Ricardo Casas - MOON

Ricardo Casas is an industrial designer who graduated from University of Iberoamericana, specialising in Interior Design. He worked at Esrawe Studio since 2003 and alongside Héctor Esrawe ran the design office BY:FOR, where he developed projects such as the interiors for the Mexican pavilion at the Zaragoza World Fair and the award winning interiors for Grupo Lar corporate headquarters.



Casas is co-founder of NEL Colectivo, exhibiting in places such as the Salone Satellite in Milan, the Mexican Gallery of Design in Mexico City, or the exhibition Handled with Care in London, organized by Designboom. 

In 2007 he received an award for his “Bibendum” concept motorbike in the Michelin Creative Movement competition. He currently directs his own design office: Ricardo Casas Design.

One example of Casas outstanding work is MOON, is a cabinet based on the topographic surface of the moon using a layering to give depth and dimension. Mixing colour and surface quality Casas has created a cabinet that stand-alone as a fine piece of craftsmanship. Its surface quality resembles something of organic beauty or manmade destruction. 

SÖHKA Lamp - Malet Thibaut

The SÖHKA Lamp is the latest creation from French designer Malet Thibaut (previously). The light is composed of five wooden pieces and 60 rubber bands that can be assembled in practically unlimited configurations to create different lighting patterns for maximum geometric shadow fun.  

‘Every time I start a new project, I try to work with one or two materials, first, to highlight the object in his natural aspect and also to think about the recycling options in the future. This is why I avoid the use of industrials screws and nails during the construction, replacing them with wood solutions. This process helps the designs to fit my ecological expectations.’

Similar to Thibaut’s previous work, the lamp consists of untreated natural woods, and an avoidance of inductrail fixings. With no screws or any other holding element, the rigidity is retains with the pressure of elastics. Each element is completely dissociated, to optimize its recycling and is presented in  recycled cardboard packaging.

The SÖHKA Lamp will be available for purchase via his website in the near future. 

To explore Malet Thibaut’s other work visit his website.

 

Kengo Kuma – Starbucks

Individually is not something you would usually associate with a large multi-national. However Starbucks is starting to understand that to stay at the top of their game they need to embrace the unique and bring back the ‘local coffee shop’ vibe.

Designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, the building is made of 2,000 stick-like parts in the sizes of 1.3m – 4m length and 6cm section. The walls’ covering is a striking departure from the company’s typical uninspired interiors a major departure from the cookie-cutter stores around the world.

To begin with, the location of this Starbucks is somewhat unusual, as it stands on the main approach to the Dazaifu Tenmangu, a major shrines in Japan. Established in 919 A.D., the shrine receives about 2 million visitors a year. Along the main path to the shrine, there are traditional Japanese buildings in one or two stories. The project aimed to make a structure that harmonizes with such townscape, using a unique system of weaving thin woods diagonally.

Last year, Starbucks opened its first concept shop in Amsterdam (The Bank), to showcase its slow-brew coffee, local craftsmanship, and eco-friendly furnishings. According to The New York Times, Starbucks is investing millions in making over hundreds of its stores in France to appeal to coffee aficionados who favor the personalized atmosphere of cafés.

Good Vibrations Storage Unit - Ferruccio Laviani

This is not a distorted image. Playing with the viewer, Good Vibrations Storage Unit by Ferruccio Laviani combines contemporary and classical, whilst referencing to the digital, when creating his distorted piece of cabinetry. Laviani designed this piece for furniture brand Fratelli Boffi, known for their avant-garde approach to classical forms within furniture. Laviani is part of a generation of young Italian designers who came to prominence in the early 1990's when the Memphis movement made its mark on international design.

The Good Vibrations storage unit was carved from oak using a CNC machine. The success of this extraordinary piece of furniture lies in its ability to question classical stylistic principles such as purity, cleanness and symmetry, while evoking a comforting feeling of deja-vù, matched by unquestionable craftsmanship. Good Vibrations is another addition to the so-called New Aesthetic, a favorite art movement of Internet philosophers characterised by themes of hacking and general digital malfunction as well as stressing the material and physical processes in the making of visual art, Laviani wanted to challenge the idea that glitches are solely found online, blending the virtual and the physical.

Laviani's piece will be displayed at the Salone del Mobile in Milan from 9 to 14 April next month. More examples of Laviani's work can be found on his website.