Design Considered #15
Bathing, weaving and funky Indonesian architecture...
#01 - Opening Thought
In today's tough publishing era, it's hard to imagine an experimental print magazine entitled WET the Magazine of Gourmet Bathing enjoying success. But back in the day, between 1976 and 1982, artist and publisher Leonard Koren's 34 issues of WET triumphed. Diving deep into the bathing culture, they highlighted this most humanistic pursuit alongside humorous articles and conversations with artists of the time. Moving to Japan in the 1980s, Koren's fascination with bathing only seems to have increased (this wonderful image depicts only-in-Japan floating cable-car baths in Arita). In 1996, he published Undesigning the Bath, a book featuring this photograph and presenting a novel idea: that design can be antithetical to the essential bathing experience.
This month, Undesigning the Bath returns, reissued out of California via the JB Blunk Estate's Blunk Books, in collaboration with Koren, interior designer Charles De Lisle, and graphic designer Kajsa Ståhl. “Does the world really need this book? Probably not,” says Koren. “But radically slowing things down might do the world a load of good. And bathing is a quintessential slow activity. Undesigned baths – that is, naturalistic baths stripped of all ego and artifice – are particularly conducive to slowing things down (and in the process transforming us back into ourselves).”
#02 - Digital Meets Physical
At its core, this newsletter is a digital experience, but that's not to say it advocates for our lives to be enjoyed online. Quite the opposite, Design Considered is meant to be about the good, real things around us and the real and talented people behind them. Thankfully, the notion that on-screen-only NFT art is nonsense is becoming a popular opinion today, and this fad appears to be dying a death. However, I am gradually being persuaded that new digital technology can play an essential role in design, largely thanks to the work of Ismail Tazi, co-founder of Paris-based design company TRAME. Recently, the brand has pivoted from championing crafts people's work in far-flung corners of the Mediterranean to creating ‘generative’ design alongside bespoke manufacturers - and the results are compelling.
Released earlier this year, TRAME's Enlace project (pictured) leans on the skills of US-based design studio Aranda/Lasch and historic chair manufacturer Maison Louis Drucker (makers of the famous Paris bistro chair) to masterfully bring the digital and physical together. "We built an algorithm constrained by the physical limits of the weaving," Tazi explains. The result is something totally unique where the algorithm generates one-of-a-kind blueprints and Maison Louis Drucker's weavers bring these patterns into being by hand in a French atelier. 100 of these one-off ‘blueprints’ were made available and linked to the blockchain - a novel concept that will be important in providing a digital record of design provenance moving forward. Tazi envisions that one day, the entire history of a chair—from its creator to its owner—will be traced. "Imagine knowing exactly where each chair was made and by whom. 50 years from now, we'll know whether it belonged to Café de Flore or someone else," Tazi explains.
To learn more - TRAME is presenting three exhibitions featuring works from IX Shells, Linda Dounia, Fingacode, and A.A. Murakami at Code, Craft & Cocktails in Marfa next month.
#03 - Design Selection
On sunny Autumn days in the UK, everything looks better. Colours take on a sepia quality and we find ourselves more in the home - preparing the place winter. With this in mind, some finds this week that are functional and cosy for the colder months ahead come from Europe and Japan. Starting in Tokyo, the nation’s finest maker of furniture, Time & Style, recently debuted several pieces at Designart Tokyo 2024 - done in collaboration with European designers. These include a series of stunning (1) paper lamps by Claesson Koivisto Rune and the wonderful (2) Keyaki Cabinet, designed by Copenhagen’s OEO Studio in cedar wood for Noma Kyoto.
For more accessible additions to your home, Paris-based ASL’s (3) The Box is a versatile find this season. Made from okoumé wood and inspired by the crates used on movie sets, it works as a stool or can easily transition into a coffee or side table when stacked. Equally dynamic, these (4) Portobello bowls, made by Mattiazzi for Monocle from ash wood in Italy, are available in playful colorways.
For something more elaborate, Josef Frank’s 1930s (5) 530 stool for Svensktt Tenn is available in an array of tasteful patterned fabrics, hand-crafted in Sweden and guaranteed to never date, stylistically. Finally, no one should wear shoes in the house, yet shoe storage for entrance halls tends to be pretty ugly. Denmark’s Fritz Hansen slatted timber solution, the (6) Cutter Bench & Cutter Box, Designed by Niels Hvass in 1999 and crafted in solid oak or teak, brings a minimalist and functional appeal to any entrance area.
#04 - For Your Consideration
Cabana might well be the world’s most beautiful interiors magazine, and this limited Lesage Collector’s Issue, done in collaboration with Chanel, is as chic as design publishing gets.
In the world of digital publishing, the Financial Times recently wrote a smart piece on the growth of design-focused Substacks. It featured For Scale founder David Michon, whose latest newsletter makes some valid, interesting, and worrying points about this platform’s move away from proper journalism.
I remember being pitched a story about renovating the United Nations’ historical African Hall in Addis Ababa what felt like a decade ago. The Aussie-led team behind it has now completed the refurb of the 1961 Arturo Mezzèdimi modernist masterpiece, and it’s truly extraordinary.
Daniel Gebhart de Koekkoek is one of the funniest (and best) photographers I’ve enjoyed working with over the years. Each year, he releases a kooky calendar (Better Living with Alpacas was a personal favourite), and this year, he’s worked with AI to create ‘Monkey Business,’ which will be out soon.
Finally, for those planning an Autumn escape, Rimowa’s new Olive Green colourway on its cabin luggage seems essential for this season’s travels.
#05 - Through The Lens
Bali-based photographer Putu Sayoga has recently become captivated by “Jengki,” a lesser-known architectural style unique to Indonesia (view more images here). A fascinating blend of mid-century modernism and traditional Indonesian construction techniques, Jengki emerged in the 1950s and 1960s, and its name—derived from the Indonesian word for “Yankee”—nods to its resemblance to American architecture of the time. Sayoga’s intrigue with the style began watching films from the post-colonial period, when Indonesia, newly independent from Dutch rule, was exploring its own cultural identity. There were few trained architects back then so local builders took on the task of crafting these funky homes for rich clients, resulting in a unique architectural language that was expressive, hand-crafted, and deeply rooted in the nation’s newfound freedom.
As part of the ongoing series, Sayoga explored the Javanese city of Malang by motorbike, capturing the rare beauty of Jengki homes, including one particularly well-preserved family residence (pictured). His overall goal is to shine a light on an overlooked architectural style that many Indonesians don’t recognise as their own. A lot of these homes are today abandoned and face demolition due to a lack of protection. Sayoga is considering transforming his photography into a book or exhibition to preserve Jengki for future generations before it vanishes from the urban landscape.
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