Competition: win a rattan armchair designed by Jaime Hayon to celebrate Expormim's 60th anniversary

In our latest competition, we have teamed up with Expormim to give away a rattan armchair designed by Jaime Hayon.

The Frames low armchair by Jaime Hayon is a celebratory piece crafted to mark Expormim's 60th anniversary.

One reader will win this indoor armchair, which is made from rattan and finished in a limited edition French grey colour.

The Frames low armchair by Jaime Hayon in French grey

Natural rattan that has been peeled and tinted is used to form the armchair's frame. The rattan is finished with three coatings: a dye, a base coat and a top coat. This finish includes a UV filter, making the material resistant to sun damage.

"Rattan is a humble material, but extremely rich in shades," said Expormim. "It is fine, durable and strongly associated with the Mediterranean."

The seat and backrest are made from tinted natural wicker. Optional cushions with upholstery in natural or faux leather, virgin wool fabrics, velvet and polypropylene, complete the look.

Frames low armchairs are all made by hand. Photo is by MariLuz Vidal

Hayon, who designed the armchair for Expormim, was born in Madrid in 1974. He is known for creating a variety of exclusive pieces from graphic art to furniture and decorative objects, and has also worked on hotel and restaurant interior designs.

His career was developed in Los Angeles, Paris and Treviso, and today both his home and studio are in Valencia.

"I always start from a very artistic point of view," said Hayon. "I'm concerned about colour, shape and composition. I love to compose new things and don't really think they are products, art or interior design."

Jaime Hayon partnered with Expormim to create a 60th-anniversary piece

Expormim was founded in Mogente, near Valencia, in 1960 by Miguel Laso Tortosa. His aim was to export artisanal products made of wicker including baskets, folding screens and cradles and trays.

Sixty years on the brand wants to pay tribute to its craftsman by releasing the limited edition Frames low armchair.

"We want to pay tribute to our craftsmen because it is thanks to them that we were able to rescue rattan from oblivion, rethink it and make it worthy of contemporary design," said Expormim.

Expormim was founded in Mogente, near Valencia, in 1960 by Miguel Laso Tortosa. Photo is by MariLuz Vidal

Other pieces in the range include a dining chair, dining armchair, room divider, footstool and a coffee table.

The armchair measures 63 centimetres by 72 centimetres by 90 centimetres and is available in 11 other colours including Japanese Red, Navy Blue and Forest Green.

One reader will win a Frames low armchair in French grey.

Competition closes 15 December 2020. Terms and conditions apply. One winner will be selected at random and notified by email.

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Sky-Frame releases new winter-themed film Living with Sky-Frame: Moscow

Dezeen promotion: a cosy family home nestled in a snowy forest just outside Moscow is the setting for the latest film released by Sky-Frame, which showcases the Swiss window company's Classic collection.

The short film – which is titled Living with Sky-Frame: Moscow – takes place on a wintry evening in the Russian capital, opening with a shot of a family home surrounded by a dense thicket of snow-capped trees.

The house comprises two rectilinear volumes. Both the lower and upper volumes are fronted with floor-to-ceiling windows from Sky-Frame's Classic collection.

The short film takes place at a family home in Moscow surrounded by forest

The glass windows are set within aluminium frames that are designed to sit flush against the floor and ceiling. Should users want to let in fresh air or gain access to the outdoors, the windows can easily be slid back as the frames have been finished with minimum rolling resistance.

Draining can be done via a recessed channel in the frame system or can be discretely fitted beneath outdoor floor coverings.

As the film progresses we see the family host a birthday party for their young daughter, who looks out through the window to see dream-like scenes in the home's garden.

"In the hectic pace of everyday life, we all too often lose the desire to look at things in a new way," explained Sky-Frame.

"Children see things clearly... ultimately, it is this vision that removes the boundaries between outdoors and indoors, bridging the distance between the routine and the fantastical."

The home features floor-to-ceiling windows from Sky-Frame's Classic collection

This is one of several short films made by Sky-Frame, which was founded in 1993. At the beginning of this year, the Swiss company filmed an interview with Danish architect Bjarke Ingels, founder of firm BIG.

Speaking from his houseboat that's moored on the Port of Copenhagen, Ingels mused on the idea that architects have the capability to make the world more utopic.

"Every time you are making an architectural project, intervening somewhere, you have a chance to make this fragment of the world more like your ideal world," he explained.

Another film by Sky-Frame features the architect Stephan Hürlemann, where he stresses the importance of sustainability and moving away from industrial production methods.

"If we are to secure the future of our planet, we have to change," Hürlemann stated.

To find out more about Sky-Frame or its Classic collection, visit the company's website.

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Hooba Design Group adds fish pond and greenery to concrete Aptus Factory Showroom

Tehran-based Hooba Design Group has designed a series of concrete volumes to house the showrooms and administrative spaces of the Aptus Concrete Block Manufacturing Factory in the suburbs of Karaj, Iran.

The studio was asked to create an indoor-outdoor showroom for the factory, whose previous showroom was located in one of its factory buildings.

Hooba Design Group constructed the new version using building materials from Aptus itself.

Aptus Factory Showroom consists of small volumes broken up by greenery

"Considering the urge for cost efficiency, it was decided to eliminate finishing layers on the entire interior and exterior of the building and to use the company’s concrete blocks as the single material forming the entirety of the building envelope," Hooba Design Group founder Hooman Balazadeh told Dezeen.

To create a balance between the industrial interior and the surrounding landscape, Hooba Design Group designed the 320-square-metres showroom as a series of one-storey volumes broken up by greenery.

The entire building envelope is concrete

"Instead of creating a huge 'box' surrounded by greenery, it was decided to break the volume into smaller boxes which are independent and characterized based on their function," Balazadeh said.

"The created voids between the boxes form greenspaces penetrating into the building."

There is a clear sightline between the boxes

Large glass windows and perforated brick walls create transparency between the boxes, which enables visitors to explore the individual spaces whilst still having a visual connection to other parts of the building.

A fish pond with a tiled floor and plenty of greenery add interest and colour to the grey concrete blocks.

A water feature integrates nature into the showroom

"The water feature at the entrance was also part of this strategy," Balazadeh said.

"Different interior spaces have views of this water pool. Integration of functional spaces with the natural landscape and fading the boundaries in an industrial zone could create a nicer environment for the users."

Galvanised iron was used for the roofs of the buildings. Inside, the floors are also made from the company's own concrete, which was cast in place and matches the concrete walls.

A concrete floor was cast in place

Hooba Design Group decided to limit the colour palette of the buildings as much as possible in order to put more emphasis on the company's own product, as well as the connection between the interior and exterior.

The majority of the material was made on-site at the factory itself, eliminating the need to source and transport material.

There is no finishing – the concrete acts as "masonry, isolation and finishing at the same time, optimizing material consumption," Balazadeh explained.

Hooba Design Group says the concept can be expanded in future

The completed buildings host three indoor showrooms, as well as two conference rooms, rooms for the sales department and administrative space.

Aptus Factory Showroom is located in a suburb with mainly industrial buildings and some agricultural and residential developments. Hooba Design Group's plan for the showroom leaves open the possibility that the concept could be further expanded in the future, either for Aptus or for other companies.

"There are a number of other concrete block manufacturers in the neighbourhood of Aptus factory," Balazdeh said.

"This project could define a simple pattern for this urban fabric which is not only cost-efficient but also enhances the relationship between the built environment and the greenspace."

Hooba Design Group was shortlisted for the Dezeen Awards 2020 in the business building category for its brick-wrapped design of the Kohan Ceram factory's headquarters in Tehran, which was also constructed from materials made in the factory itself.

Photography is by Parham Taghioff and Mohammad Hasan Ettefagh.

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Project credits:

Architect: Hooman Balazadeh
Project manager: Saeed Farshbaf
Construction director: Rasool Azhdari
Presentation: Ehsan Lessani

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Morgan Ruben's pair of lamps are grown from mycelium or light up like glow-worms

Morgan Ruben drew on nature when growing his leaf-shaped Folium light from mycelium and designing his Luminosa lamp to reference the way bioluminescent worms attract prey.

The Utrecht-based designer's work combines technology, design and biology, themes which come through clearly in his two latest lighting designs.

Top: the Folium light is grown from mycelium and hemp. Above: a leaf-shaped mould gives the light its shape

Folium isn't just informed by nature but takes the concept one step further by incorporating mycelium – a living organism that is the roof system of mushrooms – as a material.

Ruben had never worked with mycelium before Folium but had followed the development of its use in production for some time.

To create Folium, he grew the material in a leaf-shaped aluminium cast mixed with hemp fibre.

"Mycelium grows in between the hemp fibres and transforms it into a solid mass," Ruben told Dezeen.

"It takes between one and two weeks to grow a leaf, depending on the desired colouration. One week results in a light coloured leaf and between one and two weeks a darker marbled colouration."

Growing the leaf shape takes one to two weeks

If grown for longer, the mycelium would produce actual mushrooms, so Ruben heats the material at a low temperature to stop the growth. LED-lights then complete the fluid Folium design.

His Luminosa lamp aims to combine our screen-based, technology-focused everyday life with people's desire for a closer relationship with the environment.

The result of Ruben's fascination with the Arachnocampa luminosa, the New Zealand glow-worm, the Luminosa uses sensing technology that recognises hand gestures to let users pull a light down its long, glass jar.

The designer with the  Luminosa light, which lets the user control its intensity and positioning

This evokes the movement that glow worms make when travelling down the snares of the silk threads that they spin to attract their insect prey.

"The bioluminescent lighting of the glowworm has an inherent natural beauty and is very mesmerising to look at," Ruben said.

"At the same time, these creatures are very delicate and would never survive outside of their own ecosystem," he added.

"I greatly value the idea to be able to bring this rare, mesmerising effect and beauty into your home environment, by using new technology."

It was inspired by the movement of glow-worms

The Luminosa lamp was made from glass. "Borosilicate glass is extremely useful for high precision glasswork," Ruben said. "Traditional glass blowing is much harder to guide into a directed shape."

The lamp's sensor measures objects in front of it as well as their distance and relays the information to a microprocessor, which sends a series of commands to the LEDs based on the movements.

A borosilica glass jar, LED lights and sensor form the Luminosa light

Luminosa thus lets users decide on both the intensity and positioning of the light from the hanging ceiling lamp.

"Instead of being yet another impersonal, inanimate product from the backdrop of our lives, Luminosa hereby becomes an organism-object one can connect to and actively live with – much like a pet," Ruben said.

The designer is currently looking for a brand to further develop Luminosa.

Production of Folium is underway together with Dutch biotech company Grown Bio, which also creates biodegradable packaging from mycelium, a material that Ruben says has many benefits.

"It is sustainable in production," Ruben said. "Production uses only biological matter and waste material can be used as a primary ingredient, for example, hemp, flax or wood fibres."

"As such, it is a material that is ideally suited for a circular economy. Mycelium is also very lightweight and strong."

Other recent designs that use mycelium as their main material include Bob Hendrikx living coffin that helps bodies decompose faster and architect Carlo Ratti's Gaudí-inspired structures.

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Salone del Mobile set to move to September 2021 due to coronavirus concerns

Milan's Salone del Mobile could move from its regular April slot and take place in September next year, Dezeen has learned.

The move would see the fair, which celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2021, staged in the autumn for the first time since 1989.

Salone del Mobile, the largest and most important furniture show in the world and the anchor event of Milan's design week, is understood to be concerned that a fair in April would once again be disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Many countries now experiencing a second wave of Covid-19 infections that is expected to last through the winter and into spring 2021, throwing next year's calendar of fairs into doubt.

This year, Salone del Mobile was initially moved from April to June due to the pandemic before being cancelled altogether for the first time in its history. Next year's fair is currently scheduled to take place from 14 to 18 April 2021.

"Salone del Mobile will take place in 2021"

Organisers are understood to have been considering for some months whether to move the 2021 fair to either June or September, with September emerging as the preferred choice.

Salone del Mobile spokesperson Patrizia Malfatta confirmed that a change of date is being considered.

"We can confirm is that the Salone del Mobile will take place in 2021," she said.

"The question about the possibility that the fair could move from April to some later months in the year, that's still open."

Dezeen understands that some exhibiting brands were hesitant to commit to paying non-refundable deposits for stands in April and have been pressing organisers to hold the fair later in the year.

Final decision on dates not yet made

Founded in 1961, Salone del Mobile originally took place in Milan in late September until it moved to its current April slot in 1990.

A final decision on when the fair will take place next year has yet to be made. It is not known whether the hundreds of fringe events that take place in the city alongside the fair, which are collectively known as the fuorisalone, will follow Salone del Mobile and move to later in the year.

The coronavirus pandemic led to the cancellation of nearly all major architecture and design events from March 2020 onwards, with a few fairs including 3 Days of Design and a reduced-scale London Design Festival taking place in September before the second wave of the pandemic once again forced events to abort.

Last month's Dutch Design Week had to cancel most of its planned physical events at the last minute.

2021 events impacted by coronavirus

Several events planned for 2021 have already been impacted. Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair, London's Surface Design Show and Cape Town conference Design Indaba, which were due to take place in February, have all been cancelled.

Paris homewares show Maison&Object has been rescheduled from January to 26-30 March while Design Shanghai is moving from March to early June.

Iceland's DesignMarch festivities are being shifted from March to 19-23 May.

Salone del Mobile and the parallel fuorisalone events together make up the world's leading design festival, attracting an estimated 500,000 people to the northern Italian city.

For up-to-date details of more architecture and design events visit Dezeen Events Guide, which has a special page containing updates on events impacted by coronavirus.

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