Table of contents for Summer 2020 in Wallpaper

MARGARET CALVERT Typographer and graphic designer A doyenne of visual communication, Calvert worked with Jock Kinneir to create Britain’s road signage system in the 1950s and 1960s and continues to inspire the practice of wayfinding design. Now 84, she has redrawn her Rail Alphabet for the newly invigorated Network Rail system, a project for which she was interviewed by erstwhile Design Museum director Deyan Sudjic. Working within social distancing guidelines, Calvert shot her own images for the story (page 055). PIERO LISSONI Architect and designer Answering our call for graphic innovation to spread messages of hope in the era of Covid-19 (page 186), Lissoni created a series of posters on ‘being together by staying apart’, one of which features as our limited-edition cover. Having experienced a strict lockdown in Tuscany,…

When Ryutaro Yoshida founded furniture company Time & Style in 1990, he placed artisanal production at the heart of its MO, ensuring its ethos and aesthetic remained unmistakably Japanese. Today the company boasts an international market and stores in two continents, and its master craftsmen in Hokkaido and the natural materials they work with are still key. Now their expertise has been harnessed for a collaboration with Italian brand De Padova. ‘Ryutaro’s passion is to keep having these products made by these people,’ says Roberto Gavazzi, CEO of Boffi De Padova. ‘His company is a tool of transmission of what Japan is able to do, but interpreting it in a more contemporary way.’ Comprising 17 pieces, the resulting Time & Style Edition collection has craftsmanship at its core, and every…

Like so many others, the Brooklyn-based design studio Coil + Drift had big plans for 2020, including showing its new collection at the now-cancelled International Contemporary Furniture Fair in May. Forced to pivot, the company’s founder, self-taught designer John Sorensen-Jolink, has embraced a flexible attitude that also figures in his latest work. Entitled Hone, the fourpiece collection, now to be unveiled digitally over the course of the year, is rooted in revisiting past designs. ‘I asked, “What would I do differently if I had the chance? How can I show that Coil +Drift is alive and ever-evolving?”’ The process saw Sorensen-Jolink reach out to clients for feedback on how they lived with their pieces, consider how each could be done better, and also delve into his archives for unrealised concepts.…

Amid the swanky developments of Park Origin Phromphong – a favourite neighbourhood among Bangkok’s so-called ‘hi-so’ (or super-rich) – one architect is championing local natural materials and craftsmanship. The 450 sq m HQ of the Vikasa yoga brand, designed by Enter Projects – which has bases in Sydney, Perth and Phuket – features Thai hardwood, palm leaves, slate and rattan. ‘Many craftspeople here are shutting up shop, as people purchase inferior products, usually Chinese plastic, online,’ says Enter Projects’ design director Patrick Keane. He fused traditional materials with his trademark futuristic geometries. A sinuous rattan lighting feature meanders through the space, which encompasses four free-form yoga pods. Keane’s aim is ‘to expose traditional products and skills to a new commercial setting. These noble materials are a respite from the artificiality…

San Francisco-based Allbirds has blazed the trail for planet-friendlier footwear since its launch in 2016, creating shoes out of wool, sugarcane, tree fibres and castor bean oil. With its new running shoe, the ‘Dasher’, it looks poised to disrupt a $50bn performance footwear industry that, despite valiant efforts, remains closely entwined with petroleum-derived synthetics. ‘We’ve been told many times by people more experienced than us that for a product to be performance-based, it needed to be synthetic,’ says the brand’s co-founder Tim Brown. ‘The idea of challenging that is part of the inspiration for this whole project.’ The ‘Dasher’ incorporates technologies that Allbirds has refined over the years. Its upper is 3D knit from eucalyptus fibre, which is lightweight and breathable. Sourced from South African farms that rely on rainwater…

1. ‘520’ CHAIR by Marco Dessí, for Thonet When Vienna-based designer Marco Dessí created this new chair for furniture legend Thonet, the brand’s traditional bentwood chairs, in particular ‘209’, with its enveloping structure, were on his mind throughout the process. ‘I studied the Thonet classics,’ he says. ‘The arc that forms a unit with the back legs is so iconic. Essentially, our approach is based on that one specific detail.’ In ‘520’, the bentwood element supports the upholstered back, and also serves as a carry handle. Available in dusty pinks and pastel greens, the chair combines history with contemporary comfort. From £785, thonet.de 2. ‘CLUB’ BED by Rugiano With a dedication to timeless pieces, noble materials and exquisite craftsmanship, Italian furniture company Rugiano offers a complete vision for the home.…

1. ‘PILLOW’ LANTERNS by Gordon Guillaumier, for Roda Outdoor specialist Roda has added its first lighting product to its accessories range. The ‘Pillow’ lantern designed by Gordon Guillaumier is beautifully refined and simple. It comprises a teak base and a subtle mesh enclosure, made from Canatex, a mix of hemp and polyester. With a rechargeable battery and a built-in handle, the lantern is portable, and can hang or stand alone. Available in 50cm and 70cm heights, it has an adjustable LED light, controlled by touch or an app. From €1,090 each, rodaonline.com 2. ‘ULM MOON’ DAYBED by Ramón Esteve, for Vondom A garden cocoon by Spanish architect and interior designer Ramón Esteve for outdoor furniture company Vondom, ‘Ulm Moon’ really catches the eye. This splendid sphere is able to rotate…

1. ‘HOST’ BAR by Adam D Tihany, for Giorgetti This new drinks cabinet is inspired by 1950s glamour, New York club culture, cocktail-making rituals, and bourgeois European homes. The piece comprises a cabinet and a trolley, to use together or separately, in which Giorgetti’s manufacturing precision meets Adam D Tihany’s sinuous aesthetic language. In leather and canaletto walnut, the bar has two shelves for bottles and glasses, while the top includes marble inserts and a rotating drawer. The trolley has a fixed upper tray and a removable lower tray. Price on request, giorgetti.eu 2. WINE CELLAR by LG Signature The technology behind this new and improved stainless steel wine cellar, pictured with the LG Signature fridge, creates optimal storage conditions. With a capacity of up to 65 bottles, the cellar…

It is midday in the Jardín Botánico de Quito. In a dense, knotty patch of vegetation, somewhere between the orchid house and the bonsai garden, shaman Taita Shairy is talking about ancestral knowledge. Bathed in the equatorial sunlight, he radiates a piercing dignity that would stir the soul of the most stubborn agnostic. His message is simple and powerful: ‘We are connected to the trees and the mountains and the soil. This is where our ancestral wisdom comes from. We don’t have gods. Our spirits are our ancestors, and nature is where we find our wisdom.’ And despite the noise of the traffic shrieking through the downtown district of La Carolina, ferrying Quito’s 2.8 million bodies back and forth down the corridor of volcanoes, we hang on the shaman’s words,…

This summer, altitude junkies unable to leave their cities will have to swap alpine meadows for urban rooftops. Today’s skyscraper-rich metropolises offer plenty of lush vertical destinations. Should local Covid-19 restrictions allow as summer progresses, Hong Kongers can ascend to the world’s tallest bar (480m) at the Ritz-Carlton and refill their hydration packs before rambling back down. Singaporeans need only climb half as high to reach the peak of Sands SkyPark (200m). Copenhagen’s mountaineers have the vertical face of BIG’s CopenHill power plant. At 85m it’s not El Capitan (2,307m), but offers the advantage of downhill dryslope skiing. Parisians need only climb 20m to reach the bucolic farm atop the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, the same height as San Francisco’s leafy Salesforce Park. Oslo’s Opera House is similarly low…

BB: Tell me about your morning routine – are you a coffee drinker? IE: I drink coffee and tea simultaneously, parallel, on top of each other, while having breakfast with my family. Then: kids to school. Then: studio. Or meetings. Or whatever it is that day. How do your ideas come to you? Ideas beget ideas. Practical work (making paintings, sculptures) is an idea generator. Get one idea, go to work, get more ideas. Do you have a clear picture of what you are about to make, or does it happen as you start to work? I have ‘paths’ into my own practice. I have routines of how to deal with new themes, forms and materials. But I think with my eyes and hands, so the works are never done…

If, like us, you’ve been fantasising about escaping to far-flung places, let us add accessories to your daydream. On our imagined adventures, we’re wheeling a sleek, hard-case suitcase, robust enough to withstand luggage-belt bumps and back-of-the-car clunks. Dior’s latest collaboration sees its ‘Oblique’ motif tessellated across Rimowa’s aluminium ‘Cabin’ case. Other tough but light options, from Piquadro and Victorinox, feature recessed wheels to maximise carry-on capacity. And Marc Newson’s ‘Horizon Soft’ luggage for Louis Vuitton boasts a shell crafted from a resilient, 3D-thermoformed knit. The hand-luggage style weighs just 2.9kg. Now that’s up-in-the-clouds engineering.…

Mariah Nielson, daughter of late US artist JB Blunk, has compiled the first comprehensive monograph of his life and work. Designed by Kajsa Ståhl of London studio Åbäke, it includes unseen archival images and new photographs. For over 45 years, the sculptor lived in Inverness, California (W*154). There he built the family home, where the likes of Max Lamb and Martino Gamper have since taken up residencies. The book traces his practice, from woodcarvings to ceramics. ‘There was a time when the eccentricities of our home (penis stools and carved cypress wood sinks) were embarrassments,’ Nielson recalls. ‘But by my early twenties I began to appreciate what my father had created and now it’s something I’m enormously proud of!’ JB Blunk, $55, jbblunk.com; dentdeleone.com. An exhibition of sculptures and ceramics…

‘INTARSIO’ KITCHEN by García Cumini, for Cesar Italian-Spanish design studio García Cumini was inspired by the idea of reimagining the two-dimensional surface of traditional kitchen doors. Its ‘Intarsio’ system is a play of material and colour, with different wood grains juxtaposed on the surface to create a striking visual rhythm. Available in various finishes – seen here in Rovere Mediterraneo with a countertop in Verde Guatemala marble – the design is a display of expert craftsmanship and attention to detail. cesar.it ‘ANIMA FLEXUOSA’ KITCHEN by Gabriele Centazzo, for Valcucine The name ‘Anima Flexuosa’ (sinuous soul) is a fitting description of Gabriele Centazzo’s new kitchen for Valcucine. Different mini-blocks allow for customisable compositions that can be changed over time. Materials are used to create contrasts: marble, steel, stone and bamboo contribute…

Shield-centric sunglasses ensure that for summer, you’ll be protecting not just your eyesight, but your profile too. From Saint Laurent to Lindberg, Chanel to Dolce & Gabbana, an array of optical brands are setting their sights on this safeguarding style. We suggest getting your guard up with oversized aviators, shades that riff on safety goggles and others with hard-as-nails hardware. There’s a retro futurism to S/S20’s most shielding sunglasses, which also offer up transparent or gradient lenses, and bold acetate frames. They’ll protect and earn you style points in any era.…

‘Are you from the industry? I don’t work for industry anymore.’ Such was the response of octogenarian Paris-based ceramic artist Alev Ebüzziya Siesbye to the founders of Danish design brand Raawii – Bo Raahauge and Nicholai Wiig Hansen – when they approached her about a collaboration. The pair, who founded their brand in 2017, regarded Siesbye as an icon. ‘We had this idea that we shared the same DNA in our approach to design,’ says Wiig Hansen. That turned out to be truer than they could imagine: when they finally met (after some persuasion from the duo) at Ebüzziya Siesbye’s Paris atelier, she showed them photographs from her time in Skagen, northern Denmark, an artist hub in the 1960s. Several were taken at Wiig Hansen’s family home (his parents being…

Gianfranco Frattini was a key figure in the development of modern Italian design. Graduating from Milan’s Politecnico in 1953 (around the same time as Vittorio Gregotti, Cini Boeri, Gae Aulenti and other future architecture and design legends), he started out at Gio Ponti’s studio before setting up his own practice. ‘The generation of architects who started their careers just after the Second World War were followers of Ernesto Nathan Rogers’ motto: “From the spoon to the city”,’ writes designer and curator Marco Romanelli in his book, Ritrovare Gianfranco Frattini Rediscovered. Everything had to be designed anew, he explains. The horrors and destruction of the war created a craving for an aesthetic clean slate. ‘Renaissance was unstoppable.’ Frattini took Rogers’ motto literally, moving seamlessly between scales, from jewellery to buildings. Active…

1. ‘LÁMINA 85’ LAMP by Antoni Arola, for Santa & Cole Spanish designer Antoni Arola has been dubbed ‘the Poet of Light’, and his new collaboration with lighting manufacturer Santa & Cole certainly helps cement this reputation. His ‘Lámina’ system is a portfolio of lamps that are all variations on one slender, discreet form, where light is reflected by the metal shade. The lamps can be used alone – offering diffused lighting – or in a composition of multiples for more general lighting in any space. We particularly like a single ‘Lámina’ lamp as dining illumination – subtle enough to cast us in the best light. €790, santacole.com 2. ‘TAMA’ VITRINE by Carlo Colombo, for Gallotti & Radice Carlo Colombo’s designs combine simplicity with elegance, and his sideboard for Gallotti…

‘RATIO’ KITCHEN by Vincent Van Duysen, for Dada Precision detailing defines the best kitchens. Vincent Van Duysen has updated his ‘Ratio’ kitchen for Dada with enhanced modularity and new materials. The design is approached like an architectural composition, with metal grids outlining its structure. ‘The kitchen is developed in two layers,’ says Van Duysen. ‘The structural layer, consisting of the uprights, and the surface layer. The interplay of vertical and horizontal lines gives a graphic and architectural expression.’ An island offers an all-in-one solution, furniture and accessories add flexibility, and a eucalyptus finish is combined with natural stone, such as Rapolano Travertine. moltenigroup.com…

The Architects’ Directory turns 20. Conceived in 2000 as our little black book of emerging architectural talent, this annual listing of promising practices has, over the years, spanned styles and continents. It has included photoshoots of nearly 150 of our 500-plus participants at iconic locations, such as the then-under construction Heathrow Terminal 5 by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, back in 2007, and the Neues Museum in Berlin, following its renovation by David Chipperfield Architects, in 2009. The Architects’ Directory has championed, as new arrivals, some of the now great practices, from 2020 Pritzker Prize winners Grafton Architects to humble Australian virtuoso Sean Godsell, and powerhouses such as MAD Architects, Vincent Van Duysen, Brian MacKay-Lyons, Deborah Berke and Claesson Koivisto Rune. Celebrate this year’s talents on the next ten pages,…

More than 1,000 readers, from across the global creative community, responded to our call for graphic innovation to reflect on the Covid-19 crisis and spread messages of hope. This small edit of our favourite posters, including more from Piero Lissoni on this issue’s limited-edition subscriber cover, is joined by a wider selection at Wallpaper.com…