Muji and ÉCAL students design compact furniture built to tidy up daily life

Design brand Muji has collaborated with students at ÉCAL to create a collection of space-saving furniture, which was presented in an exhibition at Milan design week.

Called Compact Life, the collection features of tables, shelves and chairs was on display at Muji's Milan store as part of the Fuorisalone events programme.

A combined stepladder and storage unit by Victorine Lefebvre was part of the collection

BA Industrial Design students from Switzerland's ÉCAL university worked with the brand to design pieces in line with Muji's trademark minimalist style, under the tuition of Industrial Design head of programme Stéphane Halmaï-Voisard and Swiss designer Michel Charlot.

"It's always interesting to work with students because they have new ideas," assistant teacher in industrial design at ÉCAL Elie Fazel told Dezeen.

Noémie Soriano craeted a slim bedside table

The students were asked to emulate a key part of Muji's product development process, which involves using photographic studies of ordinary homes in order to determine how best to design products.

By documenting the state of their own homes, the ÉCAL students gained an idea of how they interact with their surroundings in an attempt to design space-saving furniture.

Rolling basket trolleys by Théo Blanchard were presented by Muji

For example, student Noémie Soriano created a flat-pack bedside table made from solid oak with an adjustable storage shelf designed to store a smartphone overnight.

Théo Blanchard designed a series of steel wire basket trolleys to stow belongings in that can slide under a bed, while Paper Wall Pocket by Lucie De Martin is a hangable structure made of strong laminated crepe paper that can store objects in its pockets.

Lucie De Martin designed a flexible paper wall-hanging

"It was interesting to document the everyday living of Europeans compared to most of Muji's studies, which are done in Asia," said Stéphane Halmaï-Voisard when discussing the students' research.

"So for Muji, it was a way for us to introduce a little bit of our Swiss or European way of living," he continued.

Other furniture includes Stéfanie Kay's Hanger Pole, a clothes stand that can be fitted with a wide variety of hooks and hangers, and a small house-shaped cage by Jillian Reichlin that provides shelter for insects when filled with natural materials such as bark or wood scraps.

"For these students specifically, who are young and fresh, they are basically building what they would use themselves," added Halmaï-Voisard.

Insect House by Jillian Reichlin can be hung anywhere

Among the other designs with simplicity at their core are a pressed metal shelf by Marine Fondin that fits into corners, and a collapsible chair made of plywood by Alan Shopfer with a handle-shaped backrest used to easily transport the object.

"As a designer, I'll always try to optimise my space and make the most out of it," concluded Halmaï-Voisard.

Marine Fondin's corner shelf

Muji is a Japanese lifestyle brand founded in 1980. The brand has launched a prefabricated home to encourage indoor-outdoor living.

ÉCAL is an art and design university based in Renens. Recent innovative graduate projects include nappies made of seaweed-fibre and moulded cellulose bento-style boxes designed for takeaway food.

The images are courtesy of Muji and ÉCAL.

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Furniture brand Porada launches Porada Essential video to spotlight its artisan techniques

Dezeen promotion: Italian furniture brand Porada has released a video called Porada Essential to showcase the blend of contemporary and traditional artisan techniques that go into its furniture design.

To capture its 70 years of furniture making, Porada's director Jacopo Rondinelli and creative director Marco Pianigiani launched the Porada Essential video, the first of two videos the brand is releasing this year.

The Porada Infinity Table comes in ash or solid Canaletto walnut

It is intended to represent Porada's diverse furniture range with a "big visual impact". With its launch, the company aims to showcase the important design elements of its furniture, while also referencing Porada's manufacturing methods and values.

The video series also aims to show how its wooden furniture pieces are designed to be long-lasting and interconnected to the natural world.

The brand manufactures wooden coffee tables, chairs and beds among other furniture items. It uses a range of wood, including ash and walnut, which is often combined with metal, glass and upholstery.

Porada is launching two videos this year to represent its diverse furniture range

Porada aims for its furniture to appear like pieces of art, while also referencing its long-standing values, including its artisan craftsmanship and attention to detail.

"In a time of disposable and low-cost furniture, Porada has always promoted the exact opposite," said the brand.

"By using only fine, top-quality materials crafted by our highly skilled artisans, our furniture pieces are all designed and intended to be a long-term investment, which can survive fashion trends and last over time."

The Porada Essential video is the first of two videos the furniture brand is launching this year

Most notable in its collection is the Porada Infinity Table, which is often accompanied by the Noemi, Nissa, or Ester chairs.

The wooden table has a 12 millimetre thick glass top that is available in a range of sizes and glass finishes, and its base comes in ash or solid Canaletto walnut.

It is made using a process that combines contemporary and traditional wood processing techniques, and its intertwining base is shown in the Porada Essential video.

The brand makes its pieces out of solid wood

Porada was founded in 1948 by Luigi Allievi. The family-run brand still maintains its centuries-old tradition of wood processing, using solid wood to make its furniture pieces.

The brand intends for its furniture to be "timeless" and has a group of international designers adding to its collections including David Dolcini, Patrick Jouin, Gabriele and Oscar Buratti, Emmanuel Gallina, Tollgard & Castellani.

The brand aims for its furniture to appear like pieces of art

In 2011, Porada purchased 220 hectares of certified forests in Bourgogne, France. The brand uses this wood to make its furniture here, and as a result, it says its production chain has become shorter.

"The most recent forest purchased underwent proper cleaning and cutting procedures, aiming to improve and add value to the existing natural heritage, which is also being restored by the grafting of ashwood trees," said Porada.

The company uses wood from its 220 hectares of certified forests in Bourgogne to make its pieces

Porada has more than 15 showrooms in Europe and the Far East including showrooms in London and Via Borgospesso, Milan.

To view more of Porada's products visit its website.

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Exord Pro chair by Jeffrey Bernett for Cassina

Dezeen Showroom: Italian brand Cassina and designer Jeffrey Bernett has unveiled a high-back swivel chair called Exord Pro that is designed for use at home and the office.

Designed by American designer Jeffrey Bernett and named Exord Pro, the chair is available as a high-back swivel or automatic return armchair.

The chair is suited to both at home and office work environments

The chair is designed to be ergonomic and body-supporting and is suited to both at home and office work environments.

Upholstered areas are available in a variety of different fabrics or leathers, including two-tone combinations that aim to enhance the geometry of the chair.

It is available in a variety of upholstery options

The base of the chair can be customised with anthracite painted steel, polished aluminum or black painted aluminium.

Product: Exord Pro
Brand: Cassina
Contact: info@cassina.it

About Dezeen Showroom: Dezeen Showroom offers an affordable space for brands to launch new products and showcase their designers and projects to Dezeen's huge global audience. For more details email showroom@dezeen.com.

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Invisible Studio designs slate-clad House with Courtyards on Cornish coast

British practice Invisible Studio has completed a home on Cornwall's northern coast, clad in local slate and copper to appear hewn from the surrounding craggy landscape.

Invisible Studio built the House with Courtyards into a steeply sloping site overlooking Polzeath Beach, and inserted a series of internal courtyards to create external spaces sheltered from the prevailing wind.

The building is intended to evoke a piece of the surrounding craggy landscape

Around these courtyards, a cluster of blocks topped with irregularly pitched roofs is united by a central axis."This layout allows for framed elongated views through the home and out to sea, creating contrasting conditions between private courtyards and open living areas.

"Large, glazed elements make up much of the front facade, offering uninterrupted coastal vistas, while a series of courtyards are plunged into the building... they also become a part of the living spaces, bringing the outside in," said the studio.

The house in Cornwall is built around several courtyards

The home is accessed by crossing a small bridge over a light well that illuminates a small lower ground floor space. A stepped route then leads up the site's southern edge and connects to a large terrace overlooking the sea.On the ground floor, the living space opens out onto this northwest-facing terrace. Bedrooms and bathrooms are tucked further into the building, with the largest located at its eastern end.

A large terrace overlooks the sea

Lightweight steel staircases lead to the first floor, where a kitchen sits above the living areas. Further bedrooms are arranged around the central corridor, which creates a new relationship to the courtyards by looking down onto them.

Spaces on this level sit beneath white ceilings that express the irregularly pitched roofs atop the home's blocks, punctured with skylights.

Irregularly pitched roofs are punctured with skylights

The home sits on a base of rough slate, with the floors above clad primarily in Delabole Slate tiles from a nearby quarry.

The roof and window openings are finished in copper that has been allowed to weather.

"Our client wanted a home that felt embedded in the landscape, which could also focus all attention out to the majestic views formed by the sea and ever-changing light across the season and a single day," said Invisible Studio founder Piers Taylor.

"It's a complicated building which may appear simple because we limited the amount of materials used."

Invisible Studio also designed the interiors

The home's interiors were also designed by the studio, which described the building as a "holistic architectural project".

Exposed board-marked concrete is used to finish the walls and create a central hearth in the living room.

The house is clad in local slate and copper

Smooth concrete has been applied to finish floors throughout, and is contrasted by bright polished copper on cupboard doors and a series of inlet shelves in the kitchen.

Invisible Studio's founder Taylor also recently carried out an extensive retrofit of Moonshine, his own off-grid home near Bath, to make it more sustainable.

The photography is by Jim Stephenson.

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London's Design District officially opens to the public

The Design District on London's Greenwich Peninsula has officially opened, with buildings designed by SelgasCano, 6a Architects, Adam Khan Architects, Architecture 00, HNNA, Barozzi Veiga, David Kohn Architects and Mole Architects.

Created by developer Knight Dragon, the cluster of workspace buildings aimed at creatives is located near the Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners-designed O2 events arena, also known as the Millennium Dome, at the tip of the Greenwich Peninsula in London.

The Design District is now officially open

The development, which contains a variety of workspaces for 1,800 people, is made up of 16 buildings, with two buildings each designed by eight different architecture studios.

With the aim of replicating the variety of buildings and styles found within cities developed over a long period of time, each of the studios was not made aware of what the others were designing.

SelgasCano's canteen stands at the edge of the development

"The decision to involve eight leading architects was integral to our vision for Design District from the beginning," said Helen Arvanitakis, director of Design District.

"We were determined that it should be a dynamic, engaging and exciting piece of city – somewhere that jolts you into action, and spurs creative thought," she told Dezeen.

"This calculatedly eclectic approach undoubtedly created a possibility for clashes and contrasts, but we knew we had to embrace the risk if we were going to build somewhere genuinely innovative that would reflect and inspire the diverse creative community it was intended to serve."

Barozzi Veiga's building for Ravensbourne University London stands next to one of 6a Architects' two blocks

Masterplanned by UK studio HNNA, the buildings occupy a rectangular site directly behind the Gateway Pavilions building designed by Marks Barfield Architects.

Twelve of the buildings are arranged around the perimeter of the site with a square at its centre.

"I want them to feel that they're not in Kansas anymore; that they've stepped into somewhere distinct from the surrounding city," said Arvanitakis. "I want visitors to feel an urge to explore – to look around corners and linger in courtyards."

"By keeping the building low-rise, encouraging architectural diversity and avoiding the symmetry and predictability of the urban grid, we've ensured Design District feels as though it has developed organically rather than simply having been imposed on Greenwich Peninsula," she continued.

Architecture 00's block is topped by a basketball court

Directly behind the Gateway Pavilions are a trio of buildings – one each by Spanish studios Barozzi Veiga and SelgasCano and one by Architecture 00.

Barozzi Veiga's aluminium-clad building contains additional space for the nearby Ravensbourne University London, while Architecture 00's concrete-framed building is topped with a basketball court – one of several communal facilities for people working at the development.

Between these two buildings is a transparent structure by SelgasCano that contains the Design District Canteen, which is open to the public and contains a bar and six restaurants.

SelgasCano's second building is a block that replicates the style of the canteen, while Barozzi Veiga's second building is an aluminium-clad block on the other side of the site.

Design District is written on top of one of David Kohn Architects' buildings

To mark the development, the words "design district" were written on a roof-mounted sign that recalls early US advertising signage on top of one of David Kohn Architects' two buildings.

Both of David Kohn Architects' buildings in the development combine vivid green metalwork with glass blocks and stout red-brick columns.

Alongside David Kohn Architects-signpost building stands a block by Adam Khan Architects, which has exposed concrete walls and yellow balconies.

Bureau occupies buildings by Architecture 00 and HNNA

In addition to the workspaces, a co-working space called Bureau occupies two buildings – the second concrete-framed building designed by Architecture 00 and a white building by HNNA with curved white walls.

The interiors of both buildings were designed by UK studio Roz Barr Architects.

Also on the site are a pair of buildings designed by 6a Architects with angled facades that are decorated with diamond patterns.

Mole Architects' contribution to the development was a block clad in Corten steel and a building with a metal facade painted in an "iridescent" colour.

One of Mole Architects' blocks is clad in Corten

Developer Knight Dragon aims to develop a community of creative businesses in the Design District. To attract organisations to the development, it is offering the units at what it believes are competitive rates.

"Design District will deliver a site-wide blended-rent target of £25 per square metre. Starting at £7 per square metre, rents will be scaled depending on the workspace to be rented and the size and needs of the tenant, and will be reviewed regularly," said the developer.

"Larger organisations will be able to occupy buildings at rents commensurate to their size, in order to reduce the rental burden on smaller businesses," it continued.

"This rental structure is designed to create an ecosystem of businesses of varying sizes, each contributing according to its means, and ensure that any individual or organisation that wishes to be part of Design District can afford to find a home here."

Its second block is clad in metal painted in "iridescent" paint

Although the district is officially open, the final two buildings – one by HNNA and one by Adam Khan Architects are yet to be built as they have been delayed by the disruption caused by the construction of the Silvertown tunnel below the site.

The photography is by Taran Wilkhu.

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