THE GREAT KNOWLEDGE QUIZ - Duropal

CrEatiVitY
FROM OLD TRUTHS
TO NEW PRODUCT
CONCEPTS
A SPECIALIST ARTICLE BY QUALIFIED DESIGNER ROLF WARDA
from left_ R 6002 Antique White, R 6001 Smokey Gold, R 6000 Red Hot Sunglo
in future we will live, increasingly clearly, in the time
of the hybrid — of hybrid furniture and interiors.
the old and the new will be combined together
just as routinely as the processing and handling of versatile
materials, as the combination of elements from
different cultures and value systems.
‘Values’ is here one of the key concepts for the
coming years. there is quite clearly a growing
influence of traditions, values and
even of religions on our attitude towards
life — and that applies throughout the
world. in view of our increasingly
complex living conditions, we must
make an effort to return to value
judgements and customs which
already appear to have been lost, to
bring about a renaissance of classical
principles and moral attitudes.
the supposed contradiction between
economic progress and the return to traditional
values will become the well-spring of new mentalities
and viewpoints. this dissolution of boundaries
and the fusion of previously contradictory values
leads us in the design context from old truths to new
(product) concepts: the hybrid.
architects and designers are therefore discovering
the combination of the ‘contemporary’ and the reversion
to the traditional, the familiar and the proven,
something which will happen in future in all areas of
products and interiors. the archaic wooden block is in
this respect only the precursor of an attitude opposed
to hasty throw-away mentalities. the call for surfaces
48 _ HPL World
which take on a patina is in direct opposition to the
surfaces of the modern, impoverished as they are to the
level of stepchildren by rationalisation and efficiency
measures.
the previously most durable finish of high-gloss is
now being joined by matt, fine-grained surface textures;
aluminium, metallic and stainless-steel finishes are
being complemented by the beauty of copper,
gold, bronze and brass. and this all
without feelings of retro and nostalgia.
the avant garde celebrates the
beauty of the materials with grapes
of spherical copper lights. Schiffini
uses the traditional kitchen
material of copper for his concept
kitchen. Solid wood furniture is
placed side-by-side with serving
trolleys of copper and brass. the hightech
impression of stainless steel handles
is contrasted with handles of bronze, which
take on a patina and tell of their past. the new interpretations
of Eames’ side table with gold leaf decoration
and arne Jacobsen’s ‘Egg’ chair with bronze feet as a
limited edition on its 50th anniversary also show hybrid
characteristics.
dissolution of boundaries and the fusion of contradictory
values! although gold and silver were until
recently reserved exclusively as the setting of luxury
and glamour, and deftly banned from any modern ensemble,
the design-orientated of tomorrow will want
to rediscover warm metal tones in all areas so long
considered not to belong to ‘the modern’.