very possibility that
Boris Johnsons office will cancel it: he
has after all dissolved the 100 Public Places
scheme, of which Easts Acton Town Square,
was a part. Here, East actually removed
planters and deliberately completed
an old paving scheme, which they knew
they were going to remove, to convince
local people that taking trees away could
be a good thing. Its work in Rainham
is interesting, attempting to knit the town
back to the riverside despite the Channel
Tunnel Rail Link, the A13 and the industrial
estates. East is making a new river walk
and building a cafe on the site of the old
Three Crowns pub, replicating the way
it served tea to workers on the upper floor
while housing a pub on the ground floor.
A blip in the practices development .
Above and below: Acton
Town Square in Ealing,
London, was completed
in 2008 as part
of the GLAs 100 Public
Spaces programme
//IN EAST ACTON TOWN
CENTRE, THE PRACTICE
ACTUALLY REMOVED PLANTERS
AND DELIBERATELY COMPLETED
AN OLD PAVING SCHEME,
WHICH THEY KNEW THEY
WERE GOING TO REMOVE,
TO CONVINCE LOCAL PEOPLE
THAT TAKING TREES AWAY
COULD BE A GOOD THING//
D
A
V
I
D
G
R
A
N
D
O
R
G
E
/
N
E
I
L
B
R
I
D
G
E
D
A
V
I
D
G
R
A
N
D
O
R
G
E
/
N
E
I
L
B
R
I
D
G
E
DESIGN-LED
FLOORING FOR
COMMERCIAL AREAS
Expona Design is the latest
contemporary commercial
flooring collection, aligned to
today's material trends.
Innovative, authentic and
sophisticated designs and surface
textures have been developed to
assist in bringing interiors to life.
www.polyflor.com/expona
POLYFLOR LTD. PO BOX 3 RADCLI FFE NEW ROAD WHI TEFI ELD MANCHESTER M45 7NR UK
TEL: +44 (0)161 767 1111 UK SALES DIRECT: +44 (0)161 767 1122 UK SAMPLE REQUESTS: +44 (0)161 767 2551
E-MAIL: [email protected] WEBSITE: WWW.POLYFLOR.COM
DESIGN
2
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
44
HOW
PUBLIC
IS
PUBLIC
SPACE?
BLUEPRINT HAS JOINED FORCES
WITH THE MANIFESTO CLUB TO TEST
THE LIMITS OF FREEDOM IN THE
CAPITAL. OVER TWO DAYS OUR TEAM
OF VOLUNTEERS CARRIED OUT A
SERIES OF EXPERIMENTS IN THREE
LONDON SPACES: THE SCOOP AT MORE
LONDON; TRAFALGAR SQUARE, AND
PATERNOSTER SQUARE. MEANWHILE,
DOLAN CUMMINGS ARGUES THAT THE
HYPER-REGULATION OF PUBLIC SPACE
IS REDEFINING OUR UNDERSTANDING
OF WHAT PUBLIC MEANS.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY DAVID COWLARD
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
45
Think of public space and you might
imagine parks or squares where people
go to relax by sunbathing or reading
a book, or maybe pedestrianized streets
or arcades bustling with shoppers, charity
collectors and street entertainers. But
ideally we think of something more than
this. A successful public space is surely
somewhere people interact in various
ways, rather than simply sharing the
same physical space while wrapped up
in themselves, confined to family units
or lost in iPods. Public spaces might also
be defined as places where its alright to
talk to strangers. Indeed, it is public
squares and streets where we assemble
for political demonstrations or protests,
talking and arguing freely with other
members of the public.
In this sense, of course, public space
is not primarily to do with architecture
or town planning, but with the public
itself. The physical spaces we use reveal
a lot about the state of the public, however.
In recent years, there has been a trend
towards ever greater regulation of these
spaces, with surveillance cameras and
wardens making public streets and squares
feel like private shopping malls.
Civil liberties campaigners have
Blueprint volunteers
picnic with alcohol
in The Scoop at More
London while being
closely observed
by security guards
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
46
objected in particular to the extraordinary
growth of CCTV in the UK, while
information commissioner Richard
Thomas has famously warned that we
could sleepwalk into a surveillance society.
Neville Brodys installation, Freedom
Space, at the Design Museums show
Super Contemporary that opened in June,
deals with the proliferation of CCTV
cameras in the UK. We are probably
captured on camera at least 400 times a day
if you are travelling through London, says
Brody. People will be able to step inside the
pod-like space and rather than it being used
for covert observation, what people say and
do will be publicly broadcast on a website.
There is a more subtle aspect to the
growth of regulation: there is less and
less ambiguity about what public spaces
are for. They are perhaps cleaner, shinier
and better designed, but also more uniform
and less interesting. Take an example
such as More London where a vast expanse
of immaculate grey stone designed
by Foster and Partners has art installations
by Julian Opie and Fiona Banner, yet
it feels lifeless and predictable.
This reveals a narrowing of our
understanding of what public means. Many
of the security measures have been justified
as responses to public concern about crime
and antisocial behaviour. People are made
uncomfortable by kids hanging around,
or homeless people drinking: these things
are considered a misuse of public space.
The idea that public space is for everyone
is losing ground to an expectation that
people should observe a certain etiquette.
Toleration of others has given way
to a demand that we all show respect.
At the same time, many of us
instinctively feel that something is lost
when our understanding of the public
is reduced to consumers on best behaviour.
It has long been recognised by urbanists
and thinkers such as the London School
of Economics professor of sociology
and author of The Fall of Public Man,
Richard Sennett, that part of the appeal
of city living is a sense of unpredictability,
even edginess.
Most restrictions on what people
can do in particular places, no ball games,
no loitering and so on, are still justified
on the grounds that the places in question
are private, and therefore everything is at
the discretion of the owner. There is an
increasing tendency, however, to prohibit
certain behaviour precisely because the
places in question are public, and this
is where the problem really lies.
The banning of smoking in enclosed
public places has been an important step in
the ongoing process of defining and
redefining what public means. As ever, the
issue is not ownership of space in a strictly
More London, SE1
Day 1
14:52
A sits on a deckchair
14:56
J joins A and opens a picnic hamper
14:59
P approaches drinking a beer
15:00
First security guard walks past and consults
with another two. First security guard says:
Theyre not doing anything wrong are they?
15:01
Second security guard approaches.
Guard says: Sorry to interrupt your lovely
picnic, Ive been asked by management to move
you along. You know its health and saftey.
P says: Health and safety?
Guard says: Yes, its a public walkway, and
it gets busy down here with cyclists
and skateboarders who come past.
P says: I thought you werent allowed to
cycle here.
Guard says: No, youre not but kids come
racing through on their bikes we try to
stop them but
A says: But were not on the main drag.
[Group sitting away from Thames Path.] Well,
its private property, and its about the
image. People inside can see you and youre
drinking beers. You can go to the picnic area
or to The Scoop.
P says: Can we drink in The Scoop?
Security says: Yes, that whole area has been
designed as an area where you can sit
around
15:08
Group moved to The Scoop, closely observed
by security guards
15:16
Group plays football and drinks openly in The
Scoop
15:29
Group leaves The Scoop
Notes
Group told to move because they were
a hindrance to bikes. However, they were
away from the main thoroughfare. There
is a huge level of security here. At one stage,
four men in blue More London livery were
observing the group and having an ongoing
conversation about what was appropriate action
to take. Signs around the area say: Private
property no skateboarding, rollerblading
or cycling. Anti-skateboarding measures have
been fitted to raised benches. Images are
being recorded for the purposes of public
saftey, crime prevention and prosecution,
property management.

More London, SE1

Day 2
14:50
D enters The Scoop [without a hoodie] and
opens can of beer abruptly
14:53
N enters The Scoop wearing a hoodie and
drinking beer
14:57
G joins wearing a hoodie. Group starts
playing football
15:02
A enters wearing a hoodie and drinking beer
15:05
Security guard appears at the top of
The Scoop.
Guard shouts across: You cant play football
here guys. Its all private property. This
whole grey area is private property.
Guard (to couple nearby): Its such a stupid
rule, if we dont do it, though, then
someone in the offices will call Boris
Johnson and hell tell us to stop it.
15:07
Security guard approaches group.
Guard says: Im sorry. You cant play
football here. I know its a stupid rule.
Personally I dont mind you playing football
here. Its really not up to me. You can chill
out and have a good time.
D says: Can we drink?
Guard says: Yeah. Thats fine, just no ball
games. Its a stupid rule, its these guys
[pointing at offices west of The Scoop]. Its
all the corporate shots around wholl get on
the phone to Boris and hell pass a stupid
law and spend loads of the publics money
passing the law.
A says: Can we play frisbee?
Guard says: No, no games. You cant even
cycle on the grey areas. Its stupid.
G says: But people do cycle in the area: on
the Thames Path.
Guard says: Yeah, I know and were
supposed to stop them
15:09
Group leaves space
Notes
Despite being left to play sport two days
previously, the addition of hoodies and
absence of a picnic hamper seemed to
provoke a change in heart in the security.
Two days later it is against the rules.
Despite notices, there appears to be
a great deal of contradiction about what
is permitted and what is not. It does appear
that you can drink to your hearts content
outside Boris Johnsons office, however.
The Scoop is itself strange. In the style
of a Greek agora its supposed to be
a democratic space. It is, however, one of
the most highly controlled in London. The
hard landscaping is seductive, but sitting
within it is oppressive, even more so when
told its all private.
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
47
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
48

legal sense, but how it is used. Arguments

that smoking policies in pubs should
be at the discretion of the landlord have
been trumped by concerns about public
health. Public places are where the public
congregates, regardless of who actually
owns them. More importantly, in the sense
used in anti-smoking legislation, public
spaces are not where the public collectively
is free from private whim, but instead
where the private individuals who make up
the public are constrained by rules meant
to safeguard the public good.
Tellingly, that public good is not
decided by the public as such. In principle,
members of a club, or even regulars
in a pub, could have a debate and vote
on whether to allow smoking. Instead, the
ban on smoking in enclosed public places
has been imposed by law first by several
city authorities in the US, then by national
governments in Ireland and Norway, before
Scotland in 2006 and England and Wales in
2007. In every case the measure was based
on the authority of medical expertise rather
than popular enthusiasm.
Nonetheless, the lack of opposition
to the ban has been striking, and smokers
dutifully troop into the street to indulge
their habit, whether at work or enjoying
an evening in the pub. Even on freezing
winter nights, clusters of drinkers, some
smoking and others simply keeping them
company, have become part of the furniture
in British streets. Indeed, managing groups
of smokers has become a design issue
in its own right: wall-mounted ashtrays,
outdoor seating and patio heaters welcome
smokers immediately outside certain
establishments, while metal and fabric
partitions, and stern signs outside other
premises, mark the boundaries.
It is no longer even safe to assume that,
by default, it is all right to smoke outside.
The argument about the dangers of passive
smoking is pretty hard to sustain when it
Trafalgar Square, WC2
11:41
A sits in deckchair between the fountains
11:43
Security guard approaches deckchair.
Guard says: Im going to have to move you, I
called my management to see if I could leave
you there, but they said no.
A says: What are the rules?
Guard says: Im sorry but youll have to move.
A says: Is the rule no deckchairs?
Guard says: Yes. You know that St Jamess Park
is just around the corner or you can sit up there
[pointing toward National Gallery]. GLA [Greater
London Authority] owns this area. Westminster
council owns up there. Sorry.
A moves to top of stairs outside the National
Gallery
11:47
Security guard stops man feeding the pigeons
11:50
G and B bring picnic hamper and start eating
11:51
N joins and starts drinking beer
11:55
D starts drinking openly in the Trafalgar
Square area
12:05
Two police approach.
First police officer says: This is the cutest
thing Ive ever seen. What a lovely picnic.
Im sorry, though, you cant drink here.
N says: Why?
First police officer says: Its a Controlled
Drinking Zone. You can put them away so
we cant see them. [N takes a sip]
First police officer says: Im serious, if you take
another sip Ill have to take it away from you.
G says: Can we drink it from the teacups?
Second police officer says: Yes. Thats fine,
just as long as we cant see it.
A says: Were we caught on the cameras?
Second police says: No. We just saw you here.
There are CCTV cameras in this area, so if they
catch you drinking well get sent back out here.
First police officer says: OK. Have a lovely day.
Standing behind the lens of a camera offers
a unique perspective on architecture.
Photographing buildings provides both a means
of observing and being observed it is as
much a way of recording past architectural
endeavours as it is a test of current conditions
and uses.
I have found this to be true regardless
of cultural context. I have witnessed it in
the kindliness and unbounded generosity
of the Eritrean families who occupy the former
homes and offices of Italian fascists who
designed their capital, Asmara. I have
witnessed it in the dignity and pragmatism
of extended Chinese families living in
diminutive subdivisions of once luxurious
villas erected by wealthy foreign merchants.
And I have witnessed it in the vitriol, paranoia
and hostility on Britains streets, where these
sorry traits are as much a part of my
experiences behind the lens as cups of tea and
invitations for food are in Eritrea and China.
Nevertheless, while public attitudes
represent one measure, the attitude of the
state represents quite another. In all three
countries, I have narrowly escaped arrest
as a consequence of photographing buildings.
In Shanghai I had a bus load of plain-clothed
policemen descend on me and on more
occasions than I care to remember I have
had an AK47 prodded in my direction
by exuberant soldiers in Eritrea, but by far
the most unsettling experience was recently
being detained by the Metropolitan Police
under Section 44 of the Prevention
of Terrorism Act (2005) while undertaking
the perfectly legal act of photographing
Hammersmith Police Station.
This experience was the most chilling
precisely because we in Britain like to believe
our country is free when it is not. While our
government waxes lyrical to others about
human rights and democracy, Britains streets
are surveyed by more CCTV cameras per capita
than any place on earth and our newly
over-empowered and overly emboldened police
stop and search tens of thousands of innocent
people per year under the pretext of preventing
terrorism. While I understand what it is like
to live somewhere where ones rights are
limited, worse still is to live somewhere
where the promise of freedom is but a charade.
In Britain, more than anywhere else I have
worked, I know that when I raise a camera
to my face or put a cloth over my head behind
the bellows I am doing so at the very real risk
of violent abuse from the public and possible
arrest from the state.
Edward Denison is a photographer and
an architectural historian whose works
include: McMorran and Whitby (2009);
Modernism in China: Architectural Visions
and Revolutions (2008)
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
49
EDWARD
DENISON
ARCHITECTURAL
HISTORIAN AND
PHOTOGRAPHER
LONDON
12:09
National Gallery official, clearly sporting
his identity approaches.
Official says: Why are you having a picnic
in a private space?
N says: Its a public place and a nice day
for it.
Official: What, you like it here on the hard
concrete? Is it a performance?
G says: No, were just having a picnic.
N says: Its not a private space, its public
and its owned by Westminster council so were
allowed to.
Leaving the group, the National Gallery official
says: So you can do anything you want here?
12:10
D and T drink beer and walk past the security
in Trafalgar Square. Security looks away.
Notes
The main aim of security in Trafalgar Square is to
remove anyone who is doing anything other than
standing and looking. Once on the raised section,
people were pleasantly surprised. It is a bit of
a spectacle. Because its a thoroughfare, once
a marker had been put down by the picnic or the
deckchair, more people stopped there and used
it as a respite or a vantage point to take photos.
hm55
design: Mueller Kneer
one of a broad and versatile
range of contemporary seating
designs for corporate, public and
residential projects. To view the
complete Hitch Mylius collection,
visit our website or contact us on
T +44 (0)20 8443 2616
E [email protected]
www.hitchmylius.co.uk
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
Paternoster Square, EC4
Day 1
13:25
A sits on a deckchair
13:30
J joins with a picnic hamper. They both
start eating
13:32
Man passes by and says: Youve found a great
spot here. Its getting like St Marks Square!
13:35
P joins them and opens a beer
13:40
Group opens beers
13:45
Group starts playing frisbee. Security guard
immediately intervenes.
Guard says: Im sorry, Im going to have
to stop you. Theres no throwing or kicking
of anything here. If you hurt someone with your
frisbee theyll get sued. This is private property,
not public, so you cant do anything that might
endanger the public. There are 50 CCTV cameras
covering this area.
P says: Really?
Guard says: Yes. Welcome to the CCTV Age!
If I am not seen telling you to stop then Im
in trouble. Technically theres no drinking but
Im ignoring the can in your colleagues hand.
Notes
Security guards are as much under observation as
the picnic group. Police also passed by but ignored
the activity.
comes to people smoking on train
platforms open to the elements, but
smoking is prohibited there nonetheless,
perhaps in the same spirit as injunctions
against smoking outside many corporate
premises. You cant do that here, is the
basic message. There are rules. Whether
public or private, it is a question of control.
The redefinition of public spaces
as those where members of the public
cant do as they please has been reinforced
by bans on drinking alcohol in public. And
again, there is a symbolic quality to such
bans. There are unwritten rules about
how we behave at the opera, for example,
or in a museum, which have less to do
with who owns the place than respect
for well-established cultural expectations.
What is significant about todays booze
bans is that they apply precisely in
those places where there is traditionally
a degree of ambiguity.
No doubt there are those who have
always disapproved of others drinking
on the London Underground, just as there
are those who consider it unspeakably
vulgar to eat chips in the street. But there
were always others who found it rather
agreeable to crack open a beer on the way
to a football match, or between parties
at night. Other passengers were generally
unfazed, perhaps reasoning that being
in a public place meant tolerating other
members of the public. Last years
introduction of a ban on drinking on
London transport, like similar bans
elsewhere, shifted that expectation: being
in a public place means respecting others
who might object to public drinking. And
who decides what is and isnt respectful?
Well, not the public in any direct sense,
but the authorities.
In the case of the charmlessly-named
Designated Public Place Orders, which
establish Controlled Drinking Zones in
particular areas, things are literally at the
discretion of uniformed officers. While
these measures are sometimes advertised
as drink bans, technically they merely
compel people to stop drinking when
told to by the police or Community Safety
Officers, who can then confiscate any
booze. While in theory this means those
not doing any harm should be left in peace,
Public space and freedom are not physical
things, but first and foremost an expression
of what goes on in our heads. The less we
aspire to real freedom (risks and all) the less
public we are and the more the world becomes
a closed, marshalled and corralled place.
There is a concern today about what
some have called the socialisation gap. Young
people, so the story goes, are so far removed
from society and from positive adult role models
that they are not being socialised properly.
Unfortunately the proposals put forward
to resolve this problem appear to make things
worse and almost always propose the need
to further regulate the lives and relationships
of young people. Increasingly, areas of life that
used to be free for young people are being
colonised by experts and mediators. Peers have
mentors; communities have wardens; unregulated
youth activities are attacked, and more formally
regulated purposeful activities are promoted.
Not to dismiss the need for positive adult
influences on young people, but the anxiety
about youth today has come, in part, with
a preoccupation with controlling their
environment. The result is that the freedom
needed (both physically and mentally) for rites of
passage is being drained away. Perhaps the most
worrying and influential aspect of this withering
away of freedom is that many young people
themselves have adopted todays risk awareness
approach to life and relationships, with safety
having become almost a psychological state.
Without a free-thinking and acting public
the true socialisation gap will never be bridged
and nor will a vibrant public space be created.
Dr Stuart Waiton is a sociology lecturer
at the University of Abertay Dundee and author
of Scared of the Kids: Curfews, Crime and the
Regulation of Young People
STUART WAITON
SOCIOLOGIST
AND CAMPAIGNER
FOR YOUTH AND
COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT
SCOTLAND
51
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
Paternoster Square, EC4
Day 2
13:46
D sits on a bench with other people. Security
notes drinker but walks in the other direction
13:50
N enters square with a hoodie on and
drinking beer
13:53
Policeman walks by, looks over at the drinkers
but it is uninterested
13:54
A joins wearing a hoodie and drinking beer
13:55
Security guard approaches.
Guard says: Youre not allowed to drink here.
D says: Why?
Guard says: Because its private. You can drink
behind the barriers where the bars are. Youre
not allowed to drink your own drink at all.
Notes
Without our Fortnum and Mason picnic hamper,
deckchair and with hoodies on it took half the
time to be approached by the security as it did
the day before. This is despite the fact that
drinkers posed no threat to other users. A man
sat down next to drinkers to have his lunch. The
square is unfriendly, anonymous, private, no one
wants to be disturbed, just do their own thing.
in practice it lowers the bar of antisocial
behaviour, effectively criminalising drinking
in the streets, parks and beaches; there is after
all already a surfeit of measures available
to deal with genuine nuisance behaviour.
Designating somewhere a public place,
then, means further restricting what members
of the public can do there.
The shift from toleration to respect
as the organising principle for behaviour
in public spaces reflects the disengagement
of the public from itself, and the diminution
of public activity. Instead of the ambiguity
that comes from different groups of people
sharing the same space and using it for
different purposes, there is a conformism
arising from the fact that hardly anyone
is using the space for anything other
than a narrow range of activities (typically
shopping, or simply walking from A to B).
Anyone doing something a bit different
stands out all the more and is increasingly
likely to be seen either as a threat or a source
of embarrassment. This impoverished,
conformist view of public space is then
transported back into privately-owned
public spaces, and enforced by private
security, further institutionalising the same
narrow expectations.
In recent years, the government has
introduced a number of restrictions on our
right to protest in the streets and other public
spaces. These have rightly been opposed
by civil liberties campaigners. But our
right to use the streets for political, leisure
or any other purposes ultimately rests on
our own confidence in ourselves as a public,
and our willingness to accept and even enjoy
a degree of ambiguity and uncertainty when
out in public spaces. Instead of conforming
to the ever narrowing parameters of what
is acceptable in these spaces, we should
insist that public space is where the public
is set free .
ARCHITECTS
VIEWS
BERLIN
Karsten Huneck, Office for Subversive
Architecture:
Public spaces are part of many schemes
you design as an architect. The trouble
is that you cant foresee what people will
do, you can only create a framework for
activities. Almost anywhere can work properly
as a public space.
Berlin is a self-initiating city. There
are a lot of creatives doings things for
themselves: a little boutique here or a shop
there. But, for me, informal spaces are the
most interesting, when even areas within
buildings become public. Berlin was famous
for it after the fall of the wall when everybody
started things in factories and empty
residential blocks. Claiming space is still
very common. Every time I go, a new thing
is happening: a flat is turned into a club,
with banging music until 5am. It may only
exist for six weeks, but then something
else will come along: thats what makes
the city exciting.
PARIS
Brendan Macfarlane, Jakob Macfarlane
Architects:
In Paris, public space is too formulaic. The
urbanists end up with all-city rules, which
dont take into account the unique
opportunities of a site.
Architects have a vital role, theyre
materializing the stuff and questioning the
rules. Generosity is super-important, you need
to give more than whats required. In the end
I think the public is deeply appreciative. This
generosity will filter into the way people will
behave. You cannot design for the exceptions.
You have to accept that, through time, parks
will become messy and mistreated, its the life
of a public space. Cities dont just come about
for the good reasons, they come about for
bad reasons too. The reaction against misuse,
waste and errors can lead to some positive
reactions in public space.
LONDON
Sarah Wigglesworth, Sarah Wigglesworth
Architects:
Architects and the public should be fighting
for diversity of space which people can occupy
creatively and not in a way that is overly
proscribed. Not everyone will want to go
everywhere but this makes for different
characteristics in different places. It is
democratic, allowing everyone to express
their unique way of life through spatial action.
Bad behaviour cant be eradicated through
design, although it is fair to acknowledge
ways to reduce it. I dont mean CCTV cameras,
I mean natural surveillance looking out
for others. People watching other people.
This sort of social approbation can be quite
powerful. Equally, cities are about co-existing
with those that are not quite like you thats
part of the frisson. If space is always sanitised
and formulaic then nobody will want to use it.
Dolan Cummings is
a director of the
Manifesto Club and
editor of Culture Wars,
an online review
of the Institute of Ideas.
For more information
on Controlled Drinking
Zones, see the Manifesto
Clubs report, Against
the Booze Bans and
the Hyper-regulation
of Public Space at
www.manifestoclub.com
Te l : 0 1 9 1 2 8 0 9 9 1 1
s a l e s @ h a c e l . c o . u k
w w w . h a c e l . c o . u k
Skylink is a versatile Bezel or Bezel Free continuous lighting system with a choice of
Recessed or Flush fascias which stylishly integrates Fluorescent and Accent lighting into a
purposeful and efficient lighting system. The intuitive design of Skylink ensures rapid
construction of the framework and simple installation of the luminaires enabling a wide
variety of lighting concepts to be quickly and easily conceived.
Designed and Manufactured in the UK by Hacel
I
n
n
o
v
a
t
i
v
e
a
n
d
e
x
c
i
t
i
n
g
l
i
g
h
t
i
n
g
Skylink

COMMENT
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
54
There are many answers to that question. One answer is
that much of what passes for architecture today is nothing more
than an anthropomorphic or naturalist metaphor made real by
Sketch Up and contract management. Having sat through a
number of extremely superficial show-and-tell lectures by
internationally-renowned architects at the recent RIAS (Royal
Incorporation of Architects in Scotland) convention, I am
sensitive to the fact that some of the UKs most successful
architects have lost the ability to talk about their work in any
way other than marketing patter. The glossy image belies the
gaping hole at the heart of a profession. But is the dull image on
highly-absorbent, uncoated stock morally superior? Does it
inform us any better than the crisp image?
The uncoated types often infer that glossy images on coated
paper stock are the architectural equivalent of false expense
claims, symbols of the rampant individualism and immorality
at the heart of public life.
I must take exception to the suggestion that to print
a strong image of a tall tower is the architectural equivalent to
The Suns page three. (Get your cladding out for the boys.) The
idea that the profession is being seduced into producing images
rather than buildings by the architectural press is ridiculous. It
is not a new argument, but it seems particularly unhelpful at
a time when architects desperately need to reflect upon their
own output rather than lamenting the failures of publishing.
To blame the media is the refuge of the uncritical. Ever
since Alison and Peter Smithson drew beautiful images
of streets in the sky people have been twittering on about
the power of the image. Images can be powerful, but you
should never underestimate the intelligence of the reader
or the public. Beautiful images demonstrate what might
be possible not what will happen and most of us understand
them as such. When architects stop using images to aid them
in imagining what might be possible we are in trouble.
I cant help thinking there is a parallel here between the
concern about the Telegraphs bloodlust for political scandal
over expenses and the trade magazines interest in 3D-modelled
mega-towers (actually the architectural press still tends to give
a large amount of space to noble and modest work). The truth
is the media prints what it is given. If it has a disproportionate
influence it is only because there is a political or intellectual
void which has been left by the key players deserting their posts.
If contemporary architectural journalism lacks vigour
the source of the problem lies in the arbitrary and incoherent
character of architectural theory and in architecture itself.
Im sympathetic to Manfredo Tafuris approach to understanding
the relationship between architecture and society: its
a relationship in which architecture follows social processes
rather than leading them. By the same logic architectural
criticism follows architecture. So the world is not shiny, far
from it, but nor is it uncoated
GLOSSY IMAGES HAVE BECOME
THE ARCHITECTURAL
EQUIVALENT OF FALSE EXPENSE
CLAIMS. INSTEAD OF BLAMING
THEM AND THE FAILURES OF
THE PRESS, WE SHOULD REFLECT
ON THE PROFESSIONS OUTPUT,
ARGUES PENNY LEWIS

.
The subject of paper has been weighing heavily on my mind
recently. While publishing a yearbook of students work we
were confronted with the extraordinarily difficult dilemma
of using coated or uncoated stock? The romantics among
us wanted to feel the texture and grain of the paper, the
pragmatists were concerned about the reproduction quality
of the colour of the images.
It sounds ridiculous but I was particularly sensitive to the
broader implications of this decision, because the kind of paper
we selected said something about the schools values. And I was
sensitive to the fact that a post-print gloss coat would have us
marked down as a bunch of charlatans. Glossy images are really
taking a bashing at the moment. The attack is no doubt inspired
by our current culture of austerity and issues of sustainability
but I think it is also connected to a particular crisis in
architectural ideas.
In his book Two-Way Mirror Power, Dan Graham provided
a compelling critique of Americas post-war commercial
buildings. These glass blocks were, he argued, far from
transparent, but secretive places from which US corporations
could assert their autonomy from their immediate urban
context and American democracy. Grahams words, which
provide a heady mix of political and architectural analysis,
returned to me recently when I was looking at the website
of CrystalCG, the Chinese architectural visualisation company.
CrystalCG carries pages of lonely towers, modelled according
to some arbitrary expressionist criteria and set down on an
almost perfect tabula rasa.
These sparkly buildings and their brilliantly executed
representations are popping up everywhere and creating
a good deal of anxiety. Last week I listened to two individuals
lamenting the rise of archiporn: the glossy, seductive
architectural image and subsequent anonymous building. How
often have you heard someone complain that the real building
looks scarily like the early computers simulations?
While I find Graham thought provoking, if mirror power
is a useful metaphor, it should be used to illicit a moment
of self-reflection. Why should the Chineses crisp images of
sharp buildings on shiny paper make us feel so uncomfortable?
Why do we baulk at such images when they appear in the UKs
architectural press?
Penny Lewis
teaches at Scott
Sutherland School
of Architecture
in Aberdeen. She
is former editor
of Scottish
architecture
magazine, Prospect
TOENTER:
...|o-s|qo.oosoJ|l-'-|'
/_ qJ-|-s o'o' os U|o|o- o
J///``JJ o oso||o|o-o
AWARDSNIGHT: TUESDAY24THNOVEMBER 2009
TORESERVE YOUR TABLE ORSEATS:
o|| |o.ooso|'|'--'oo o'o'
o_ |o,so o J `J
www.fxmagazine.co.uk/awards
CATEGORIES
PROJECTS: \OS/ \O 'S' O `UO S/
U/ O S/'/ 'U SO S' O / \'
S 'U S/ O O O. O O' / S/
PRODUCTS: \OS/ SSS '' S'/S O'
JJ O' O / 'U S' O \OS/ ''
\O/ S/
SPECIAL AWARDS: U/O' / O /
O' S O / O S / O /
O'S/ OU'O O S
CONTACTS
FX INTERNATIONAL INTERIOR DESIGNAWARDS 2009
-oo||- |o -'|-s J'|.J|_JJ
O
O

BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009

56
C0-FOUNDER OF ARTS
COLLECTIVE N55, ION SRVIN
HAS UNCOMPROMISING IDEAS
ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT OF
CITIES AND A TRACK RECORD OF
AMBITIOUS, CHALLENGING AND
ATTENTION-GRABBING PROJECTS.
PETER KELLY MET THE FREE-
SPIRITED DANE ABOARD HIS
ILLEGALLY MOORED HOUSEBOAT
INTERVIEW
ION
SRVIN
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
57
Its hard not to feel a little envious of Ion
Srvin. The Danish artist, activist and
self-proclaimed closet architect, lives
out the summer months in primitive but
sociable style on a small houseboat moored
at Copenhagen harbour. He kayaks every
day; has a highly respected place in the
local community, and with N55, the art
collective he co-founded with his wife
in 1994, has carved out a career challenging
conventional notions of living, architecture
and land ownership. When I climb aboard his
boat, The Ship of Fools, Srvin is keen that
I join him in a glass of wine: hes on holiday
and doesnt want this to seem like work.
The break is well-earned since
the enormously high-profile Walking House
project, which he completed last year
for the Wysing Arts Centre in Cambridge,
Srvin has been fielding media requests
from all over the world. A three metre-high
hexagonal dwelling mounted on computer-
controlled hydraulic legs, it was designed
with Sam Kronick, a student from MIT
and included a living room, kitchen,
bathroom, bed, wood stove and a computer
for its leg control. Despite its sluggish
movement, the effect was mesmerizing.
Within a few days the project was seen
everywhere, from the BBC, to Good
Morning America on ABC News. It
was rapidly published and discussed
in everything from highbrow books to
kids magazines. Basically, it went crazy. It
becomes impossible to keep track of where
your works been shown, says Srvin.
This sudden surge in interest did
not disturb him, though; N55 freely
distributes its schemes and proposals
through copyright-free manuals on its
website and he is not concerned about
losing control of ideas. The strength
of the Walking House was that it found
a powerful visual and architectural
means of communicating N55s core
Srvin relaxing in
his Urban Free
Habitat System at
Copenhagen harbour

0113 201 2240

www.parapan.co.uk
THE BEST HIGH GLOSS AVAILABLE
B
project, which will be completed this year,
is a floating dome of welded-together steel
sheets that contains a garden with local
plants. Cardiffs harbour development, as
a whole, is commercially driven but, again,
Srvin is leading by example in proposing
a free-floating, permanent structure that
can be appropriated by local people.
The 45-year-old artists consistent
engagement with architectural ideas and
techniques comes not from his education
he studied fine art at the Copenhagen
Academy but from his architect father.
The influence was not necessarily positive.
I used to sit on his lap when he was
drawing up buildings, he says. I could
see the difference between his ambitions,
his visions and what he actually did. Hes
a really good architect but hes doing stupid
stuff all the time that he doesnt want to
do. Srvins work and lifestyle is a constant
battle to show that there are other ways to
live a fulfilling life, alternative economic
models and no need to compromise.
His houseboat lifestyle, which
is officially illegal on Copenhagen harbour,
is part of this educating process. Thanks
to being well-connected in the city,
and having a winter address in a nearby
apartment, Srvin has been able to bypass
the laws: the harbour authorities know
the district, N55s highly alternative
scheme had little hope of becoming
a reality. Its one of the great problems
we have in developing cities. The people
that live in the area dont get what they
need to develop it for themselves In the
end its money that decides everything.
One of the purest distillations of N55s
ideas came immediately after the Walking
House, with the Urban Free Habitat
System in 2008, a simple geodesic sphere
that is easy to construct, can provide a basic
dwelling and proposes that people should be
permitted to design the public places they
inhabit and share these places with others,
regardless of their financial situation.
Srvins time is now mainly divided
between two new projects: a nomadic power
station for Essen in Germany, which will
be the Capital of Culture in 2010, and
a floating Microisland for Cardiff harbour.
The Essen project is a lightweight,
aluminium scaffold structure, which will
be positioned somewhere along the Ruhr
Valley (the exact position is yet to be
decided) and provides a rest-stop where
people can engage in all sorts of activities
from performances and events to simply
relaxing in hammocks or charging their
mobile phones on the structures solar-
powered energy supply. N55s Cardiff
message of freedom and the dissipation
of ownership. It was entertaining to see this
huge, metal animal walking, says Srvin.
But it was also about mobility, about not
disturbing your environment, and about
not having to own land. People understand
the things that are very important to us.
It was also important that the project
was realized and that it worked. Srvin sees
little value in theorizing without producing
a physical result. The Walking House was
also a comment on Archigrams Walking
City, which is a good idea, but how do you
actually create it? he says. You build small-
scale stuff that can be realized: if you make
a lot of them, then you have a walking city.
Since the success of the Walking House,
Srvin has focused on projects which
are technically less complex but in many
ways just as ambitious. For Nottinghams
Radiator Festival in January, which had
the theme of Exploits in the Wireless
City, N55 developed proposals for the
regeneration of the citys Eastside area.
Srvin based the scheme on Copenhagens
freetown of Christiana, with existing
buildings retained and only small additions
made to allow people to take over the area
in whatever way they wished. Despite
working with Eastside City, the urban
regeneration company that was developing
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
59
Top: N55s design for a
lightweight aluminium
structure for the Ruhr
Valley, Germany
Above left: An early
N55 project, the
Spaceframe from 1999
Above right: The
hugely popular
Walking House project
in Cambridge, 2008

BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009

60
the water from Srvins little houseboat is
the vast Copenhagen Opera House,
established in 2005 by A P Mller, the
super-rich owner of shipping company
Maersk, and designed by Henning Larsen.
Srvin is unforgiving in his verdict: They
scrapped all the plans for residential areas,
demolished all the old buildings and built
this pastiche of Jean Nouvel. Its a stupid,
typically Danish thing a small country
looking at whats going on abroad. He also
rails against the falsely democratic notion
of having subsidized tickets for an opera
house. Every time some rich arsehole walks
in, Danish citizens pay them 5,000KR (570)
per ticket, he says. It sucks, and its exactly
the way you shouldnt use the harbour area.
To Srvin, Copenhagens harbour is one
of the last truly public spaces in Copenhagen
and every bridge built across it by the
government is an imposition that threatens
its freedom and tranquility. Even relatively
generous projects fall short of the artists
ideals: the new Royal Playhouse by
Lundgaard and Tranberg Architects, which
can also be seen from Srvins boat, offers
an open, wood-decked public space which
has been enthusiastically taken up by locals.
Yet he criticizes the way it is built into the
water and therefore acts as an intrusion.
Such opinions may seem unforgiving,
but Srvin is aware that only by adopting
such a consistent position does he have a
hope of influencing the planners, architects
and, most importantly, the public who
decide how societies and cities will develop.
For him, action is the only option. The only
way I know how to lobby is to create things,
he says. We dont have any choice but
to start doing things in a different way
says that N55 is not based on an ideology
or religion, but has a belief in educating
people: The only way I can work is to create
good examples. He is able to shift between
highly specific, local projects and global
ideas with ease because the founding
principles are clear to the point of extremity.
One of the final projects that Aarbakke
contributed to was a series of pod-like
dwellings, the Space on Earth Station, which
critiqued the standard top-down model of
space-exploration institutions. In 2007,
N55 espoused the breaking down of all
national boundaries and redesigned the
flags of various countries incorporating
the phrase No Borders. The Union Jack,
for example, was transformed into
a psychedelic swirl of colours.
These radically liberal ideas might
make Srvin a particularly Danish artist.
Copenhagen is often held up as
an admirable example of liberal politics
and progressive city planning: its clean
public spaces uncluttered by excessive
signage and its ubiquitous cycle paths
are considered emblems of forward-looking
city management. The 34ha freetown of
Christiana situated in the
east of the city was established in 1971
and remains a near-autonomous enclave
of hippies, outcasts and outsiders.
Yet Srvin sees much that is wrong
in the way Copenhagen is developing.
Christianas liberties are increasingly
being clamped down by a city government
determined to normalise the district.
Copenhagen has also, over the last 10 years,
become increasingly enthralled with the
idea of iconic buildings, particularly along
Srvins beloved harbour front. Just across
whats happening, but ignore it so long
as he does nothing to upset them. I think
whats important is to open peoples eyes
to other ways of doing things and other ways
of living. Its quite obvious when you come
here, that its a really good, social and public
way of life and its very different to people
living in expensive apartments. This
apparently idyllic lifestyle has its downsides
though. Most people admire my stupid
way of living, says Srvin. They see
this strong person, living in a boat with
his beautiful son, doing whatever he
wants. But at the same time, theres a cost.
I dont have security, I dont have a pension,
I dont have a lot of things.
Srvin has been fighting for simple
freedoms ever since he founded N55 (named
after both an address and Copenhagens
latitude) with his wife, the Norwegian
artist Ingvil Aarbakke. One of Srvin
and Aarbakkes earlier projects was titled
Land, which involved the acquisition
and dedication of small plots of land
to public use, from northern Norway
to the Californian desert, in less sparsely
populated places in Denmark, Holland and
Switzerland, and in waste patches of cities
such as Chicago. Each one was marked with
a steel polyhedric cairn, which declared
the area as belonging to the commons.
Aarbakke died of cancer in 2005, and
it is a measure of Srvins determination,
idealism and the clarity of N55s mission
that he has managed to keep it going with
no loss of energy or direction. Srvin
mainly now works with one partner, ivind
Alexander Slaatto, a designer and musician,
but N55 expands and contracts depending
on the project and the skills required. Srvin
Above: N55s Microisland,
which will be installed in
Cardiff Harbour this year
.
Lighting design, illuminated sculptures and chandeliers.
Long Knoll Barns, Cokers Lane, Kilmington,
Wiltshire, BA12 7HU. T: 01985 845 228
www.brucemunro.co.uk
brucemunro
t h e a r t o f l i g h t
designbuild-network.com
Over 94,000 of your industry peers are using
designbuild-network.com every month as
their daily reference point to keep up to date
with the most recent developments in the
design build sector. Are you?
Sign up online to the FREE eNewsletter and
receive the latest news directly to your inbox.
PRODUCE
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
63

German manufacturer,
Thonet and Japanese
retailer, Muji have produced
a new range of furniture
that draws on tradition and
a signature, simple design.
Gian Luca Amadei reports
The UKs most stylish contract interiors
exhibition, Design Prima, took place
at the Business Design Centre in London,
2-4 June. On pages 66-67 we present
a selection of some of the best new
products from European manufacturers
and designers, including a reissued
version of the classic 360 chair
Coinciding with the 150th
anniversary of its iconic Model 14
chair, German furniture manufacturer,
Thonet has joined forces with
Japanese retailer Muji to launch
a revised version of the chair
and other design classics from
the Thonet catalogue.
The Muji Manufactured
by Thonet project was initiated by
British designer and Thonets creative
director, James Irvine, and test-run
at Tokyo Design Week last November.
It has been interesting
for us to discover how the two
brands fit together in terms
of design philosophy and design
language, says company manager
Phillip Thonet.
The new furniture pieces are
arranged in two distinct collections,
Bent and Pipe, both of which revisit
manufacturing techniques that were
important to the development of

Above: Sketch
designs for the
Bent series by
James Irvine
Table B by
Konstantin Grcic
for BD Barcelona
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
65

Left: The Bent

chair (far left)
is inspired by the
original Model 14
chair, designed by
company founder,
Michael Thonet
mass-produced furniture.
The wooden range, Bent, by James
Irvine, consists of a new chair and various-
sized tables. Inspired by company founder
Michael Thonets Model 14 chair, the range
was designed in the style of the original
bentwood furniture that has formed the
cornerstone of Thonets repertoire.
The Pipe collection, which includes
a series of tables, desks and cantilevered
chairs, has been developed by German
furniture designer Konstantin Grcic.
This range is closely related to another
milestone of industrial production: steel
pipe extrusion. Pioneered during the 1920s,
this technique enabled the production
of tubular steel furniture, as characterised
by the Bauhaus movement and its radical
approach to design.
I believe that these new furniture
pieces by Irvine and Grcic will make
people more aware of the values
of traditional design products
and how those techniques came about,
says Thonet. They are a piece of culture
and have an impact on developments
in furniture and manufacturing.
The re-working of the original
Thonet products is subtle and typical
of both Muji and Thonets design
intentions. This project also addresses
how two companies with very different
backgrounds have a shared approach
to producing honest and unfussy products
for a mass-market of design-conscious users.
Though Muji is not renowned
for its collaborations, it has become
more adventurous in recent years,
applying its understated design philosophy
in new areas. The most notable project
of this type is its prefabricated houses
by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma.
The Muji-Thonet furniture will
be available in Muji stores in the UK
later in the year.
Left: James Irvines
chair for Muji
Right: Konstantin
Grcics tubular
steel chair, Pipe,
inspired by the
1928 Bauhaus
version by
Mart Stam
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
66
360 RANGE
WILKHAHN
In 2008 a German designer of the Kiel
Muthesius school, Walter Papst, passed
away and bequeathed his archive
of classic modernist designs to German
furniture company Wilkhahn. One
of Papsts most successful products
was the 360 wooden chair, originally
produced in 1955 as a three-legged
stool. Later on it was developed into a
childrens chair, which, says Wilkhahns
Greg MacIntyre, encouraged an upright
sitting position. Produced in different
sizes until 1959, it was replaced by
a modern polyester range also by Papst.
In 2008, Wilkhahn looked at Papsts
philosophy and work afresh. His credo,
the artistic design of purposeful form,
is highly relevant and so the company
decided to put the chair into production
again in a range of new colours. The
360 chair is beautifully crafted with
concealed fixings, as well as a tongued
joint between the front leg and the
structural panel, which is flush with the
underside of the seat
www.wilkhahn.com
NEWTON
ORANGEBOX
Furniture for learning is becoming
an increasingly important part of many
companies output as the government
continues its programme of school
development. For the Newton chair,
ergonomist Jim Taylour worked with
the Orangebox design team to develop
a chair that provides back support
for children, and takes into account
the ways they sit and work. Made
from a metal frame and dimpled
polypropylene back and seat, the
chair comes in several bright colours
and two sizes. The Newton cantilever
chair has an adjustable seat and
integral footrest, which give two
seating positions: leaning back
to listen and tipping forward
for reading and writing at a desk
www.orangebox.com
DESIGN
PRIMA
2-4 JUNE,
BUSINESS DESIGN
CENTRE, LONDON
TABLE B
BD BARCELONA
Table B is the first product in a series
named Extrusions by Konstantin Grcic,
produced by the Catalan furniture
group. The wing-like table has a gently
curved underside. Its use of extruded
aluminium refers to BDs Hypostila
shelving, designed in 1979 by Llus
Clotet and scar Tusquets. Like
the shelving, Table B is light but
extremely strong. Table B is available
in lengths up to 3.6m and comes
with various finishes. The simple
tabletop can be placed on three
different bases: wooden legs; a solid
polymer resin base that resembles
stone, or legs made from stainless
steel rods. BD Barcelona was established
in 1972 by a group of architects
and designers and places an emphasis
on highly-crafted furniture that often
includes several manual processes
www.bdbarcelona.com
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
67
COLLABORATIVE WORK TABLE
ORANGEBOX
Orangebox put together an impressive
display for Design Prima, focusing on the
collaborative workspace. Taking as its
starting point a survey of the workplace
published by Gensler in 2008, the
company, which manufactures in Wales,
has been working on a range of pieces
that emphasise the importance of
collaboration and socializing in the
office. The most innovative of these
projects is the Collaborative Work
Table. Orangebox stresses that this
is not a hot-desk, but is a place where
mobile workers can work and store their
belongings. The table has four sliding
tops that can be pulled back to reveal
lockable storage boxes and power/data
connections for laptops and mobiles
to be re-charged. The tables are modular
and scalable and can be reconfigured
for individual or group settings
www.orangebox.com
POLLEN STOOL
NAUGHTONE
Celebrating five years since setting up
their furniture company, Kieron Bakewell
and Mark Hammond launched a new
product called the Pollen Stool. Designed
by David Fox, Pollen is a hexagonal seating
system that can be used as a one-off
or in multiples to create a pattern. It
has two styles of base, and a comfortable
upholstered seat with a button in the
centre. A table is also available in several
different finishes and colours. Naughtone
now employs 10 designers and is thriving
despite the harsh economic climate. Its
products make use of local industries
such as timber from Harrogate, and
although the company does not shout
about its green credentials, almost
everything is made within a 15-mile
radius of its Leeds studio
www.naughtone.co.uk
JACK TRESTLE
NAUGHTONE
Trestles have been neglected in recent
years, but freelance designer Will Smith,
has now developed a three-legged
version for Naughtone. Encouraged
by several clients, the company brought
the prototype to Design Prima to test
out the response. The Jack Trestle so
called because it is propped by a
temporary mechanism consists of two
pieces of 12mm birch plywood glued on
one side and hinged on the other. A
simple bracing strut pushes the hinged
end apart and creates a strong
triangulated support that gives more
legroom on one side. The only
flaw in is that the strut is small and
loose and could easily be mislaid. But
its flat-pack convenience has already
been recognized by the British Council,
which is planning to send it around
the world with touring exhibitions, to
be married with local tabletops
www.naughtone.co.uk
. . .
Tel. 01923 818282 Fax. 01923 818280 Email. [email protected] www.shopkit.com
INNOVATIVE & UNIQUE DISPLAY CABINETS & COMPONENTS
WITH STANDARD & MADE TO ORDER ITEMS AVAILABLE
REVIEW
69
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
was the project Seine Metropole
by Antoine Grumbach who has
imagined a conurbation stretching
from Paris to Le Havre, an idea first
mooted by Napoleon Bonaparte.
Finn Geipel, Djamel Klouche and
Bernardo Secchi developed forms
of soft urban planning, called The
Soft Metropolis, Greater Paris
Stimulated and the Porous City. As
usual the vocal French architect
Roland Castro made a political
statement: Paris as a capital for
human beings, a capital for the
world. He considers his project
a devoir durbanit (a duty to
urbanity) in which new monuments
will stand for a republican identity.
Rogers team produced the
most complete and global overview
of Paris as a metropolis of the
future but it is unlikely that it will
ever be realised, given the recent
announcement that the French state
plans to build a new 35bn regional
concentric underground transport
system for Paris. To this end,
a central management agency will
be created to counterbalance the
city and the regions governing
of local and regional transportation.
By doing this, the president will
supplant the mayor.
We have our suspicions about
the genuineness of the presidents
interest in architecture and his stated
fascination with starchitects. If, once
again, architecture is just a pretext
for a hidden political agenda, we can
only hope that architects do not turn
out be to be the scapegoats.
LE GRAND PARI(S)
29 April-22 November
Cite de Larchitecture
et du Patrimoine, Paris
Review by Odile Decq
and Marie-Helne Fabre
>>EXHIBITION
to a projects intentions.
Only two teams had worked
with a global vision of what Paris
is, or will be, as a metropolis. Yves
Lion and the Groupe Descartes
project is orientated around the
idea of a polycentric metropolis
with 20 cities of 500,000 inhabitants
surrounding Paris: a scheme
characterised by over-optimism and
wishful thinking that envisages an
extra 20sq m of land for each house.
The other team, made up of
Rogers Stirk Harbour, the London
School of Economics and Arup, was
the only one to propose making
Paris more compact and link the
centre, containing just two million
inhabitants, to the nine million
people living in the metropolitan
region beyond the Boulevard
Odile Decq and
Marie Helne
are Paris-based
architects and co-
directors of the
citys Ecole Speciale
dArchitecture
Top right: The
politically
motivated proposal
by Roland Castro
Below: Rogers Stirk
Harbours global
vision for Paris
It is always surprising and a cause
for excitement when high-profile
politicians turn their discussions
to architecture. When the Paris mayor
Bertrand Delano and French
President Nicolas Sarkozy launched
a research competition on the future
development of Greater Paris, there
was a great surge of anticipation
amongst the citys large community
of architects.
Ten multidisciplinary teams
headed by architects have been
working for nearly a year to develop
schemes, which are now on display at
the Cit de larchitecture in Paris. The
results are hugely diverse, due to the
varied membership of each team and
the personalities of the lead
architects, most of whom
collaborated with architecture
schools, universities or research
laboratories, engineers and even
other architects.
The teams were asked to address
10 issues including what a post-Kyoto
Protocol metropolis means; mobility,
urban exchange, urban sprawl and
logistics, and the big questions of
centrality and urban self-organisation,
proximity and separation.
Architects are not necessarily
urban planners and are not always
able to overcome the temptation
to suggest architectural proposals,
even at this large scale. From
proposals of a thousand little
architectural interventions to
ambitious metropolitan overviews,
the plans often use sustainability
as an add-on rather than as integral
FROM INTERVENTIONS
TO OVERVIEWS, THE
PLANS OFTEN USE
SUSTAINABILITY
AS AN ADD-ON RATHER
THAN INTEGRAL TO THE
PROPOSED SCHEME
Priphrique, through the
development of a collective transport
network. The scheme suggested
armatures comprising linear parks
built over the divisive and publicly
inaccessible urban canyons of the
existing rail networks and containing
amenity and energy infrastructure.
Another large-scale vision,
albeit in a totally different way,
R
O
G
E
R
S
S
T
I
R
K
H
A
R
B
O
U
R
C
A
S
T
R
O
D
E
N
I
S
S
O
F
C
A
S
I
Create your environment
2427 September 2009
Earls Court London
Save 20 register free
before 18th September at
www.100percentdesign.co.uk D
e
s
ig
n
:
w
w
w
.
f
u
w
a
g
a
r
d
n
e
r
.
c
o
m
I
m
a
g
e
:
T
h
e
N
e
ig
h
b
o
u
r
h
o
o
d
/
J
o
h
n
M
a
c
le
a
n
P
h
o
t
o
g
r
a
p
h
y
three trusty glass experts on Murano
who bring her ideas to life produce
work that looks and feels as vibrant
as that emerging from any other
creative sector. As contemporary
art has moved ever onwards, so must
craft, which can no longer be just
an inward-looking, studio-based,
single-person pursuit.
I am delighted, nonetheless, that
the galleries appeared to be selling
so well. The mood was positive;
the cheque books were out. Id like
to think that it was the progressive
pieces that got the punters going,
but I suspect that for the time
being, as long as this is called
a craft event, and the gallerys wares
are laid out as if on a market stall,
its the purists cash that will prevail.
of (admittedly virtuoso) techniques
such as Kimiaki Kageyamas ironwork
flowers and leaves at Galerie S O
from Switzerland, or pieces such
as the achingly literal necklaces
by Gesine Hackenberg created from
beads punched from Delft plates
which are also part of the piece
at Amsterdams Galerie Ra? And
couldnt we have the beads (lovely)
without the plate from which theyre
taken (naff)?
Crafts continued and earnest
relationship with the past is perhaps
now its downfall. New working
practices including digitally-devised
pieces (Claire Curneen and Linda
Florence), rapid prototyping (Michael
Eden) and even outsourcing Ritsue
Mishima is based in Venice and has
blemished vases, which refer
to medical conditions and our fear
of disfigurement, at Galerie Sofie
Lachaert; Philip Eglins narrative-
packed figures at Barrett Marsden;
an exuberantly iridised glass bowl
at Australias Raglan Gallery by
Robert Wynne with the glittery
glamour of a Cavalli dress. But how
to receive it when it sits alongside
pieces which are simply examples
The plurality of the craft world
is often mentioned in its inner
circles. At Collect, the Craft Councils
annual selling showcase of high-end
specialist galleries, now in its sixth
year, it was writ large. There was
everything from technically perfect
necklaces, painstakingly created
from paper beads, to expressionist
embroidery that wouldnt look
out of place at the White Cube.
This year the event found itself
in the shiny new Saatchi Gallery in
Londons Kings Road. The venue lent
the event a new grandeur, and, either
by design or by default, suggested a
closer link with the art world than its
previous location, the V&A, managed.
Whoever brokered the deal had
made a smart move, offering a sort
of independence particularly from
the worthy, history-packed halls
of the V&A that should have
given the show a huge boost. But
the venue seemed to have taken
the galleries by surprise. The craft
world is bad at selling its wares
at the best of times, and here
the lacklustre arrangement of work
on plain benches at a uniform
level was like an aggressively banal
response (lets hope) to the large
white cube spaces.
Thats not to say that there
wasnt much of value on show.
There was some wonderful work:
Tamsin van Essens sublime
COLLECT
15-17 May
Saatchi Gallery, SW3
Review by Caroline Roux
>>EXHIBITION
TWENTY MINUTES
IN MANHATTAN
By Michael Sorkin
Reaktion Books, 16.95
Review by Tim Abrahams
>>BOOK
Right: Gesine
Hackenbergs
necklace made
from Delft plates
There are 60 tiny panes of glass in the
window of Michael Sorkins office: an
old art deco building on 145 Hudson
Street in Manhattan. How do I know?
Not from his book. Twenty Minutes In
Manhattan is ostensibly a loving
travelogue dedicated to the walk
between his apartment on McDougal
Street near Washington Square in
Greenwich Village to Hudson Street in
Tribeca. The meat of it, though, is
presented in parenthesis; involved
digressions on everything from the
Brooklyn Bridge Park, to the new
lavish architecture of self protection
on the Mississippi coast, to elevator
etiquette, to why his landlord has
irritated him.
Why should you care? Because no
one writes better about architecture
and urbanism in the United States
than Sorkin. He is a tireless campaigner
against clich. One of his columns
for the Village Voice was an eloquent,
well-argued pieced called Why Paul
Goldberger Is So Bad, about the then
architecture critic of the New York
Times. Frequent references in Twenty
Minutes are made to Jane Jacobs,
another paid-up member of the
Greenwich Village awkward squad who
had no time for signature architecture
and point blocks. Sorkin is heir
to her observational approach and
her urbanism of density and dynamics,
although his interests invariably
default to the architectural rather
than the political or economical.
Even for a writer who commits
himself in his writings, this is perhaps
his most personal book to date. This
can be slightly distracting as he gives
full vent to some of his btes noires
the failure of his landlord to fix his
buzzer system, people who use mobile
phones in elevators but elsewhere
the book verges on the elegiac.
Indeed, its very pace expresses what
he finds so beautiful about Manhattan:
its juxtaposition of scales. The prose
skips fleet-footed from his stoop to
Martin Bubers Paths in Utopia to the
Canine Waste Law, in two pages.
He doesnt, however, mention
the number of panes of glass in his
windows. That comes from typing
the address of his former office into
Google Street View. Indeed if one
follows the vague route that Sorkin
outlines, it takes much less than 20
minutes and renders the exotic world
that he describes more comfortable
and less strange. Thats where the pot
dealers on Washington Square stand.
Thats where Sorkin was menaced
by the mafia. It doesnt diminish
the experience of reading the book,
however. Google shows that images
of street life could challenge the
icon as to how a city is represented
and mediated. This book shows
how it is more important than ever
that this street view is interpreted
as a living thing, a vital expression
of the city and world beyond.
THE SAATCHI GALLERY
LENT THE EVENT
ANEWGRANDEUR
ANDSUGGESTED
ACLOSER LINKWITH
THE ART WORLD
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
G
A
L
E
R
I
E
R
A
71
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
is New York Times writer Rob Walker,
who pokes fun at the absurdities of
the industry and is the only one with
a realistic grasp on the sustainability
agenda. It is down to Walker to point
to the gaping flaws in the old if you
make something really nice people
will want to bond with it and keep
it for ever argument. Most noticeable
is the giant Starck-shaped hole. It
is curious that one of the most
talented and opinionated design
figures doesnt feature. Presumably he
was concentrating on his new Britains
Got Creative Talent show, School
of Design for BBC2. Which is where
this documentary ultimately belongs.
Helvetica got away with
it because it was a genuinely diverting
story about how one potentially
insignificant piece of design
came to dominate over all others.
Objectified starts with the premise
that everything we consume has
been designed to some extent
or other, but lacks a compelling
story. For me Hustwits new film
is summed up by an exchange,
caught by the director, between two
people discussing the typeface used
on a presentation: is it Helvetica?
asks one. No, says the other.
Objectified will be available on DVD
and as a download in July
when real passion emerges. This comes
from an unlikely candidate, automotive
designer Chris Bangles description
of the relationship between form
and movement in the sculpture of car
bodies, and also from Jonathan Ives
fascination with the Macbook Air
innovations. As Ive himself admits,
this does sound obsessive. Its also
part of the official Mac publicity
for their monocoque chassis products,
so not particularly new. It looks
as though the interview took place
at Apple HQ, but anyone hoping
to see people drawing pictures
or showing off new Apple products
will be disappointed. This might be
a good thing: a brainstorming session
about redesigning the toothbrush,
featured as part of a long IDEO
segment, felt terribly staged
and dated. Generating ideas might
sound like an exciting business, but
it doesnt make for great cinema.
The most entertaining contributor
providing the perfect foil for the
comments of other more maverick
contributors. In Objectified, Dieter
Rams fulfills this role. Quite rightly,
the director couldnt resist getting
him to recite his famous tenets
of good design, which are given
a comically portentous air. But no
one really sees fit to pick up, or pick
through these themes. In fact, the
whole thing is a bit of a rationalist
love-in, with committed Braunophiles
Jonathan Ive and Naoto Fukasawa,
and even Karim Rashid, paying tribute
to the maestro Rams.
Despite Hustwits tried and
tested silent guide style, nothing juicy
or controversial emerges. Without
a Melvyn Bragg or Alan Yentob
nodding away in the background,
enthusing where necessary and
leading the audience by the hand,
it feels somewhat sterile, and many
contradictions are left hanging,
unchallenged. It is perhaps
unsurprising that industrial design
lacks the characters that populate
other disciplines such as fashion or
even graphic design these are people
obsessed with inanimate objects.
Creating products for mass production
is not a flashy, flamboyant or even
particularly visual process. Its just
really long, complex and frustrating.
There are rare moments, however,
OBJECTIFIED
Directed by Gary Hustwit
Plexi Films
Review by Ben Hughes
>>FILM
Ben Hughes
is course leader
of the Masters in
Industrial Design
at Central Saint
Martins, London
Right: Still from
Objectifieds
opening sequence,
showing Jasper
Morrisons Air
chair being
manufactured in
Milan
Below left:
Jonathan Ive,
who is filmed
enthusing about
the Macbook Air
Below right: Naoto
Fukusawa shown
with the CD player
he designed for
Muji
72
CREATINGPRODUCTS
FOR MASS PRODUCTION
IS NOT AFLASHY,
FLAMBOYANT OR
EVENPARTICULARLY
VISUAL PROCESS
Product and industrial designers
have been full of nervous expectation
since it was announced that Gary
Hustwit would follow his 2007
documentary about the Helvetica
typeface, with Objectified, a film
about their occupation. For those
of us who have spent our lives
in this industry, thinking obsessively
about objects, it seems incredible
that the rest of the world is not
similarly obsessed, or that it has
taken this long to catch up.
In focusing everyones attention
on a single piece of typograpy,
Helvetica successfully extracted
a coherent history of 20th-century
graphic design and recorded
enlightening and entertaining points
of view in the process. Objectified
is a different proposition. Either
Hustwit felt that this subject
didnt need a similar hook, or,
as one suspects, he couldnt find one.
What remains is director of
photography Luke Geissbuhlers crisp
visual style, the same neat editing
and a series of talking heads cast from
a whos who of contemporary design.
What is missing is the sense of debate
or narrative that Helvetica created. In
Objectified, everyone is happy to talk
about their interests, but no one gets
really animated, enthused or angry.
Objectified opens with a big
machine making Jasper Morrisons
Air Chair. This is an advanced form
of injection moulding that builds
the whole chair, hollow legs and
all, in a single shot. All handled by
robots, the only human intervention
is the guy who has to scrape the
flash off the edges before packing
them up. As a description of process,
or a poem in motion, it doesnt really
stack up next to films such as Charles
and Ray Eames Fiberglass Chairs.
In Helvetica, the grumpy
modernist corner was admirably
defended by Massimo Vignelli,
INSTRUCTION TO YOUR BANK OR BUILDING SOCIETY TO PAY BY DIRECT DEBIT
FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
This is not part of the instruction to your Bank or Building Society
INSTRUCTION TO YOUR BANK OR BUILDING SOCIETY
Please pay Progressive Media Markets Ltd Direct Debits from
the account detailed in this Instruction subject to the
safeguards assured by the Direct Debit Guarantee.
I understand that this Instruction may remain with
Progressive Media Markets Ltd and, if so, details will be
passed electronically to my Bank/Building Society.
Please ll in the whole form, not including official use box, using a ballpoint pen and send it to:
Progressive Media Markets Ltd., Progressive House, Maidstone Road, Foots Cray, Sidcup DA14 5HZ
Name(s) of Account Holder(s)
Bank/Building Society account number
Branch Sort Code
Name and full postal address of your
Bank or Building Society
Reference Number
Banks and Building Societies may not accept Direct Debit
Instructions for some types of account
To: The Manager Bank/Building Society
Address
Postcode
Signature(s)
Date
This Guarantee is offered by all Banks and Building Societies
that take part in the Direct Debit Scheme. The efficiency
and security of this Scheme is monitored and protected by
your own Bank or Building Society.
If the amounts to be paid or the payment dates change
Progressive Media Markets Ltd will notify you 14 working days
in advance of your account being debited or as otherwise agreed.
If an error is made by Progressive Media Markets Ltd or your
Bank or Building Society you are guaranteed a full and
immediate refund from your branch of the amount paid.
You can cancel a Direct Debit at any time by writing to
your Bank or Building Society. Please also send a copy of
your letter to us.
Title: First name: Surname:
Company name: Job title:
Address:
Postcode:
Telephone: e-mail:
Please fax this order on 020 8269 7877 or ring 0845 155 1845 (credit card orders only) or return to
Blueprint Subscriptions, Progressive Media Markets Ltd, PO Box 99, Sidcup, DA15 0EN
or subscribe online at www.getthatmag.com
SUBSCRIPTION FORM
I would like to subscribe to Blueprint UK 46 EUROPE C =115
US $170 REST OF WORLD $207
CARD N
VALID FROM EXPIRY DATE CARD SECURITY CODE
- -
Payment method
Direct debit (UK subs only): please complete the form to the right
Credit card: please charge my Mastercard/Visa/Maestro/Amex _____________
Invoice: please invoice my company at the above address
Cheque for: ______ (Payable to: Progressive Media Markets)
SUBSCRIBE TO
BLUEPRINT BEFORE
19 AUGUST AND
RECEIVE A
COMPLIMENTARY
BOOK WORTH 17.99
The best way to ensure you receive
every issue of Blueprint is to place
an order with your local newsagent.
Once set up, your copy of Blueprint
will be held for you to collect, saving
you the time and the frustration of
having to search the news-stand
Some newsagents may even offer
a home-delivery service, making
it even easier to obtain your copy
So dont miss an issue, simply
complete the form below and take
it to your local newsagent today
NEWSAGENT ORDER FORM
Please reserve/deliver* a copy of
Blueprint on a regular basis
commencing with the issue number:
Title:
First name:
Surname:
Address:
Postcode:
Telephone:
E-mail:
THE DIRECT DEBIT GUARANTEE This guarantee should be detached and retained by the payer.
By completing this form, and submitting your email address you will be
indicating your consent to receiving relevant email marketing messages
unless you have indicated an objection to receiving such messages by ticking
each box from Progressive Media Group or third
party companies
From time to time Progressive Media Group companies or selected clients may
contact you by direct mail, fax or telephone with details of products and
services that may be of interest. If you do not wish to be included in this
service please write to the Circulation Manager.
Signature Date:
[*delete as appropriate]

DONT MISS
AN ISSUE
4 1 6 8 5 5
Originators Identication Number
FROM BLUEPRINTS PRODUCT EDITOR, GIAN LUCA AMADEI,
A THOUGHT-PROVOKING BOOK ON POLISH DESIGN
This 130-page book features 20 captivating interviews with the most talented and creative Polish women
designers working today. Together with dramatic portraits, the interviews illustrate the diverse emerging
Polish design scene. Discovering Polish Women in Design: Interviews and Conversations is sparking a debate
among the international design community on the role of women in the design industry across Europe and
the rest of the world.
The book will be officially launched during the London Design Festival in September
THE LEADING MAGAZINE OF ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN
Make sure you dont miss your copy of one of the most beautiful and influential design magazines in the world.
Subscribe today and save over 19% off the cover price. Complete the form below,
visit www.getthatmag.com or call +44 (0)845 155 1845 quoting code BLUPBK908
Take advantage of our amazing subscription offer now
Free book worth 17.99
Save over 19% on the magazine cover price
Free access to digital version online worth 41.60
Free delivery before it goes on sale in the shops
Exclusive special offers and invitations to high-profile events
OFFER CODE BLUPBK908
OFFER ENDS 19 AUGUST 2009
I
N
T
E
R
N
A
T
I
O
N
A
L
0
7
J
u
l
y
-
2
9
N
o
v
e
m
b
e
r
B
O
R
N
I
N
T
H
E
S
T
R
E
E
T
S
:
G
R
A
F
F
I
T
I
F
o
n
d
a
t
i
o
n
C
a
r
t
i
e
r
,
P
a
r
i
s
h
t
t
p
:
/
/
f
o
n
d
a
t
i
o
n
.
c
a
r
t
i
e
r
.
c
o
m
T
r
a
n
s
f
o
r
m
i
n
g
i
t
s
e
l
f
i
n
t
o
a
n
a
r
t
i
s
t
i
c
m
o
v
e
m
e
n
t
i
n
N
e
w
Y
o
r
k
i
n
t
h
e
e
a
r
l
y
1
9
7
0
s
,
g
r
a
f
f
i
t
i
h
a
s
c
r
o
s
s
e
d
o
v
e
r
i
n
t
o
t
h
e
m
a
i
n
s
t
r
e
a
m
,
e
n
t
e
r
i
n
g
d
e
s
i
g
n
a
n
d
a
d
v
e
r
t
i
s
i
n
g
.
I
t
w
i
l
l
o
c
c
u
p
y
t
h
e
e
n
t
i
r
e
g
a
l
l
e
r
y
s
p
a
c
e
o
f
F
o
n
d
a
t
i
o
n
C
a
r
t
i
e
r
,
p
l
u
s
i
t
s
f
a
c
a
d
e
a
n
d
g
a
r
d
e
n
s
.
1
1
J
u
l
y
-
1
1
O
c
t
o
b
e
r
G

-
K
A
R
E
L
V
A
N
D
E
R
S
T
E
R
R
E
N
G
e
m
e
e
n
t
e
m
u
s
e
u
m
,
T
h
e
H
a
g
u
e
w
w
w
.
g
e
m
e
e
n
t
e
m
u
s
e
u
m
.
n
l
G

-
K
a
r
e
l
v
a
n
d
e
r
S
t
e
r
r
e
n

s
p
a
i
n
t
i
n
g
s
a
r
e
o
f
t
e
n
c
o
n
c
e
r
n
e
d
w
i
t
h
s
a
t
i
r
i
s
i
n
g
c
o
n
s
u
m
e
r
i
s
m
.
I
n
t
h
i
s
c
a
s
e
h
e
h
a
s
c
r
e
a
t
e
d
h
i
s
b
i
g
g
e
s
t
e
v
e
r
,
a
1
4
m
x
3
m
i
m
a
g
e
e
x
e
c
u
t
e
d
f
o
r
t
h
e
P
r
o
j
e
c
t
s
G
a
l
l
e
r
y
o
f
t
h
e
G
e
m
e
e
n
t
e
m
u
s
e
u
m
,
t
h
a
t
i
s
n
o
t
o
n
l
y
i
m
p
r
e
s
s
i
v
e
f
o
r
i
t
s
s
i
z
e
,
b
u
t
a
l
s
o
f
o
r
t
h
e
s
e
n
s
e
o
f
d
o
o
m
i
t
m
a
n
a
g
e
s
t
o
c
o
n
v
e
y
t
h
r
o
u
g
h
i
t
s
d
e
p
i
c
t
i
o
n
o
f
a
g
r
e
e
n
h
o
u
s
e
f
i
l
l
e
d
w
i
t
h
e
x
u
b
e
r
a
n
t
v
e
g
e
t
a
t
i
o
n

u
s
u
a
l
l
y
a
f
a
r
m
o
r
e
u
p
l
i
f
t
i
n
g
s
u
b
j
e
c
t
.
T
h
i
s
i
s
p
a
r
t
l
y
d
o
w
n
t
o
h
i
s
u
s
e
o
f
l
i
g
h
t
a
n
d
p
e
r
s
p
e
c
t
i
v
e
b
u
t
t
h
e
d
e
l
i
c
i
o
u
s
l
y
d
i
s
t
u
r
b
i
n
g
e
f
f
e
c
t
s
t
h
a
t
h
e
c
r
e
a
t
e
s
a
l
s
o
o
w
e
s
o
m
e
t
h
i
n
g
t
o
h
i
s
u
s
e
o
f
c
o
m
i
c
s
a
n
d
T
V
n
e
w
s
a
s
s
o
u
r
c
e
s
o
f
i
n
s
p
i
r
a
t
i
o
n
.
1
9
J
u
l
y
-
5
O
c
t
o
b
e
r
I
N
&
O
U
T
O
F
A
M
S
T
E
R
D
A
M
:
T
R
A
V
E
L
S
I
N
C
O
N
C
E
P
T
U
A
L
A
R
T
,
1
9
6
0

1
9
7
6
M
o
M
A
,
N
e
w
Y
o
r
k
w
w
w
.
m
o
m
a
.
o
r
g
T
h
i
s
e
x
h
i
b
i
t
i
o
n
o
f
1
2
0
w
o
r
k
s
i
n
c
l
u
d
e
s
d
r
a
w
i
n
g
s
,
i
n
s
t
a
l
l
a
t
i
o
n
s
,
f
i
l
m
s
,
p
o
s
t
e
r
s
,
a
n
d
a
r
t
i
s
t
s

b
o
o
k
s
f
r
o
m
a
r
t
i
s
t
s
w
i
t
h
d
i
f
f
e
r
e
n
t
n
a
t
i
o
n
a
l
i
t
i
e
s
w
h
o
e
i
t
h
e
r
t
r
a
v
e
l
l
e
d
t
o
o
r
s
t
a
y
e
d
i
n
A
m
s
t
e
r
d
a
m
d
u
r
i
n
g
t
h
e
1
9
6
0
s
a
n
d
1
9
7
0
s
,
c
r
e
a
t
i
n
g
a
t
r
a
n
s
a
t
l
a
n
t
i
c
t
r
a
d
e
i
n
i
n
f
l
u
e
n
c
e
s
.
A
m
o
n
g
a
r
t
i
s
t
s
w
h
o
e
n
g
a
g
e
d
w
i
t
h
t
h
e
c
i
t
y

s
v
i
b
r
a
n
t
a
r
t
s
c
e
n
e
a
r
e
H
a
n
n
e
D
a
r
b
o
v
e
n
,
G
i
l
b
e
r
t
&
G
e
o
r
g
e
,
C
h
a
r
l
o
t
t
e
P
o
s
e
n
e
n
s
k
e
,
A
l
l
e
n
R
u
p
p
e
r
s
b
e
r
g
,
a
n
d
L
a
w
r
e
n
c
e
W
e
i
n
e
r
.
M
a
n
y
o
f
t
h
e
m
s
p
e
n
t
s
i
g
n
i
f
i
c
a
n
t
t
i
m
e
i
n
A
m
s
t
e
r
d
a
m
a
n
d
o
f
t
e
n
p
r
o
d
u
c
e
d
w
o
r
k
s
r
e
l
a
t
e
d
s
p
e
c
i
f
i
c
a
l
l
y
t
o
t
h
e
c
i
t
y
.
b
r
i
n
g
w
h
a
t
e
v
e
r
t
h
e
y
l
i
k
e
u
p
t
h
e
r
e
a
s
l
o
n
g
a
s
i
t
i
s
l
e
g
a
l
.
H
o
w
l
o
n
g
b
e
f
o
r
e
s
o
m
e
o
n
e
p
o
s
e
s
a
s
o
n
e
o
f
t
h
e

m
i
l
i
t
a
r
y
,
v
a
l
e
d
i
c
t
o
r
y
a
n
d
m
a
l
e
h
i
s
t
o
r
i
c
a
l
s
t
a
t
u
e
s

p
e
r
c
h
e
d
o
n
t
h
e
o
t
h
e
r
p
l
i
n
t
h
s
?
9
J
u
l
y
-
1
6
A
u
g
u
s
t
A
U
R

L
I
E
N
F
R
O
M
E
N
T
G
a
s
w
o
r
k
s
,
S
E
1
1
w
w
w
.
g
a
s
w
o
r
k
s
.
o
r
g
.
u
k
A
l
o
n
g
w
i
t
h
a
v
i
d
e
o
c
o
n
v
e
r
s
a
t
i
o
n
w
i
t
h
f
i
l
m
m
a
k
e
r
W
e
r
n
e
r
H
e
r
z
o
g
,
w
h
o
s
e
F
i
t
z
c
a
r
r
a
l
d
o
h
a
s
i
n
f
o
r
m
e
d
s
o
m
e
o
f
a
r
t
i
s
t
A
u
r

l
i
e
n
F
r
o
m
e
n
t

s
r
e
c
e
n
t
w
o
r
k
,
t
h
e
e
x
h
i
b
i
t
i
o
n
w
i
l
l
s
h
o
w
e
x
a
m
p
l
e
s
o
f
F
r
o
m
e
n
t

s
p
h
o
t
o
g
r
a
p
h
y
,
s
c
u
l
p
t
u
r
e
a
n
d
p
r
i
n
t
.
A
l
t
h
o
u
g
h
h
i
s
w
o
r
k
h
a
s
b
e
e
n
s
e
e
n
a
t
T
a
t
e
B
r
i
t
a
i
n
a
n
d
i
s
a
v
a
i
l
a
b
l
e
t
h
r
o
u
g
h
S
t
o
r
e
i
n
L
o
n
d
o
n
,
t
h
i
s
i
s
h
i
s
f
i
r
s
t
p
u
b
l
i
c
s
o
l
o
p
r
e
s
e
n
t
a
t
i
o
n
i
n
t
h
e
U
K
a
n
d
a
i
m
s
t
o
e
x
a
m
i
n
e
t
h
e
r
e
l
a
t
i
o
n
s
h
i
p
s
b
e
t
w
e
e
n
a
r
t
i
s
t
,
a
r
t
w
o
r
k
a
n
d
v
i
e
w
e
r
.
1
4
J
u
l
y
2
0
0
9
7
.
0
0
p
m
A
R
C
H
I
T
E
C
T
U
R
E
O
N
F
I
L
M
:
B
U
C
K
M
I
N
S
T
E
R
F
U
L
L
E
R
M
E
E
T
S
T
H
E
H
I
P
P
I
E
S
B
a
r
b
i
c
a
n
C
e
n
t
r
e
,
E
C
2
w
w
w
.
b
a
r
b
i
c
a
n
.
o
r
g
.
u
k
/
f
i
l
m
I
n
a
n
e
x
a
m
p
l
e
o
f

m
o
r
e
f
o
r
l
e
s
s

,
t
h
i
s
h
a
l
f
-
h
o
u
r
e
x
t
r
a
c
t
f
r
o
m
a
l
o
n
g
e
r
a
n
d
l
o
-
f
i
v
i
d
e
o
r
e
c
o
r
d
i
n
g
e
a
v
e
s
d
r
o
p
s
o
n
a
r
c
h
i
t
e
c
t
,
e
n
g
i
n
e
e
r
a
n
d
c
o
s
m
o
l
o
g
i
s
t
B
u
c
k
m
i
n
s
t
e
r
F
u
l
l
e
r
o
n
H
i
p
p
i
e
H
i
l
l
i
n
G
o
l
d
e
n
G
a
t
e
P
a
r
k
,
S
a
n
F
r
a
n
c
i
s
c
o
a
t
t
h
e
h
e
i
g
h
t
o
f
t
h
e
l
a
t
e
1
9
6
0
s
c
o
u
n
t
e
r
-
c
u
l
t
u
r
a
l
m
o
v
e
m
e
n
t
.
T
h
e
m
a
n
w
i
t
h
a
b
r
a
i
n
t
h
e
s
i
z
e
o
f
a
g
e
o
d
e
s
i
c
d
o
m
e
t
e
l
l
s
o
t
h
e
r
c
r
e
w
m
e
m
b
e
r
s
o
f
S
p
a
c
e
s
h
i
p
E
a
r
t
h
:

W
e
a
r
e
n
o
t
u
s
i
n
g
t
h
e
w
o
r
l
d

s
r
e
s
o
u
r
c
e
s
c
o
r
r
e
c
t
l
y
.
L
i
k
e
w
o
w
,
m
a
n
.
R
i
g
h
t
o
n
.
U
K
3
J
u
l
y
-
3
1
A
u
g
J
S
B
A
C
H
/
Z
A
H
A
H
A
D
I
D
A
R
C
H
I
T
E
C
T
S
M
a
n
c
h
e
s
t
e
r
A
r
t
G
a
l
l
e
r
y
,
M
a
n
c
h
e
s
t
e
r
w
w
w
.
m
i
f
.
c
o
.
u
k
I
f
,
a
s
G
o
e
t
h
e
s
a
i
d
,
a
r
c
h
i
t
e
c
t
u
r
e
i
s
f
r
o
z
e
n
m
u
s
i
c
,
i
t
s
e
e
m
s
a
p
p
r
o
p
r
i
a
t
e
t
h
a
t
Z
a
h
a
H
a
d
i
d
s
h
o
u
l
d
i
n
s
t
a
l
l
a
n
e
w
c
h
a
m
b
e
r
m
u
s
i
c
h
a
l
l
w
i
t
h
i
n
M
a
n
c
h
e
s
t
e
r
A
r
t
G
a
l
l
e
r
y
t
o
t
r
a
n
s
f
o
r
m
t
h
e
s
p
a
c
e
v
i
s
u
a
l
l
y
a
n
d
a
c
o
u
s
t
i
c
a
l
l
y
1
4
J
u
l
y
-
1
8
O
c
t
o
b
e
r
T
E
L
L
I
N
G
T
A
L
E
S
T
h
e
P
o
r
t
e
r
G
a
l
l
e
r
y
,
V
&
A
,
L
o
n
d
o
n
w
w
w
.
v
a
m
.
a
c
.
u
k
F
o
c
u
s
i
n
g
o
n
d
e
s
i
g
n
-
a
r
t
w
i
t
h
a
n
a
r
-
r
a
t
i
v
e
q
u
a
l
i
t
y
,
t
h
e
s
h
o
w
h
a
s
t
h
r
e
e
s
e
c
t
i
o
n
s
.
T
h
e
F
o
r
e
s
t
G
l
a
d
e
i
n
c
l
u
d
e
s
w
o
r
k
b
y
F
r
e
d
r
i
k
s
o
n
S
t
a
l
l
a
r
d
,
J
u
l
i
a
L
o
h
m
a
n
,
a
n
d
M
a
a
r
t
e
n
B
a
a
s
.
T
o
r
d
B
o
o
n
t
j
e
c
r
e
a
t
e
s
a
f
a
i
r
y
t
a
l
e
-
l
i
k
e
a
t
m
o
s
p
h
e
r
e
w
i
t
h
h
i
s
F
i
g
L
e
a
f
w
a
r
d
r
o
b
e
,
m
a
d
e
f
r
o
m
6
1
6
h
a
n
d
-
p
a
i
n
t
e
d
c
o
p
p
e
r
l
e
a
v
e
s
,
w
h
i
l
e
v
i
s
i
-
t
o
r
s
c
a
n
m
a
k
e
a
b
e
e
-
l
i
n
e
f
o
r
T
o
m

G
a
b
z
d
i
l
L
i
b
e
r
t
i
n
y

s
i
n
t
r
i
c
a
t
e
M
a
d
e
b
y
B
e
e
s
v
a
s
e
,
p
r
o
d
u
c
e
d
b
y
p
l
a
c
i
n
g
a
w
i
r
e
f
r
a
m
e
i
n
a
h
i
v
e
a
n
d
a
l
l
o
w
i
n
g
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
74
4
J
u
l
y
-
2
7
S
e
p
t
e
m
b
e
r
J
O
S
E
P
H
B
E
U
Y
S
D
e
L
a
W
a
r
r
P
a
v
i
l
i
o
n
,
B
e
x
h
i
l
l
o
n
S
e
a
w
w
w
.
d
l
w
p
.
c
o
m
O
n
s
h
o
w
w
i
l
l
b
e
a
l
a
r
g
e
n
u
m
b
e
r
o
f
s
c
u
l
p
t
u
r
e
s
,
p
h
o
t
o
g
r
a
p
h
s
,
d
r
a
w
i
n
g
s
a
n
d
w
a
t
e
r
c
o
l
o
u
r
s
b
y
c
o
n
c
e
p
t
u
a
l
a
r
t
i
s
t
,
a
n
t
h
r
o
p
o
s
o
p
h
i
s
t
a
n
d
o
n
e
-
t
i
m
e
G
r
e
e
n
P
a
r
t
y
c
a
n
d
i
d
a
t
e
J
o
s
e
p
h
B
e
u
y
s
.
K
e
y
w
o
r
k
s
w
i
l
l
i
n
c
l
u
d
e
t
h
e
1
9
8
0
s
s
c
u
l
p
t
u
r
e
s
F
a
t
C
h
a
i
r
a
n
d
S
c
a
l
a
N
a
p
o
l
e
t
a
n
a
a
n
d
t
h
e
1
9
6
0
s
l
i
t
h
o
g
r
a
p
h
A
P
a
r
t
y
f
o
r
A
n
i
m
a
l
s
.
T
h
e
e
x
h
i
b
i
t
i
o
n
b
o
t
h
e
x
p
l
o
r
e
s
h
i
s
a
n
t
i
-
e
s
t
a
b
l
i
s
h
m
e
n
t
i
d
e
a
s
o
n
a
r
e
a
s
f
r
o
m
e
c
o
n
o
m
i
c
s
t
o
a
r
t
a
n
d
l
o
o
k
s
a
t
h
o
w
t
h
e
y
h
a
v
e
l
a
s
t
e
d
a
n
d
c
o
n
t
i
n
u
e
t
o
h
a
v
e
a
n
i
n
f
l
u
e
n
c
e
.
1
8
J
u
l
y
-
2
7
S
e
p
t
e
m
b
e
r
U
P
S
I
D
E
D
O
W
N
/
I
N
S
I
D
E
O
U
T
K
e
t
t
l
e

s
Y
a
r
d
,
C
a
m
b
r
i
d
g
e
w
w
w
.
k
e
t
t
l
e
s
y
a
r
d
.
c
o
.
u
k
T
h
e
d
i
f
f
e
r
e
n
t
s
p
a
c
e
s
o
f
K
e
t
t
l
e

s
Y
a
r
d
a
r
e
p
u
t
t
o
g
o
o
d
u
s
e
h
e
r
e
w
i
t
h
a
d
o
u
b
l
e
e
x
h
i
b
i
t
i
o
n
w
i
t
h
p
a
i
n
t
i
n
g
s
,
s
c
u
l
p
t
u
r
e
s
a
n
d
s
o
m
e
o
f
i
t
s
h
i
d
d
e
n
t
r
e
a
s
u
r
e
s
i
n
t
h
e
g
a
l
l
e
r
y
,
w
h
i
l
e
t
h
e
h
o
u
s
e
p
r
e
s
e
n
t
s
a
r
t
i
s
t
s

i
n
t
e
r
v
e
n
t
i
o
n
s
f
r
o
m
t
h
e
l
a
s
t
1
4
y
e
a
r
s
,
i
n
c
l
u
d
i
n
g
t
h
o
s
e
o
f
M
i
c
h
a
e
l
C
r
a
i
g
-
M
a
r
t
i
n
,
R
i
c
h
a
r
d
W
e
n
t
w
o
r
t
h
,
J
u
d
i
t
h
G
o
d
d
a
r
d
,
D
o
u
g
l
a
s
A
l
l
s
o
p
,
E
d
m
u
n
d
d
e
W
a
a
l
,
a
n
d
I
a
n
H
a
m
i
l
t
o
n
F
i
n
l
a
y
.
T
h
e
r
e
a
r
e
a
l
s
o
n
e
w
w
o
r
k
s
f
r
o
m
J
a
y
n
e
P
a
r
k
e
r

s
f
i
l
m
s
K
e
t
t
l
e

s
Y
a
r
d
T
r
i
l
o
g
y
a
n
d
a
n
e
w
l
y
-
c
o
m
m
i
s
s
i
o
n
e
d
i
n
s
t
a
l
l
a
t
i
o
n
b
y
c
o
m
p
o
s
e
r
D
a
v
i
d
S
h
e
p
p
a
r
d
.
3
1
J
u
l
y
-
4
O
c
t
o
b
e
r
F
I
O
N
A
C
R
I
S
P
:
S
U
B
T
E
R
R
A
N
I
A
B
a
l
t
i
c
C
e
n
t
r
e
f
o
r
C
o
n
t
e
m
p
o
r
a
r
y
A
r
t
,
N
e
w
c
a
s
t
l
e
w
w
w
.
b
a
l
t
i
c
m
i
l
l
.
c
o
m
P
r
o
v
i
n
g
t
h
a
t
s
i
z
e
e
n
g
e
n
d
e
r
s
a
s
e
n
s
e
o
f

i
n
t
e
r
i
o
r
i
t
y

,
F
i
o
n
a
C
r
i
s
p

s
l
a
r
g
e
-
s
c
a
l
e
p
h
o
t
o
g
r
a
p
h
y
f
e
a
t
u
r
e
s
i
m
a
g
e
s
t
a
k
e
n
i
n
e
a
r
l
y
C
h
r
i
s
t
i
a
n
c
a
t
a
c
o
m
b
s
,
a
S
e
c
o
n
d
W
o
r
l
d
W
a
r
u
n
d
e
r
g
r
o
u
n
d
h
o
s
p
i
t
a
l
i
n
G
u
e
r
n
s
e
y
,
a
n
d
t
h
e
m
i
n
i
n
g
m
u
s
e
u
m
a
t
K
i
l
l
h
o
p
e
.
T
h
e
p
i
c
t
u
r
e
s
a
r
e
f
r
o
m
f
o
u
r
s
e
r
i
e
s
p
r
o
d
u
c
e
d
o
v
e
r
t
h
e
l
a
s
t
s
i
x
y
e
a
r
s
.
T
h
e
a
r
t
i
s
t
c
h
o
s
e
t
h
e
s
e
s
u
b
j
e
c
t
s
f
o
r
t
h
e
s
t
r
o
n
g
c
o
n
t
r
a
s
t
b
e
t
w
e
e
n
t
h
e
i
r
p
a
s
t
,
t
h
e
w
a
y
t
h
e
y
h
a
v
e
d
e
c
a
y
e
d
t
h
r
o
u
g
h
t
h
e
t
i
m
e
,
a
n
d
t
h
e
i
r
u
n
s
e
t
t
l
i
n
g
c
o
n
v
e
r
s
i
o
n
i
n
t
o
t
o
u
r
i
s
t
s
i
t
e
s
.
T
h
e
s
c
a
l
e
a
n
d
i
n
w
a
r
d
f
o
c
u
s
o
f
t
h
e
i
m
a
g
e
s
r
e
m
o
v
e
s
a
l
l
h
i
n
t
o
f
t
h
e
o
u
t
s
i
d
e
w
o
r
l
d
o
r
i
n
d
i
c
a
t
i
o
n
o
f
t
i
m
e
,
c
l
i
m
a
t
e
o
r
e
v
e
n
l
o
c
a
t
i
o
n
.
2
8
J
u
n
e
-
1
3
S
e
p
t
e
m
b
e
r
R
H

N
E
-
A
L
P
E
S
A
N
D
R
O
M
A
N
D
I
E
,
H
E
R
E
A
N
D
T
H
E
W
O
R
L
D
S
w
i
s
s
A
r
c
h
i
t
e
c
t
u
r
e
M
u
s
e
u
m
,
B
a
s
e
l
,
S
w
i
t
z
e
r
l
a
n
d
w
w
w
.
s
a
m
-
b
a
s
e
l
.
o
r
g
T
h
i
s
f
e
a
t
u
r
e
s
s
e
v
e
r
a
l
p
r
a
c
t
i
c
e
s
f
r
o
m
t
h
e
R
h

n
e
-
A
l
p
e
s
r
e
g
i
o
n
o
f
F
r
a
n
c
e
a
n
d
S
w
i
t
z
e
r
l
a
n
d
.
P
r
o
j
e
c
t
s
e
x
p
l
o
r
e
t
h
e
r
e
l
a
t
i
o
n
s
h
i
p
b
e
t
w
e
e
n
a
l
o
c
a
-
t
i
o
n

s
p
h
y
s
i
c
a
l
c
o
n
t
e
x
t
,
h
i
s
t
o
r
y
,
i
n
c
l
u
d
e
s
I
r
e
l
a
n
d

s
D
a
v
i
d
B
e
a
t
t
i
e
,
t
h
e
U
K

s
A
l
i
c
e
C
h
a
n
n
e
r
a
n
d
B
e
l
g
i
a
n
J
o

l
l
e
T
u
e
r
l
i
n
c
k
x
.
T
h
e
e
x
h
i
b
i
t
i
o
n
i
s
o
n
e
o
f
t
h
r
e
e
S
o
u
t
h
b
a
n
k
p
r
o
j
e
c
t
s
t
h
a
t
w
i
l
l
r
u
n
t
h
r
o
u
g
h
2
0
1
1
i
n
v
o
l
v
i
n
g
a

c
u
r
a
t
o
r
i
a
l
o
p
e
n

a
i
m
e
d
a
t
e
n
c
o
u
r
a
g
i
n
g
n
e
w
t
a
l
e
n
t
i
n
t
h
a
t
a
r
e
a
.
4
J
u
l
y
-
3
0
A
u
g
u
s
t
S
W
I
S
S
S
E
A
S
O
N
:
B
I
G
-
G
A
M
E
T
h
e
L
i
g
h
t
h
o
u
s
e
,
G
l
a
s
g
o
w
w
w
w
.
t
h
e
l
i
g
h
t
h
o
u
s
e
.
c
o
.
u
k
B
i
g
-
G
a
m
e
i
s
a
d
e
s
i
g
n
s
t
u
d
i
o
b
a
s
e
d
i
n
L
a
u
s
a
n
n
e
a
n
d
B
r
u
s
s
e
l
s
,
f
o
u
n
d
e
d
i
n
2
0
0
4
,
b
y
G
r

g
o
i
r
e
J
e
a
n
m
o
n
o
d
f
r
o
m
S
w
i
t
z
e
r
l
a
n
d
,
E
l
r
i
c
P
e
t
i
t
f
r
o
m
B
e
l
g
i
u
m
a
n
d
A
u
g
u
s
t
i
n
S
c
o
t
t
d
e
M
a
r
t
i
n
v
i
l
l
e
f
r
o
m
F
r
a
n
c
e
.
I
t
s
d
e
s
i
g
n
r
a
n
g
e
s
f
r
o
m
f
u
r
n
i
t
u
r
e
,
i
n
d
u
s
t
r
i
a
l
d
e
s
i
g
n
,
a
n
d
l
i
g
h
t
i
n
g
t
o
i
n
t
e
r
i
o
r
d
e
s
i
g
n
a
n
d
i
n
c
l
u
d
e
s
l
i
m
i
t
e
d
e
d
i
t
i
o
n
a
n
d
m
a
s
s
p
r
o
d
u
c
t
i
o
n
p
i
e
c
e
s
.
M
o
r
e
S
w
i
s
s
d
e
s
i
g
n
w
i
l
l
r
o
l
l
o
u
t
i
n
S
e
p
t
e
m
b
e
r
a
n
d
N
o
v
e
m
b
e
r
a
s
p
a
r
t
o
f
a
f
i
v
e
-
p
a
r
t
s
e
r
i
e
s
o
f
s
h
o
w
s
t
h
a
t
c
o
m
b
i
n
e
p
h
o
t
o
g
r
a
p
h
y
,
g
r
a
p
h
i
c
s
a
n
d
p
r
o
d
u
c
t
s
.
L
O
N
D
O
N
4
J
u
l
y
-
2
6
A
u
g
u
s
t
R
O
B
I
N
H
O
O
D
G
A
R
D
E
N
S
R
I
B
A
,
W
1
w
w
w
.
a
r
c
h
i
t
e
c
t
u
r
e
.
c
o
m
T
h
i
s
w
i
d
e
-
r
a
n
g
i
n
g
e
x
h
i
b
i
t
i
o
n
o
n
R
o
b
i
n
H
o
o
d
G
a
r
d
e
n
s
,
t
h
e
c
o
u
n
c
i
l
h
o
u
s
i
n
g
c
o
m
p
l
e
x
i
n
e
a
s
t
L
o
n
d
o
n
d
e
s
i
g
n
e
d
b
y
A
l
i
s
o
n
a
n
d
P
e
t
e
r
S
m
i
t
h
s
o
n
i
n
t
h
e
1
9
6
0
s
,
l
o
o
k
s
a
t
t
h
e
e
v
e
r
-
c
h
a
n
g
i
n
g
l
a
n
d
s
c
a
p
e
a
r
o
u
n
d
D
o
c
k
l
a
n
d
s
a
n
d
i
n
t
o
t
h
e
l
i
v
e
s
o
f
i
t
s
r
e
s
i
d
e
n
t
s
.
P
h
o
t
o
g
r
a
p
h
s
b
y
I
o
a
n
a
M
a
r
i
n
e
s
c
u
i
n
t
e
r
p
r
e
t
i
n
g
t
h
e
q
u
a
l
i
t
y
o
f
t
h
e
a
r
c
h
i
t
e
c
t
u
r
e
,
a
r
c
h
i
v
e
i
m
a
g
e
r
y
a
n
d
a
d
o
c
u
m
e
n
t
a
r
y
b
y
M
a
r
t
i
n
G
i
n
e
s
t
i
e
d
o
c
u
m
e
n
t
t
h
e
d
e
v
e
l
o
p
m
e
n
t
u
n
d
e
r
t
h
r
e
a
t
o
f
d
e
m
o
l
i
t
i
o
n
a
s
p
a
r
t
o
f
a
l
a
r
g
e
r
e
g
e
n
e
r
a
t
i
o
n
s
c
h
e
m
e
i
n
B
l
a
c
k
w
a
l
l
.
5
J
u
l
y
-
6
A
u
g
u
s
t
E
X
Y
Z
T
:
T
H
E
D
A
L
S
T
O
N
M
I
L
L
O
f
f
D
a
l
s
t
o
n
L
a
n
e
,
E
8
F
o
l
l
o
w
i
n
g
t
h
e
s
u
c
c
e
s
s
o
f
l
a
s
t
s
u
m
m
e
r

s
i
n
t
e
r
v
e
n
t
i
o
n
S
o
u
t
h
w
a
r
k
L
i
d
o
,
t
h
e
F
r
e
n
c
h
a
r
c
h
i
t
e
c
t
u
r
e
c
o
l
l
e
c
t
i
v
e
E
x
y
z
t
i
s
b
a
c
k
i
n
L
o
n
d
o
n
f
o
r
T
h
e
D
a
l
s
t
o
n
M
i
l
l
,
a
s
a
t
e
l
l
i
t
e
e
v
e
n
t
o
f
t
h
e
B
a
r
b
i
c
a
n
C
e
n
t
r
e

s
R
a
d
i
c
a
l
N
a
t
u
r
e
e
x
h
i
b
i
t
i
o
n
.
T
h
e
D
a
l
s
t
o
n
M
i
l
l
t
u
r
n
s
a
n
a
b
a
n
d
o
n
e
d
g
a
r
d
e
n
t
e
m
p
o
r
a
r
i
l
y
i
n
t
o
a
n
u
r
b
a
n
r
e
t
r
e
a
t
,
a
v
e
n
u
e
i
n
w
h
i
c
h
e
v
e
n
t
s
,
s
c
r
e
e
n
i
n
g
s
a
n
d

f
e
a
s
t
s

t
a
k
e
p
l
a
c
e
.
E
x
y
z
t
,
w
h
i
c
h
r
e
g
a
r
d
s
i
t
s
p
r
o
j
e
c
t
s
m
o
r
e
a
s
u
r
b
a
n
g
u
e
r
i
l
l
a
a
c
t
i
o
n
s
t
h
a
n
a
s
f
o
r
m
a
l
a
r
c
h
i
t
e
c
t
u
r
e
,
i
s
d
o
i
n
g
t
h
i
s
w
i
t
h
t
h
e
i
n
v
o
l
v
e
m
e
n
t
o
f
t
h
e
l
o
c
a
l
c
o
m
m
u
n
i
t
y
.
R
a
d
i
c
a
l
N
a
t
u
r
e
r
u
n
s
u
n
t
i
l
1
8
O
c
t
o
b
e
r
a
n
d
d
r
a
w
s
o
n
i
d
e
a
s
t
h
a
t
h
a
v
e
e
m
e
r
g
e
d
o
u
t
o
f
L
a
n
d
A
r
t
,
e
n
v
i
r
o
n
m
e
n
t
a
l
a
c
t
i
v
i
s
m
,
e
x
p
e
r
i
m
e
n
t
a
l
a
r
c
h
i
t
e
c
t
u
r
e
a
n
d
u
t
o
p
i
a
n
i
s
m
.
6
J
u
l
y
-
1
4
O
c
t
o
b
e
r
O
N
E
&
O
T
H
E
R
T
r
a
f
a
l
g
a
r
S
q
u
a
r
e
,
W
C
2
w
w
w
.
o
n
e
a
n
d
o
t
h
e
r
.
c
o
.
u
k
O
n
e
&
O
t
h
e
r
i
s
a
r
t
i
s
t
A
n
t
o
n
y
G
o
r
m
l
e
y

s
w
e
l
l
-
t
r
u
m
p
e
t
e
d
,
n
o
n
-
s
t
o
p
,
p
u
b
l
i
c
p
a
r
t
i
c
i
p
a
t
o
r
y
p
r
o
j
e
c
t
t
h
a
t
w
i
l
l
p
l
a
c
e
a
d
i
f
f
e
r
e
n
t
m
e
m
b
e
r
o
f
t
h
e
m
a
s
s
e
s
o
n
T
r
a
f
a
l
g
a
r
S
q
u
a
r
e

s
o
t
h
e
r
w
i
s
e
e
m
p
t
y
f
o
u
r
t
h
p
l
i
n
t
h
e
v
e
r
y
h
o
u
r
f
o
r
1
0
0
d
a
y
s
.
T
h
e
f
i
r
s
t
h
u
m
a
n
i
n
s
t
a
l
l
a
t
i
o
n
s
c
r
a
m
b
l
e
s
o
n
t
o
t
h
e
p
l
i
n
t
h
o
n
6
J
u
l
y
a
n
d
p
a
r
t
i
c
i
p
a
n
t
s
a
r
e
f
r
e
e
t
o
d
o
a
n
d
t
h
e
i
n
s
e
c
t
s
t
o
c
r
e
a
t
e
i
t
s
h
o
n
e
y
c
o
m
b
w
a
l
l
s
.
T
h
e
s
e
c
o
n
d
,
m
o
r
e
s
u
b
v
e
r
s
i
v
e
s
e
c
t
i
o
n
,
T
h
e
E
n
c
h
a
n
t
e
d
C
a
s
t
l
e
,
i
n
c
l
u
d
e
s
S
t
u
d
i
o
J
o
b

s
R
o
b
b
e
r
B
a
r
o
n
s
e
r
i
e
s
o
f
g
i
l
d
e
d
a
n
d
c
a
s
t
b
r
o
n
z
e
f
u
r
n
i
t
u
r
e
,
w
h
i
c
h
p
a
r
o
d
i
e
s
b
o
t
h
l
a
t
e
-
V
i
c
t
o
r
i
a
n
d
e
s
i
g
n
,
a
n
d
t
h
e
t
a
s
t
e
o
f
t
o
d
a
y

s
n
e
w
l
y
r
i
c
h
.
T
h
e
f
i
n
a
l
s
e
c
t
i
o
n
,
H
e
a
v
e
n
a
n
d
H
e
l
l
,
d
i
s
p
l
a
y
s
w
o
r
k
b
y
d
e
s
i
g
n
e
r
s
c
o
n
c
e
r
n
e
d
w
i
t
h
t
h
e
m
e
s
o
f
m
o
r
t
a
l
i
t
y
a
n
d
t
h
e
a
f
t
e
r
-
l
i
f
e
.
T
h
e
L
o
v
e
r
s
R
u
g
b
y
F
r
e
d
r
i
k
s
o
n
S
t
a
l
l
a
r
d
i
s
a
p
a
i
r
o
f
c
o
n
j
o
i
n
e
d
p
o
o
l
s
o
f
r
e
d
u
r
e
t
h
a
n
e
r
e
p
r
e
s
e
n
t
i
n
g
t
h
e
a
v
e
r
a
g
e
q
u
a
n
t
i
t
y
o
f
b
l
o
o
d
i
n
t
w
o
p
e
o
p
l
e
.
Y
i
n
g
-
W
e
n
C
h
a
n
g
P
R
E
V
I
E
W
S
e
n
d
i
t
e
m
s
f
o
r
i
n
c
l
u
s
i
o
n
o
n
t
h
e
s
e
p
a
g
e
s
t
o
:
P
r
e
v
i
e
w
,
B
l
u
e
p
r
i
n
t
,
9
1
C
h
a
r
t
e
r
h
o
u
s
e
S
t
,
L
o
n
d
o
n
E
C
1
M
6
H
R
o
r
s
e
n
d
a
n
e
-
m
a
i
l
t
o
i
n
f
o
@
b
l
u
e
p
r
i
n
t
m
a
g
a
z
i
n
e
.
c
o
.
u
k
e
x
c
l
u
s
i
v
e
l
y
f
o
r
t
h
e
p
e
r
f
o
r
m
a
n
c
e
o
f
J
o
h
a
n
n
S
e
b
a
s
t
i
a
n
B
a
c
h

s
s
o
l
o
w
o
r
k
s
.
P
i
a
n
i
s
t
P
i
o
t
r
A
n
d
e
r
s
z
e
w
s
k
i
,
c
e
l
l
i
s
t
J
e
a
n
-
G
u
i
h
e
n
Q
u
e
y
r
a
s
a
n
d
v
i
o
l
i
n
i
s
t
A
l
i
n
a
I
b
r
a
g
i
m
o
v
a
w
i
l
l
p
e
r
f
o
r
m
d
u
r
i
n
g
n
i
n
e
e
v
e
n
i
n
g
e
v
e
n
t
s
a
s
p
a
r
t
o
f
M
a
n
c
h
e
s
t
e
r
I
n
t
e
r
n
a
t
i
o
n
a
l
F
e
s
t
i
v
a
l
s
t
a
r
t
i
n
g
3
J
u
l
y
.
T
h
e
i
n
s
t
a
l
l
a
t
i
o
n
w
i
l
l
b
e
o
p
e
n
f
o
r
f
r
e
e
p
u
b
l
i
c
v
i
e
w
i
n
g
d
u
r
i
n
g
s
t
a
n
d
a
r
d
g
a
l
l
e
r
y
o
p
e
n
i
n
g
h
o
u
r
s
.
4
J
u
l
y
-
3
0
A
u
g
u
s
t
Q
U
I
E
T
R
E
V
O
L
U
T
I
O
N
M
i
l
t
o
n
K
e
y
n
e
s
G
a
l
l
e
r
y
,
M
i
l
t
o
n
K
e
y
n
e
s
w
w
w
.
s
o
u
t
h
b
a
n
k
c
e
n
t
r
e
.
c
o
.
u
k
Q
u
i
e
t
R
e
v
o
l
u
t
i
o
n
,
c
u
r
a
t
e
d
b
y
C
h
r
i
s
F
i
t
e
-
W
a
s
s
i
l
a
k
,
t
h
e
f
o
r
m
e
r
e
d
i
t
o
r
o
f
t
h
e
D
u
b
l
i
n
-
b
a
s
e
d
c
o
m
i
c
T
h
i
s
W
a
y
U
p
,
f
e
a
t
u
r
e
s
a
s
e
l
e
c
t
i
o
n
o
f
s
c
u
l
p
t
u
r
e
s
w
i
t
h
c
o
m
m
o
n
o
r
e
v
e
n
t
r
i
v
i
a
l
o
b
j
e
c
t
s
a
n
d
m
a
t
e
r
i
a
l
s
u
s
e
d
i
n
a
n
u
n
c
o
m
m
o
n
w
a
y
s
u
c
h
a
s
M
a
t
t
C
a
l
d
e
r
w
o
o
d

s
S
o
m
e
T
h
i
n
g
s
J
u
s
t
W
o
r
k
,
a
n
u
n
n
e
r
v
i
n
g
l
y
s
p
a
r
e
i
n
s
t
a
l
l
a
t
i
o
n
f
e
a
t
u
r
i
n
g
a
b
r
o
o
m
a
n
d
s
h
o
v
e
l
.
T
h
e
i
n
t
e
r
n
a
t
i
o
n
a
l
g
r
o
u
p
s
t
r
u
c
t
u
r
e
s
,
m
a
t
e
r
i
a
l
s
,
t
e
c
h
n
i
q
u
e
s
a
n
d
a
e
s
t
h
e
t
i
c
s
,
a
n
d
b
e
t
w
e
e
n
t
h
e
l
o
c
a
l
a
n
d
g
l
o
b
a
l
.
T
h
e
a
r
c
h
i
t
e
c
t
u
r
e
f
i
r
m
s
t
a
k
i
n
g
p
a
r
t
i
n
c
l
u
d
e
2
B
f
r
o
m
L
a
u
s
a
n
n
e
w
i
t
h
i
t
s
o
n
-
g
o
i
n
g
p
u
b
l
i
c
s
p
a
c
e
r
e
g
e
n
e
r
a
t
i
o
n
p
r
o
j
e
c
t
,
P
l
a
c
e
d
e
l
a
S
a
l
l
a
z
,
a
n
d
L
y
o
n

s
T
e
c
t
o
n
i
q
u
e
s
w
i
t
h
t
h
e
R
e
g
i
o
n
a
l
S
a
i
l
i
n
g
C
e
n
t
r
e
i
n
V
e
r
n
e
u
i
l
,
a
l
e
i
s
u
r
e
c
o
m
p
l
e
x
p
r
o
j
e
c
t
d
u
e
t
o
b
e
c
o
m
p
l
e
t
e
d
i
n
2
0
1
1
.
Y
i
n
g
-
W
e
n
C
h
a
n
g
SLIDING DOOR SYSTEM FROM HFELE
Time is Money Save both with HAWA-Purolino 80
Hawa, the Swiss sliding door experts newsolution for frameless glass sliding doors with concealed
suspension for super fast wall and ceiling assembly is now available in the UK from Hfele.
HAWA-Purolino 80 will save you installation time thanks to the clever fixing method, allowing
doors weighing up to 80kg to be wall mounted, ceiling mounted or integrated into the ceiling.
And because the HAWA-Purolino 80 technology disappears invisibly into the top track you have
no need of additional pelmets saving you money.
To celebrate the launch of this true time saver Hawa will add an exclusive chronograph
watch in a Hawa design to every set ordered by the 31st of October. Swiss made like the
HAWA-Purolino 80 and a practical reminder that work can finish a little earlier with
Hawa sliding hardware systems.
For further details please contact
[email protected] or call the
Hfele Architectural Ironmongery
Dept on 01788 548855.
Magritte
Part of the Hotech Design range now available from Aestus
For further details please call Aestus
on 01902 387080 or email [email protected]
Its true. Theres no beauty like that of nature. Our new release
Pebble Blends let you enjoy a ravishing, stylish interplay
of natural colours, shapes and textures.
www.islandstone.co.uk
Island Stone Natural Advantage Ltd
Phone +44 0800 083 9351 Fax +44 0800 083 9352 [email protected]
| www.fowlerco.co.uk | 01273 423111 | [email protected] |
Fowler & Co. designed and made this striking staircase for an
elegant Edwardian mansion apartment.
The stair strings are laser cut from 12mm thick steel to support
solid Native Oaks treads. A lighting channel runs up the edges of
the stairs to light the lobby below. The staircase hangs sweetly in
the space, with it's glass balustrade.
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
76
JUNCKERS
Junckers premium Avenida wide
board Oak forms a central part of
the new Muji flagship store on
Oxford Street, central London.
Known for their high quality non
branded goods, Muji represents
the simple, elegant aesthetic of
Japanese design. Specified by
architects Marchini Curran
Associates of Nottingham,
Junckers Avenida wide board solid
Oak, a new addition to the
Junckers collection, which
measures 155mm wide, was laid in
an innovative design where the
planks were rotated by 90 along
the perimeter to demarcate
different retail areas. Finished in
ultra-matt lacquer, Junckers PEFC
certified Oak is both durable and
beautiful and will last for
years to come, even with the
heavy traffic found in a store on
Londons busiest shopping streets.
<<
BOVER
Lea is a new functional downlighter wall lamp by Alex Fernndez for Spanish
lighting manufacturer Bover. The lamp can be used in spaces where low level lighting is
required or mounted in series to serve as a guide or architectural element. The shelf on
top of the fixtures can be used for display. Lea is made of extruded aluminium with an
opal polycarbonate bottom diffuser and fluorescent light. It is available in four different
sizes and three finishes: white, pearl grey and blue grey.
Bover
Av. Catalunya, 173
Pol. Ind. Sud
08440 Cardedeu
Barcelona
Spain
+34 9387 131 52
www.bover.es
Setsquare is a square tube version of the popular
Seta radiator. With its angular lines and Bisque
signature pepper pot tops it suits both traditional
and modern spaces and has an exceptionally high
heat output. Setsquare is a compelling design, but
it is also made to last, with the attention to
detail, finish and high manufacturing standards
that Bisque is known for. Available in ten vertical
and horizontal sizes, which are suitable for a
range of applications, in metallica, matt black or
white finish.
Supernova is a fixture of high sculptural quality which, with its
many facets and polygonal surfaces is reminiscent of precision-
worked crystal. When a wall-mounted bath, this premium bath
deliberately breaks with the lead bath's sculptural form and
creates new possibilities for individual expression. An abundance
of glass and a full-wall mirror accentuate the interplay of
reflections. The fashionable lemon hue is a superb complement
to the modern world of Supernova.
BISQUE
Dornbracht
Unit 8, Bow Court,
Fletchworth Gate
Industrial Estate
Coventry CV5 6SP
02476 717 129
www.dornbracht.com
DORNBRACHT
PRODUCTS
<
<
<
<
< <
To place products contact: Esther Ademosu T +44 (0)20 7336 5204 F +44 (0)20 7336 5201 E [email protected] W blueprintmagazine.co.uk
Junckers
Unit 1
Wheaton Road
Witham
Essex CM8 3UJ
01376 534 700
www.junckers.com
Bisque
23 Queen Square
Bath BA1 2HX
01225 478 500
www.bisque.co.uk
A versatile chair for commercial and leisure use: the preformed ply shell is
upholstered in cmhr foams, with stacking skid or four-legged base finished in
polished chrome. Upholstery is available in a wide choice of fabrics and hides. Born
in Germany in 1970, Matthias Demacker studied design at Niederrhein Polytechnic at
Krefeld. After graduating, he moved to Munich where he gained experience in a
number of design consultancies and interior design studios before setting up his
own practice, Demacker Design. He has received a number of international accolades
including the Interior Innovation Award and the Red Dot Design Award, and is
working on furniture and products for clients across Europe.
Hitch Mylius Ltd
Alma House
301 Alma Road
Enfield
Middlesex EN3 7BB
020 8443 2616
www.hitchmylius.co.uk
HITCH MYLIUS
<
<
One, designed by Paul Brooks. The
cantilever stacking chair combines a
light contoured aesthetic with
comfort and strength. The moulded
seat-pan appears to balance
delicately on the cantilever frame
and belies the robust and practical
nature of the design. The cantilever
chair has inspired a family of
meeting and visitor seating which
includes a four leg and swivel base
chair.
CONNECTION
< <
Connection
TM
Dogley Mills, Penistone Road
Fenay Bridge
Huddersfield HD8 0NQ
01484 600 100
www.connection.uk.com
Stockists of:
Alessi
BestLite
Cassina
Driade
Established & Sons
Foscarini
Kartell
Moooi
Santa & Cole
Tom Dixon
Vitra
Zanotta
and many more...
Tel:
www.
0114
2666900
ARCHITECTURAL PAINTINGS &PHOTOGRAPHS
Available for BUSINESS &PRIVATE Commissions and/or studio artwork
Twilight London
British Museum Roof
Visit www.architectural-art.co.uk for contemporary architectural paintings and enhanced photographs of cities
and buildings for both corporate and private domains. E: [email protected] T: 07722 253034
Rimadesio systems facilitate space management in homes and offices.
Areas can be sub-divided, clothes storage areas defined and accompanied
by complementary storage systems. Casement doors to match the
sliding panels in standard or custom sizes.
Wall storage systems designed to suit your requirements.
Tel 01403 784846
[email protected]
Fax 01403 784849
www.domainfurniture.info
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
78w
CARRON PHOENIX
With glamour returning to bathroom
brassware, Carron Phoenix has followed suit
for the kitchen market with its brand new
Qubix tap. Cutting a decidedly sophisticated
look, the Qubix tap features a slim flat
spout that dispenses water in an elegant
waterfall fashion with a simple twist of its
unobtrusive quarter-turn handles. In
contrast to arc-shaped styles, the line of
the Qubix spout carves a gentle square
shape that is 250mm high and being slim
and narrow sits discreetly behind the sink,
giving a streamlined aesthetic. The Qubix
design works especially well with Carrons
contemporary undermounts in the Deca and
Tetra ranges.
<<
MIELE
Miele Forever Better. Outstanding design and
construction since 1899. As a project partner,
developer, designer or architect you strive for new
innovations and forward thinking partners. So
does Miele.
Miele Company Ltd
Fairacres
Marcham Road
Abingdon OX14 1TW
01235 554 455
www.Miele.co.uk
ATAG UK, the premium Dutch
built-in appliance supplier, has
added an entirely new compact
oven, the QuliMax, to its
formidable range of compact built
in ovens for the specialist kitchen
designer. The ATAG QuliMax is a
completely new multi-functional,
combination steam oven,
combining sophisticated
technology and Dutch design. A
powerful all-rounder the new
combination oven has almost
unlimited options. It steams,
bakes, roasts, grills, reheats and
defrosts offering the ultimate
functionality for the busy
household with programmes to
inspire the keenest of cooks.
Hacel's Pure and Desire catalogues feature an extensive range of innovative and
exciting products designed and manufactured in the UK. The Vici range is a
contemporary and stylish fusion of etched borosilicate glass and steel. Available in
complementary Wall Light, Pendant and Duet Pendant versions with a multitude of high
output Compact Fluorescent light source variations upto 120W, including dimming and
integral emergency (upto 42W only). Vici is ideally suited for specification in the
superior Retail, Commercial and Architectural sectors.
ATAG
Hacel Lighting
Projects Dept
Hacel Lighting
The Silverlink
Wallsend
Tyna and Wear NE28 9ND
0191 280 9915
www.hacel.co.uk
HACEL
PRODUCTS
<
<
<
<
< <
To place products contact: Esther Ademosu T +44 (0)20 7336 5204 F +44 (0)20 7336 5201 E [email protected] W blueprintmagazine.co.uk
Carron Phoenix Limited
Carron Works
Stenhouse Road
Falkirk FK2 8DW
01324 638 321
www.carron.com
Atag
0208 247 3993
[email protected]
www.atag.co.uk
EGGER has supplemented its ZOOM Collection with a series of authentic new decors
and tactile finishes which address the contemporary trend for natural grey tones. Mix
and match is the buzz word in 2009, and contemporary furniture favours a wood decor
and uni-colour combination. The ZOOM update available on a handy combination
wheel is a modular system where interior designers, architects and specifiers can
match fashionable uni-tones with core wood decors to create stylish, individualised
looks. The update consists of five wood grains, one fantasy decor and four uni-tones.
The new finishes are available in Eggers 50mm thickness Eurolight honeycomb boards,
which allows designers to achieve the chunky trend conveniently and cost effectively.
Egger UK Ltd
Anick Grange Road
Hexham
Northumberland NE46 4JS
01434 613 376
www.egger.com
EGGER
<
<
Concord Stadium is an innovative low energy
spotlight, which utilises 16 x 1W LEDs and
generates up to 1200 fixture lumens. The
Stadium range incorporates all the features and
benefits of the new LED technology designed
around a super slim housing, allowing the
spotlight to provide lighting solutions for a
myriad of lighting applications, including
museums, galleries and retail spaces. The
Stadium portfolio introduces two versions,
Stadium EVO and Stadium PRO, both with
excellent colour rendering, low running
temperatures, very long lamp life resulting
in reduced maintenance costs and energy
saving efficient light source with low power
consumption.
HAVELLS
< <
Havells Sylvania
Otley Road
Shipley
West Yorkshire BD17 7SN
01274 532 552
www.havells-sylvania.com
N
e
w
W
e
b
s
ite
N
o
w
L
a
u
n
c
h
e
d
Bespoke murals
Dramatic prints
Exclusive blinds
We give you unique
access to some of the
most exciting imagery
around and create
high quality bespoke
interior graphics to
suit your environment.
Explore our website at
www.surfaceview.co.uk
Captain America retro cover I, for Marvel Comics.
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
80
HANSGROHE
Axor Urquiola is the latest
collection from Axor, the
designer brand from Hansgrohe,
created by celebrated Spanish
designer Patricia Urquiola. As
one of the few female designers
in the sanitary sector and the
first in Hansgrohes history, the
company realises a very
emotional approach with this
collection which brings a new
sensuality to the bathroom as
living space. This is also the first
time that Axor offers a complete
bathroom. The industry has
become familiar with Axor
proposing room concepts for its
various collections, but for Axor
Urquiola, the room concepts are
supported by brassware, showers,
accessories, bath, basins and
even a heater that doubles as a
room divider.
<< LA ALPUJARREA
Luces del Norte is a clever rug by
Spanish manufacturer La Alpujarrea.
Thanks to a particular diagonal cut in
the wool and the technique of manual
tufting, the rug, designed by Herme y
Mnica, appears to be one colour from
one side and a different colour from the
other side.
The rug is made to order in pure virgin
wool. It can be made to measure and
there are 220 colourways to choose from.
La Alpujarrea will be exhibiting at
100% Design in September this year.
La Alpujarrea
Calle Federico Garcia Lorca, 30
La Zubia
Granada,
Espaa 18140
+34 958 590136
www.alpujarrena.com
Polyreys brand new Sanitized compact
grade anti-bacterial laminate can be
specified with confidence to optimise
standards of public health and hygiene
when it comes to decorative surfaces.
Complementing Polyreys existing
compact grade offer, Sanitized is an
ideal product for schools, hospitals,
restaurants and shops in a range of
horizontal and vertical applications
including counters, furniture, washroom
and changing cubicles. The new range
incorporates silver salts, which are a
natural substance and are ecologically
friendly. Sanitized is non-toxic, anti-
allergenic and dermatologically tested
and is technically proven to inhibit
germ development on the surface area
and prevent the development of
microbial and bacterial odour.
Bassino, the new model of bath from Kaldewei, creates a unique
feeling of weightlessness in pleasant calm and intimacy. Its
unusual design and size measuring 200cm x 100cm enable the
bather to stretch out and float freely in the water as if in the
open sea and to achieve rapid, deep physical and mental
relaxation. A comfortable cushion supports the bathers head
and neck and keeps the face above water.
POLYREY
KALDEWEI
PRODUCTS
<<
<
<
< <
To place products contact: Esther Ademosu T +44 (0)20 7336 5204 F +44 (0)20 7336 5201 E [email protected] W blueprintmagazine.co.uk
Polyrey
Victoria House
49 Clarendon Road
Watford
WD17 1HP
01923 202 700
www.polyrey.com
Belgian manufacturer, Boom, launch
their range of high specification
external luminaires in the UK. These
products are designed for commercial
and residential applications,
manufactured from cast bronze,
stainless steel and raw copper. The
copper is left untreated resulting in a
beautiful patina over time. Cast bronze
and stainless steel construction ensures
strength. The contemporary range
covers mounting options for wall and
ceiling, canopy bulkheads, pillar and
pole-top lights, as well as bollards and
suspended lanterns. Glass options
include 3-ply opal glass diffusers for
beam purity, or antique crystal panels
on decorative fittings. Available
exclusively throughout the UK from
Krag Interiors.
Krag Interiors
1 Chapel Row
Herstmonceux
East Sussex
BN27 1RB
01323 833 991
www.kraginteriors.com
KRAG INTERIORS <<
MAINE have launched a new range of
innovative storage to create more
streamlined offices. Their new
Mainepure range is made to the same
exacting high standards of excellence
as their successful Maineseries31 range.
It can also fit alongside their existing
ranges to the same wide range of
heights and widths. The Mainepure
range has a clean, elegant facade and
a flush, discreet label holder, which
also acts as the drawer pull. Everything
is engineered for a beautiful result.
MAINE
< <
Maine
Home Park
Kings Langley
Hertfordshire
WD4 8LZ
01923 260 411
www.maine.co.uk
Hansgrohe
Units D1 & D2
Sandown Park Trading Estate
Royal Mills
Esher Surrey KT10 8BL
0870 770 1972
www.hansgrohe.co.uk
Kaldewei UK Ltd
Unit 2, Jupiter Court
Tolworth Rise South
Surbiton
Surrey KT5 9NN
0870 777 2223
www.kaldewei.com
For wooden floors and interiors choose Sadolins new
Polyurethane Varnishes. Boasting the latest Teflon

surface protector technology, our tough varnishes

stand up to the heaviest of wear by providing a durable
protection thats second only to nature.
Protects works of art.
Crown Paints Ltd, PO Box 37, Crown House, Hollins Road, Darwen, Lancashire BB3 0BG Tel. 01254 704951
Advice: 0844 7708 998 Fax: 0845 389 9457 E-mail [email protected] www.sadolin.co.uk
Londons eclectic
street signage could
be so much clearer.
Imagine an adaptive
modular system
that could work for
all the boroughs.
A consistent layout
is used for the main sign
that carries the street
name, borough name,
logo and rationalised
postcode.
Special features such
as street numbers
or warning signs could
be added as longer
term or temporary plug
in components.
System
Borough Postcode Rationalized
postcode
Street name
Borough
logo
Plug in street numbers or
directional information
Plug in
warning sign
By splitting the postcode
over two lines we create
a rationalised system
that separates the logic
based geographic location
from that of the less
logical numerical system.
Proposed Existing
BLUEPRINT AUGUST 2009
82
PAPER CITY
BIBLIOTHEQUE
London-based graphic design studio, Bibliothque has drawn up a proposal
to improve Londons street signage and make it easier to navigate the capital.
By visually splitting the postcode over two lines, we created a rationalised
system that separates the logic-based geographic location from that of the less
logical numerical system, says co-founder Jonathon Jeffrey. Bibliothque, which
has recently worked with furniture designer Martino Gamper to design Super
Contemporary at the Design Museum, is collaborating with Blueprint on the
exhibition Paper City: Urban Utopias at the Royal Academy, 31 July-27 October.
www.bibliothequedesign.com
EDC
The Studio
77 Margaret Street
London
W1W 8SY
T 020 7323 3233
E [email protected]
W www.edcplc.co.uk
studio Pure Cabinet System by Pastoe
NEW - EDC Studio now open
E
E
r
g
o
n
o
m
L
t
d
W
h
i
t
t
i
n
g
t
o
n
H
o
u
s
e
1
9
-
3
0
A
l
f
r
e
d
P
l
a
c
e
L
o
n
d
o
n
W
C
1
E
7
E
A
t
e
l
.
+
4
4
(
0
)
2
0
7
3
2
3
2
3
2
5
f
a
x
+
4
4
(
0
)
2
0
7
3
2
3
2
0
3
2
e
-
m
a
i
l
:
e
n
q
u
i
r
y
@
e
r
g
o
n
o
m
.
c
o
m
w
w
w
.
e
r
g
o
n
o
m
.
c
o
m
P h o t o M a r i o C a r r i e r i
L
e
s
s
.
J
e
a
n
N
o
u
v
e
l