Biënnale Interieur 2012 [ 6 ] - Decostyle

Young Talent:
Interior Design Awards 2012
Kick-start for design talent
The Biënnale Interieur jury recently announced the winners of the Interior Design Awards.
These awards are known to be an excellent way for young, talented designers to kick-start their
career and that reputation has been proven again this year. Apart from this, the Awards once again
stressed their international reach.
The 241 entries came from 33 countries,
including far off places such as
Russia, Japan and Nigeria. The jury
also consisted of a broad international
team, with Belgians such as
artist Jan De Cock and Sara De Bondt
as well as the Pole Oskar Zieta and,
from Kuwait, Majed Al-Sabah, who
has been called ‘the Sheik of Chic’ by
Time Magazine.
This year, the Interior Design Awards
focused on our living space, today
and tomorrow. The pamphlet ‘Klein
Duimpje en de Zevenmijlslaarzen’
(‘Tom Thumb and the Seven-League
Boots’) by architect Bruno Vermeersch
was the starting point. Prizes
were awarded in two categories,
namely ‘Space’ and ‘Object’. The jury
made a unanimous decision in both
categories, and in particular considered
the entries from Asian countries
to be of an excellent level.
Attention to the walls
In the ‘Space’ category, the instruction
was to furnish a small living
space of 30 m 2 . Based on Belgian
1 2 3
legislation, this is the largest space
that can be built without a building
permit. In his pamphlet, Bruno
Vermeersch advocates that beginning
architects start with this kind of
limited space, instead of venturing
to start with visualisations of mega
projects.
Young creative people were challenged
to translate their vision to this
compact space. The prize went to
the Japanese platform ‘Sandwich’, in
association with the Swiss Blue Architects.
Their ‘Deformable Wall’ project
focuses on the walls around us instead
of the objects inside. A double
membrane makes the wall look as if
it’s full of bulges, making the shapes
of the furniture inside visible from the
outside. This causes an interaction
between the inside and the outside,
between the object and the wall.
Mocking gravity
Finnish Elisa Honkanen was the
winner in the ‘Object’ category.
Participants had to design practical
objects that improve daily life. Her
design, ‘Purist’, consists of a simple
wooden chair, the legs of which are
kept together with a rope. The chair
seems to be mocking gravity, because
the same rope is also the back of the
chair. Purist reminds the viewer of the
famous ‘Windsor’ chairs, albeit in a
modern, trimmed down version.
The minimalist ‘Kishu’ by British
jeweller and silversmith Maya Selway,
won the second prize in this category.
The restful game of metal lines reminds
the viewer of vases and bowls,
but is, in a way, a subtle optical illusion.
The focus is on what isn’t there,
rather than on what can be seen.
Zascha Petkow, a German designer,
also won a prize. His installation,
consisting of rings on the wall, can be
used as a clothes hanger, but also to
put away shoes. In other words, the
rings are much more than mere eye
candy.
All these designs, together with a
selection of the other entries, can be
seen at Interieur 2012. This fair takes
place from 20 to 28 October 2012, at
Kortrijk Xpo. �
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1 De ‘Purist’ - Elisa Honkanen (Alle images: Interieur 2012) 2 ‘Deformable Wall’ - Sandwich and Blue Architects
3 ‘Kishu’ - Maya Selway