A 3D Mural by Artist Leon Keer Wraps a French Housing Complex Like a Gift

“Safe House” (2020). All images © Leon Keer, shared with permission

Dutch artist Leon Keer is known for his large-scale anamorphic and Trompe-l’œil projects, transforming the sides of buildings and sidewalks into illusory public art. His latest mural, titled “Safe House,” transforms the side of a housing complex in Morlaix, France, into a massive, wrapped gift. Despite its flat surface, the gold paper appears to crinkle and bulge under the bright, imperfectly cut tape. “It is not obvious for everybody to have a roof over their head. Your home is precious and gives you the comfort and protection, a gift for the necessary needs in life. In honor of the great Christo and Jeanne-Claude,” the artist writes in a statement.

“Safe House” was created as part of the MX29 Graffiti Tour, a festival organized by Les Ateliers du Graff. To follow Keer’s deceptive works, head to Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

 

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Virtual Design Festival's best brand collaborations and product launches

How do you launch a product where there are no design fairs? With Virtual Design Festival ending on Friday, here's a roundup of some of its best brand collaborations and product launches.

VDF was conceived in part to give brands a way to showcase new products at a time when almost every fair was cancelled or postponed due to coronavirus.

Headline sponsor Grohe discussed the potential of touchless products at VDF

It gave us a way to continue collaborating with brands on talks, interviews and movies that would normally take place live at events around the world.

Over a dozen brands including Kvadrat, Tom Dixon, Braun, Grohe and Fritz Hansen worked on content collaborations with VDF while the VDF products fair has been used to launch over 150 new chairs, lights and other products.

Vello's folding bikes were among the most popular product launches

Among the most popular product launches with our audience were Herman Miller's update of the iconic Aeron Chair, Philippe Malouin's Lines rug collection for CC-Tapis and Vello's range of folding bikes.

Many of the brand collaborations generated highly topical content. Our collaboration with headline sponsor Grohe threw the spotlight on the increasing call for touchless products such as taps and toilets that will help people return safely to offices and other buildings.

Tom Dixon and Prolicht launched a new LED lighting system called CODE with a live interview with Dixon and Prolicht CEO Walter Norz.

The interview discussed how supply chains will need to change in the post-covid era, with products increasingly being made to order and components sourced locally.

Other collaborations brought people together at a time when getting together with distant friends in real life has been impossible. A series of talks for Dutch furniture brand Lensvelt saw founder Hans Lensvelt conversing with his friends and collaborators Maarten Baas, Joep van Lieshout and Fabio Novembre.

Lensvelt shared warmly personal stories about each designer, including details of how Novembre, who strummed a guitar during the talk, was best man at his wedding.

Several collaborations thought up compelling insights into the history of architecture design. The collaboration with Fritz Hansen saw its head of design, Christian Andresen, discuss the legacy of iconic Italian designer Vico Magistretti. The Danish brand also launched a selection of products, including rugs by designer Cecilie Manz.

RADO showcased its new range of watches that reference iconic Swiss architect Le Corbusier's colour palette

Our collaboration with Swiss luxury watch brand RADO saw CEO Matthias Breschan, vice president of product development Hakim El Kadiri and Les Couleurs Suisse CEO Matthias Naumann discuss iconic Swiss architect Le Corbusier's colour palette, which has been used to develop a new range of ceramic watches.

Finally, our collaboration with influential German design brand Braun featured a talk with designer Ilse Crawford, the founder of multidisciplinary design studio Studioilse. Crawford is set to create an online video masterclass in design for Braun, structured around its key design principles Less But Better, Built To Last and Design For Real Human Need.

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Orgatec 2020 furniture fair cancelled

This year's Orgatec trade fair in Cologne, which was set to take place 27 - 31 October, has been cancelled in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Orgatec furniture fair, which takes place every two years in Cologne, Germany, has announced that the 2020 event will not take place after numerous exhibitors and visitors cancelled their tickets to the event.

"The situation of this trade fair increasingly began to reflect current developments around Covid-19 and the economic situation," said trade fair organiser Koelnmesse.

"In recent weeks, a large majority of exhibitors and trade visitors decided not to attend Orgatec after all."

"These cancellations are motivated by concern for the health of employees, but also by the economic situation of the companies themselves," it continued. "This is something we completely understand."

Orgatec will return in 2022, when it will take place from 25 - 29 October.

"It was best to respond to wishes of the majority of industry"

The organisers made the decision even though they already prepared a plan to operate in a "coronavirus-compliant manner".

"We reassessed the overall situation and decided that it was best to respond to the cancellations and wishes of the majority of industry exhibitors and trade visitors by not implementing Orgatec 2020," continued the statement.

"This was a very difficult decision for us. With our comprehensive package of measures, #B-SAFE4business, we were already very well prepared to host our trade fairs in a coronavirus-compliant manner," it continued.

"Leading international trade fairs such as Orgatec require a certain completeness where exhibitor and visitor attendance are concerned. Internationality at the European and global levels has an important role to play for this trade fair."

Koelnmesse will refund all tickets that have already been paid for in the coming weeks.

Orgatec one of many fairs to be impacted by pandemic

Orgatec is just one of many events that have been cancelled or changed format in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The 2020 editions of Art Basel and Design Miami/Basel have been cancelled altogether after being postponed from June to September.

While this year's London Design Festival will go ahead as planned in September, it will take place in a revised format that includes being part-online and part-physical.

Similarly, visitors to Dutch Design Week in October 2020 will be able to book slots on pre-planned events, but all other activities will take place online.

The 2021 edition of IMM Cologne, which is also organised by Koelnmesse, is still planned to take place from 18 to 24 January.

Visit Dezeen Events Guide for more details of upcoming architecture and design events, including an updated list of events impacted by coronavirus.

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We take a step into the visually rich output of Khruangbin’s new record, Mordechai

Although just released, Khruangbin’s latest record has been a lengthy campaign of creative triumphs.

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Live talk with Moooi designers Gabriele Chiave and Joost van Bleijswijk as part of Virtual Design Festival

Marcel Wanders creative director Gabriele Chiave and Kiki and Joost founder Joost van Bleijswijk will discuss their new lighting designs for Moooi in this live talk as part of Virtual Design Festival's collaboration with the Dutch furniture brand. Watch live from 2:30pm UK time.

Chiave and Van Bleijswijk will speak to Dezeen's founder and editor in chief Marcus Fairs about the Tinkering and Hubble Bubble lighting fixtures which were both launched on the Virtual Design Festival site earlier today.

Marcel Wanders designed the Hubble Bubble light for Moooi

Chiave, who works at Moooi founder Wanders' eponymous product and interior design studio, will introduce Hubble Bubble, a light formed of a series of hand-blown glass spheres of different sizes suspended in a halo around a circular metal frame.

The light was designed to evoke childhood memories of blowing soap bubbles, apparent in the iridescent, oil-like finish that coats the glass bulbs. The lights can also be ordered in a more subtle frosted glass.

Van Bleijswijk will present Tinkering, a pendant light for Moooi based around a hanging network of black metal rods.

Light sources with arched shades that resemble security cameras are fixed to this metal base, forming a lean frame that can be suspended from the ceiling above long tables or counters.

Joost van Bleijswijk designed the Tinkering light for Moooi

Both Hubble Bubble and Tinkering are engineered using a technology called Electrosandwich, which was originally developed by Wanders for Moooi.

The technology eliminates the need for individual wires running to each LED by embedding conductive material within the body of a lighting fixture, allowing for as sleek an appearance as possible.

Hubble Bubble is a light formed of glass spheres arranged around a circular metal frame

Chiave joined Amsterdam-based studio Marcel Wanders as creative director in 2007. Alongside Wanders, he oversees the prolific studio’s output for brands that include Alessi, KLM and Puma.

Designs by Marcel Wanders include air pollution masks with graphic prints for San Francisco company O2Today, kaleidoscopic mirrors mounted on leather backing for Louis Vitton, and leather hides digitally printed with fractal patterns for specialist leather studio Bill Amberg.

Tinkering is a pendant light based around a hanging network of black metal rods

Van Bleijswijk is one half of Eindhoven-based duo Kiki and Joost along with creative collaborator and partner Kiki van Eijk, who he met at Design Academy Eindhoven.

Pieces designed by Van Bleijswijk often reveal the story of their design and construction in their final form, as with the Physical furniture collection presented by Kiki and Joost at Milan design week in 2016, which resembled rough line drawings, or a collection of furniture assembled from found objects and machine parts exhibited at Dutch Design Week in 2014.

Van Bleijswijk previously worked with Moooi to design the Construction Lamp, which features a pylon-like stand that appears as though assembled using a child's construction toy.

The talk is the first live instalment in Dezeen's long-running Design Dreams video series for Dutch furniture brand Moooi, in which designers explain how the brand has helped them to realise fantastical concepts without compromising on the design, often overcoming significant engineering challenges in the process.

About Virtual Design Festival

Virtual Design Festival runs from 15 April to 10 July 2020. It brings the architecture and design world together to celebrate the culture and commerce of our industry, and explore how it can adapt and respond to extraordinary circumstances.

To find out what's coming up at VDF, check out the schedule. For more information or to join the mailing list, email vdf@dezeen.com

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