DESIGN_ During LDF 2013 we visited 100% Norway, one of the highlights of TENT London in Shoreditch, which has become one of the most innovative design districts of the capital, hosting young experimental practices and foreign talents creating a new platform of discussion about trendsetting designs.
We attended “Inspiration and innovation in contemporary lighting design” curated by Henrietta Thompson who chaired a panel discussion with lighting designer Tom Dixon, Sebastian Wrong and and the young designer Lars Beller Fjetland.
Tom Dixon rounded up his long list of light design projects, explaining his approach to the material and technologies, provoking a debate with the designer Sebastian Wrong, who is directing a new project 'Hay collection' in collaboration with Stephan Diez, with his typically Brit sense of humor.
Lars Beller Fjetland brought attention to young designer productions. The Norwegian designer, who recently graduated with a Bachelors' Degree from Bergen National Academy of the Arts, talked about Cloche Lamp his first lighting project.
On this occasion I had the opportunity to talk with Tom Dixon about the opening of The Dock, the building which houses his office, where he launched brand new lighting, Y Chair and accessories alongside the latest collaboration adidas by Tom Dixon, shown in the UK for the first time.
Could you let us know something about your project “the Dock”?
We invite people to our own home.
I think that more designers are starting to take business in their own house, trying to show people transparency in the process and show the all environment around their products and not just the product.
Actually it is the prototype what more and more designers should be doing, taking materials in your own hands.
Could you talk the chair that you are presenting in London?
We are a small company growing fast, until now able to make more basic products because of the investment needed in making more industrialized products. Finally we got to the size to invest properly engineered and industrialized products so it's a nice stage to be where we can be more ambitious and do things which have got more functionality and can inhabit the modern world.
The Y Chair's expressive form is injection moulded in glass-reinforced nylon. This is extremely fatigue resistant because the short overlapping strands of glass fibre in the plastic provide a much higher degree of strength.
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