Jongeriuslab

U.N. North Delegates’ Lounge - RE-DESIGN

2011-12-14T20:23:39+00:00

{projectclient} 2011
Year: 2011/2012 Commission: United Nations/ Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs Re-Design: Dutch designteam headed by Hella Jongerius The re-design of the North Delegates’ Lounge pays tribute to the history of this crucial space within the United Nations’ headquarters in New York, while adding striking contemporary accents. Monumental architectonic interventions alternate with ample attention for material details, tactility and colors. Existing designs alternate with new designs, Dutch designs are mixed with international designs. The U.N. headquarters were originally completed in 1952 and financed in part by donations from the member states. Between 2009 and 2013 the buildings are being renovated. The Netherlands have adopted the re-design of the North Delegates’ Lounge. After a selection process, in which four Dutch design teams competed with each other, the team assembled by Hella Jongerius was selected. The design team is composed of:    Hella Jongerius Designer  Rem Koolhaas/OMA Architect  Irma Boom Graphic Designer  Gabriel Lester Artist  Louise Schouwenberg Theorist   Hella Jongerius: “The space was devoid of personality because it lacked attention for material detailing. Apart from monumental gestures, such as removing the mezzanine and re-positioning the artworks, we needed to address the physical experience of the space.” The carpet consists of a duotone weave of dark brown and grey. It will ground a large variety of furniture: existing designs within the U.N., including the iconic Peacock chairs, alternate with new furniture: the RE-Lounge Chair, which enables flexible configurations for informal meetings, and the Bubble Desk, which creates privacy while working on the computer, due to its semi-transparant hood. A classic Dutch textile design was re-interpreted (Daphne, 1962) and will be used to (re-)upholster various old and new designs: Utrecht chair, Fauteuil Direction, the RE-Lounge Chair and the Polder Sofa. In front of the monumental windows two curtain designs will be hung: the Knots&Grid Curtain (North façade) and the Knots&Beads Curtain (East façade). The latter consists of 300.000 porcelain beads, which are handcrafted by Dutch craftsmen. They litterally bring a piece of the Netherlands to the U.N., while at the level of meanings they refer both to the United Nations and to the Netherlands. In 1952 the 11 architects of the U.N. Headquarters, including Wallace K. Harrison, Le Corbusier, and Oscar Niemeyer, have cooperated to create a superb work. The Dutch team, aware of this tradition, has also worked together on all its plans. The various interventions are linked to specific names, whose voices were prevalent in the final designs. However, until the final moment all interventions have been open to debate and questioning by all the other members of the team. The result is a multidisciplinary Gesamtkunstwerk that offers both old and new perspectives on ‘A Workshop For Peace’ (the expression architect Wallace K. Harrison used to describe both the design process of the U.N. buildings and the global organization itself). The re-design of the North Delegates’ Lounge is an initiative of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and will be completed in 2012.

U.N. North Delegates’ Lounge – RE-Lounge Chair and Bubble Desk

2011-12-13T11:45:20+00:00

{projectclient} 2011
Two new furniture designs have been developed by Hella Jongerius: the RE-Lounge Chair and the Bubble Desk. Special versions of them are available exclusively for the U.N. Bubble Desk, 2011 Due to its striking hood a bubble of privacy is created in the internet table. Materials: dark oak and milky light blue polyester (semi-transparent). RE-Lounge Chair, 2011 The RE-Lounge Chair is light and mobile. This is a context in which numerous informal discussions are held; a static routing of heavy items of furniture would be diametrically opposed to that liveliness. The RE-Lounge Chair caters for the demand of changeability because it enables several configurations. Materials: legs of dark brown wood and steel; upholstery ‘U.N.’ blue fabric (Daphne) and dark brown patches of leather on the armrests and the back of the leaning;stitchings of bright blue.

U.N. North Delegates’ Lounge – Knots & Beads Curtain

2011-12-12T11:53:14+00:00

{projectclient} 2011
The windows of the East Façade of the U.N. Delegates’ Lounge will be covered with a grid curtain, which both corresponds to and contrasts with the grid curtains of the North façade. Product designer Hella Jongerius has achieved an international reputation through the combination of craft and industrial methods of production, the celebration of history, and the optimal utilization of the specific characteristics of craft production. Those themes are clearly present in the Knots & Beads Curtain. The curtain consists of knotted yarn and porcelain beads. A large variety of knots were traditionally applied in fishery; Dutch maritime history has beautiful examples from which the designer drew inspiration. The ceramic beads refer to another rich tradition, the handicraft ceramic industry. In close cooperation with the craftsmen of Royal Tichelaar in Makkum, the oldest ceramic company in the Netherlands (1572), thousands of handmade beads are made, which literally bear the visible traces of their manufacture. The irregularities of the knots and beads soften the severe grid pattern of the whole. For centuries Royal Tichelaar works with a special glazing method: after the objects have been fired, they are plunged into the liquid glazing substance, after which they are fired again to harden the glaze. Jongerius shows that method by plunging only a part of each bead in the glazing substance. This leaves the unglazed clay visible that is excavated in the surroundings of Royal Tichelaar, which has a texture and color of its own, which are only to be found on this location. The project opens a new perspective on locality within a global context. The curtain itself literally brings a piece of the Netherlands to New York. The curtain is produced by Royal Tichelaar Makkum, after a design by and in close cooperation with the designer, Hella Jongerius.

U.N. North Delegates’ Lounge – Color Palette

2011-12-11T11:56:32+00:00

{projectclient} 2011
The existing colors of the public spaces of the U.N. buildings have turned grayish. In the more private spaces the colors are surprisingly warm in hue, sometimes even strikingly outspoken and intense. The Scandinavian origins are visible in the greens, blues and reddish browns. In the North Delegates’ Lounge the color palette of the existing artworks is dominant. All new colors were chosen after various analyses were made of the former color palette of the U.N. In order to create a counterweight to the forces on the wall, a subdued neutral color was chosen for the curtains and the carpet. The color of the carpet should serve to ground the variety of furniture and is in line with the colors in the corridor of the Conference Building. The colors of the upholstery of the furniture show a contemporary variation of the greens, the blues and the reddish browns which are predominant colors within the U.N.. For these new fabrics, a weave is designed of weft and warp in duo tones: each thread reappears in more than one fabric, while the other thread is changed, creating color families. In the past, throughout the North Delegates’ Lounge various woods were to be found. In the re-newed lounge a variety of woods and their colors, from dark brown to whitewashed oak, will alternate with the grey of the aluminum South wall, the many hues of the weaves of upholstery, carpet and curtains, and a few crisp colors, such as the green of the café tables and the ice blue in the North Façade Curtain, the hood of the Internet Table and the SideTables.

Misfit

2010-12-24T11:07:53+00:00

{projectclient} 2010
Press release Hella Jongerius - Misfit 13 November 2010 – 13 February 2011 This autumn Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen is presenting the first retrospective exhibition in the Netherlands of the designer Hella Jongerius. It is a unique survey of her working practices, experiments and innovative products. The exhibition at Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen includes industrial products, experiments and numerous sketch models, giving an overview of all of Hella Jongerius’s themes and preoccupations. The exhibition includes well-known designs such as the B- set, Long Neck & Groove Bottles, Repeat fabrics, Nymphenburg plates, the Polder Sofa, IKEA vases and the Frog Table. It also features her most recent work: in the middle of the space are 300 unique vases arranged in a circle according to colour. This series of Coloured Vases has been developed in close collaboration with Royal Tichelaar Makkum. On the walls there is a visual chronological survey of the works in the exhibition by the graphic designer Irma Boom. Imperfection Hella Jongerius (1963) is one of the most important designers of her generation. In the 1990s she introduced imperfections and individuality into the industrial manufacturing process. Jongerius believes that the quality of craftsmanship is not legible in perfect products but only in the ‘misfits’ that betray the process and the hand of the maker. ‘Misfits are my idea of perfection’, says Jongerius. Many of her products, such as the Layers textiles and Nymphenburg plates, explore the potential of historical motifs and narrative decoration. In the Frog Table, the decoration literally escapes from the flat surface; the frog mediates between the table and the user almost as a living creature. Colours The retrospective exhibition at Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen explores Jongerius’s working methods and her innovative vision of the design profession. The objects are arranged by colour and almost all of them are attached to the walls. This display means that there is are no thematic or chronological groupings and also no hierarchy between preparatory studies and finished products. Moreover, the objects are stripped of their normal functional context. In a museum the user is an observer. The museum context offers the visitor room to reflect upon the objects’ hidden meanings. Biography Hella Jongerius graduated from the Design Academy in Eindhoven in the early 1990s, a period that witnessed the emergence of conceptual design. Between 1993 and1998 Jongerius mainly initiated her own design projects and contributed to several projects for Droog Design. Since then she has worked for numerous clients around the world. She has won prestigious prizes and her designs are represented in the collections of museums and galleries including the Museum of Modern Art in New York; the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York; Galerie Kreo in Paris and the Design Museum in London. Her studio, Jongeriuslab, was based in Rotterdam until 2008. Jongerius now lives and works in Berlin. Catalogue This autumn Phaidon Press is publishing the monograph ‘Hella Jongerius – Misfit’ written by Louise Schouwenberg, with contributions by the design critic Alice Rawsthorn and Paola Antonelli, Senior Curator in the Department of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. The publication is designed by Irma Boom and is available from the museum shop. The exhibition is curated by Louise Schouwenberg.

HLL Colours - Colourful Blacks

2010-12-23T17:43:10+00:00

{projectclient} 2010
The Colourful Blacks are 16 different shades of black, which are used on the walls of the Misfit exhibition. The colours are designed by Jongerius and produced and distributed by artisan paint manufacturer kt.COLOR. Each paint of the HLL Colours collection consists of a specific mix of handcrafted pigments. The Colourful Blacks are made exclusively of Elfen beinschwarz (ivory black), chalk, and classic artists pigments: ultramarine blue, ultramarine green, cobalt green, natural umber, ruby red, and magenta.

new book: Hella Jongerius - Misfit

2010-12-22T17:46:58+00:00

{projectclient} 2010
Dutch designer Hella Jongerius (b.1963) is one of the most individual and influential product designers working today. In January Phaidon Press will launch a new monograph Hella Jongerius: Misfit celebrating the designer’s eclectic work. A major exhibition of the same name, displaying a range of Jongerius’ remarkable products, will also be on show at the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam (13 November 2010 – 13 February 2011). The designer’s unique aesthetic has often been described as a fusion of opposites; manufacturing and craft; high and low tech; traditional and contemporary. Materials are brought together in unusual and often contradictory ways, creating works that are extremely textural and beg to be touched: rough edged leather is rolled to create wheels; paint is dripped messily onto earthenware; ceramics are sewn onto cotton table cloths; vases are soft and sinks are made from rubber. The title of both book and exhibition allude to Jongerius’ belief that quality craftsmanship is indistinguishable in perfect, industrial products, and is only present in the ‘misfits’, their imperfections betraying the process and the hand of the maker. Jongerius pioneered the reintroduction of craftsmanship in contemporary design. By incorporating crafted individuality into the industrial manufacturing process she has succeeded in creating eclectic pieces which play on consumers’ expectations of style and function. Created in close collaboration with Jongerius, the monograph exhibits all of her work to date. The book features the main text, consisting of four hypothetical conversations between Jongerius and author Louise Schouwenberg (a Dutch writer, curator and Associate Professor of Design Theory at Design Academy Eindhoven), which discusses Jongerius’ working methods, disillusion with the perfection of much industrial product design, and the development of her key designs. Two essays by contemporary design experts Alice Rawsthorn and Paola Antonelli further contextualise Jongerius’ work. The breadth of detail, along with the striking imagery ensures Hella Jongerius: Misfit is the ultimate insight into one of the most creative product designers working today. The extraordinary book was designed by the wellknown Dutch graphic designer Irma Boom. Title information Title: Hella Jongerius - Misfit Texts: Louise Schouwenberg (editor), Alice Rawsthorn, Paola Antonelli Graphic Design: Irma Boom Office / Irma Boom and Sanne van de Goor ISBN : 9780714859873 Extent: 308 pp Retail Price: £29.95 / € 39.95 Publication Date: January 2011

Coloured Vases (series 3)

2010-12-21T15:10:28+00:00

{projectclient} 2010
The three series of Coloured Vases show experiments with colours in which the vase (Red White Vase of 1997) is used as the ‘canvas’. The first series (featuring 40 RAL colours) was produced in 2003, the second series (with 42 NCS colours) in 2007. The third version of 300 Coloured Vases, an investigation into the perception of colours that optically merge, was produced in 2010. On the basis of 100 old mineral recipes and 100 industrial colour transfers, 300 polychrome colours were produced which are reminiscent of the colour intensities of old paintings.

Bob Garden Club Chair

2010-07-21T15:06:30+00:00

{projectclient} 2010
A reinterpretation of a typical garden club chair. The aluminium frame has a sturdy, dark look when seen from the front, and reveals an elegant, light construction at the back.

Colour Lab

2010-02-21T14:59:34+00:00

{projectclient} 2010
The colour research and the creation of a new colour range for Vitra products, from the plastic standard chairs, textiles and leather to the finishes of wood and metal, resulted in the Colour Lab. Various materials and surfaces were used to experiment with the colours, including the coloured ‘pastilles’. Jongerius speaks of ‘colour cooking’, when pointing to the relationships she creates between one colour and another and between colours and material surfaces. The lab offers visitors a chance to better understand the many effects and nuances of colours.

Taking a Stance

2010-01-21T09:52:03+00:00

{projectclient} 2010
‘Taking a Stance’ presented works of four Dutch and four Chinese designers. For this exhibition in the Dutch Cultural Centre in Shanghai, Jongerius designed an interactive cupboard that gave a representative overview of her work and the themes she deals with: craft and industry, options, archives and imagination.

A Tribute to Camper

2009-12-31T10:48:16+00:00

{projectclient} 2009
A mix of the well-known icons of the company and the characteristic signature of Jongerius. The next step in the close collaboration between Jongerius and Camper is the development of a colour palette and a system which the design team at the company can use in designing the next season’s collections.

Artifical Flowers (Natura Design Magistra)

2009-07-21T14:57:50+00:00

{projectclient} 2009
Natura Design Magistra. The flowers represent a parallel world to ‘real’ nature, whose complexity is expressed in the diversity of materials, techniques and forms.

Turtle Table (Natura Design Magistra)

2009-07-21T14:55:36+00:00

{projectclient} 2009
The fusion of an animal and a side table. Narrative decoration has become an almost autonomous 3D figure.

Chicle Project

2009-05-12T15:27:17+00:00

{projectclient} 2009
Experiments with the natural material chicle, derived from the rainforests of Mexico. The project, in which a group of internationally renowned designers participated, was initiated by the American Nature Conservancy, an organisation which strives to protect sustainable materials for use in contemporary art, design and architecture. The results of the project were shown for the first time at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York.