Lapala chair by Lievore Altherr Molina for Expormim

Dezeen Showroom: the Lapala chair by Spanish brand Expormim and studio Lievore Altherr Molina recalls the typical braided furniture of the Mediterranean but is made of innovative materials that can withstand the outdoors.

First created as an indoor chair by designers Alberto Lievore, Jeannette Altherr and Manel Molina in 1998, Expormim reissued Lapala in 2014 to give it a new life.

The outdoor furniture brand reimagined the design for outside use by replacing its original wicker construction with nautical rope.

The Lapala chair suits spaces that blur the boundaries between indoors and outdoors

The polyester rope is paired with a robust frame of stainless steel – another material with high resistance to harsh weather conditions.

The rope and frame colours can be mixed and matched, with an option of 10 different hues for the rope and seven finishes for the painted stainless steel.

Lapala is woven from weather-resistant nautical rope

The seats are handwoven by Expormim's expert craftspeople in the Spanish town of Moixent, with a tight plait that the brand describes as both comfortable and elegant.

Adding to its utility, the Lapala chair is stackable and comes as a dining chair, armchair, dining armchair and stool.

"Conceived for those charming patios and cosy terraces where the borders between the indoor and the outdoor space get diluted, Lapala helps create a unique space through its beautiful neat lines and discreet elegance," said Expormim.

Product: Lapala
Designer: Lievore Altherr Molina Studio
Brand: Expormim
Contact: export@expormim.com

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Watch our talk with Gropius Bau and Hella Jongerius about weaving as a healing process

Dezeen teamed up with the Gropius Bau museum for a live talk with Hella Jongerius to celebrate the opening of her Woven Cosmos exhibition.

Jongerius' weaving practice is the subject of an exhibition at the Gropius Bau in Berlin that showcases work produced by the Dutch designer on-site at the museum.

Named Woven Cosmos, the show explores how craft practices can act as healing processes and how they can be used in the search for sustainable solutions for the future.

Installation view of Woven Cosmos at the Gropius Bau. Image by Laura Fiorio, courtesy of the Gropius Bau.

"Through Woven Cosmos I try to understand the cultural meaning of weaving beyond materials and technique," Jongerius said of the exhibition.

"This is also deeply linked to the challenges of our time: questions of sustainability, social responsibility and spirituality. For instance: what can be the healing function of objects?"

The exhibit includes a number of installations including a loom designed to weave three-dimensional structures to be used as architectural elements and a user-activated installation that will develop over the course of the show.

Hella Jongerius. Portrait by Nick Ballón, courtesy of Maharam

Moderated by Dezeen's founder and editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs, the panel featured Jongerius and Stephanie Rosenthal, director of the Gropius Bau and co-curator of Woven Cosmos.

The panel disucssed the work on show, Jongerius' experience working on-site at the Gropius Bau and her design philosophy, which spans design, sustainability and spiritualism.

The talk also explored the healing properties of arts, design and crafts against urgent issues facing the world and the role of artistic research in sustainable solutions.

Stephanie Rosenthal, director of Gropius Bau. Portrait by Victoria Tomaschko, courtesy of Gropius Bau.

Jongerius is a Dutch industrial designer who is known for her work with colour, weaving and textiles.

Based in Berlin, Jongerius founded her design studio Jongeriuslab in 1993 and has since produced work such as the Polder sofa for Vitra and even the cabin interiors for Dutch airline KLM.

In 2020, Jongerius featured in Dezeen's first podcast series Face to Face, where she explained why she thinks the design industry is "slow, boring and bullshit".

Rosenthal is a German art historian who took the reins at the Gropius Bau in 2018, after ten years as the chief curator at the Hayward Gallery in London.

The Gropius Bau is reopening its doors following coronavirus restrictions in the German capital, with an exhibition programme that includes Woven Cosmos and a major retrospective on iconic Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama.

Hella Jongerius: Woven Cosmos is on from 29 April to 5 September 2021 at the Gropius Bau in Berlin. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

This talk was produced by Dezeen for Gropius Bau as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen's partnership content here.

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Follow Dezeen Events Guide on Instagram for details of the latest architecture and design events

Our listings site Dezeen Events Guide has an Instagram channel! Follow it at www.instagram.com/dezeenguide for regular updates on the world's best architecture and design events.

Launched last year, Dezeen Events Guide is the world's most popular guide to design weeks, conferences, exhibitions and other key happenings relating to architecture and design.

It contains details of hundreds of events in every corner of the world, with listings that can be filtered according to location, type and date.

With over 250,000 visits so far and the highest search ranking of any design listings site, Dezeen Events Guide is the leading destination for finding out about everything from major festivals to small shows and discussions.

It lists both real-world events and virtual happenings such as online talks and webinars.

During the pandemic, Dezeen Events Guide has also maintained an up-to-date guide to all the events impacted by Covid-19.

Listing an event on Dezeen Events Guide is simple and affordable. Check out our prices here, including details of how events can partner with Dezeen to co-curate compelling content to promote upcoming events or to share details of ones that have already happened.

The top image shows Backstage, a Copenhagen exhibition that focuses on the behind-the-scenes processes of architects and urban planners when creating buildings and urban spaces.

Follow Dezeen Events Guide on Instagram ›

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Arpège modular sofa is Liaigre's first customisable seating design

Dezeen promotion: Parisian interiors studio Liaigre has launched a modular sofa called Arpège that is designed to offer users both comfort and flexibility.

As Liaigre's first customisable seating design, Arpège is intended to be used as anything from a statement stand-alone chair to an extra-large couch for entertaining.

There are 14 different seating modules and a range of upholstery options and accessories available, ensuring it can be tailored for use in any space.

Above: Arpège is a modular sofa range. Top image: it can be used to create different-sized sofas

"Arpège offers a private island of comfort for any occasion, a dynamic new concept for seating, adapted to our every movement," said the studio.

"The made-to-order piece's modular design suits a contemporary lifestyle, combined with an informal approach to entertaining. The sofa can continuously be reinvented throughout the day, to fit every occasion."

Some units incorporate storage

The 14 available modules range from one-person units to three-seaters. There is also a chaise longue-style piece that allows users to create corner or U-shape sofas.

Users have the option to incorporate modules with accessories too, such as those with armrests and lacquered or oak storage trays.

Dark woollen fabric is among the upholstery options

Each module is finished with the same deep seating and large, plush cushions that maximise comfort, alongside hidden oak feet that are used to link the modules together.

The seats and cushions are available with either leather or woollen-fabric upholstery chosen for comfort and durability. Both materials are available in four shades, ranging from cream white to deep Prussian blue.

Light leather is also available

"Arpège is a true incarnation of the Liaigre spirit with its timeless aesthetics, proportions and refined materials," concluded Liaigre's creative director, Frauke Meyer.

The sofas are available to purchase from the Liaigre website and showrooms, as well as at selected vendors. To find out more or develop a design for a modular Arpège sofa using an online configurator, visit www.liaigre.com or the Liaigre UK showroom at 68-70 Fulham Road, London SW3 6HH.

Photography is by Paul Rousteau for Liaigre.

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This article was written by Dezeen for Liaigre as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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Sonnet155 is a "temporary handbag" made from discarded fruit peels

Berlin design students Lobke Beckfeld and Johanna Hehemeyer-Cürten have developed a translucent fruit-leather bag that dissolves in water and can be used to fertilise plants once it is no longer needed.

The Sonnet155 is made from two different post-industrial waste materials – fruit skins left over from juice production and short cellulose fibres sourced from a local textile factory.

Although it resembles a purse or tote with swooping top handles, the product has a lifespan closer to a disposable paper bag and is designed to degrade naturally with wear before it can ultimately be composted or recycled.

The Sonnet155 bag comes in varying sizes, from small purses to larger totes

"We designed the bag as an upgrade to the ordinary paper bag but of course, we hope that it appeals to people in a strong way and will be worn, used and loved until it starts to dissolve," Hehemeyer-Cürten told Dezeen.

"Thus, it might also be a temporary handbag. The elegant shape transforms the material into a desirable product, which represents sustainability as a treat rather than a burden."

Each has a unique texture created through the addition of small cellulose fibres

Sonnet155's key ingredient is pectin, a gelling agent that is extracted from the cell walls of the waste fruit and acts as a natural binder.

This is reinforced with cellulose fibres shorter than five millimetres long, which are filtered out during the industrial textile production process because they are too short to be turned into fabric.

Combined with warm water, the mixture is left to cure in a mould for up to five days before it is sewn together.

Beckfeld and Hehemeyer-Cürten extracted pectin from waste peels to develop their fruit leather

"The percentage of cellulose, as well as the length and density of the fibres, determine the structure and level of translucency and the resilience of the material," said Hehemeyer-Cürten.

"Natural pigments offer a range of colours from light to dark, translucent to opaque and dull to shimmering and the structure of the mould makes the material matt or glossy."

Once it is too worn down to be used, the material can be dissolved in warm water and recast to create a new bag of the same quality.

Alternatively, the cellulose can be filtered out with a sieve and reused, while the pectin can be repurposed as plant food.

The material is cast into moulds in the shape of the bag

"Pectin is already used as a fertiliser in organic agriculture," Hehemeyer-Cürten explained.

"But as the majority of the cellulose waste generated during textile production is pre-dyed and therefore potentially harmful for the environment, we developed a lifecycle that allows the two main ingredients to be easily separated."

Beckfeld and Hehemeyer-Cürten, who are completing their master degrees at the Weißensee Academy of Art Berlin, are currently looking for manufacturers and industrial producers to collaborate with to make the Sonnet155 commercially available.

The bags are then sewn together, much like real leather

Food waste was recently featured on Dezeen's list of the key materials that designers are relying on to create more sustainable products, due to the treasure trove of untapped natural compounds it contains.

Previously, Italian studio Carlo Ratti Associati has developed a prototype orange-squeezing machine that turns waste peels into bioplastic cups while engineer Carvey Ehren Maigue has turned discarded fruits and vegetables into solar panels that can generate clean energy from ultraviolet light.

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