Sightings at Designtide Tokyo and Tokyo Designers Week this November.
November 20th, 2011
From 1 to 6 November, the annual Tokyo Designers Week (now in its 26th year), took over Meiji Jingju Gaien as its main venue, and spewed over the city with a series of events, exhibitions and workshops, all following the theme “Love for Earth, People and Objects”.
The smaller but no less inspiring Designtide Tokyo was also back from 29 October to 3 November as a platform to trade design, and to trade ideas. It included the Designtide exhibition, which gave Japanese designers the opportunity to present new thoughts and forms in sustainable design.
Here’s some of what caught our eye at both events…
Roundish chair by Naoto Fukasawa in the latest red fabric and pearl white leather options, the latter being a rare but stunning match with oak.
AT TOKYO DESIGNERS WEEK
Maruni
Maruni’s Autumn collection showed a wealth of new options.
The Roundish chair is now available with a cushioned seat. It also uses the same fabric as Hiroshima, making colour matching between both series easy.
The very latest Lightwood chair by Jasper Morrison in oak and Sky Blue fabric option.
Roundish chair in oak and new leather option.
The company has also introduced Lightwood in red and black finished birch (the colours stand out well against the wood’s texture) while Hiroshima is now also available in rich walnut.
Hiroshima – a side by side illustration of machine versus handmade.
Tools used during production.
Toshiyuki Kita – Timeless Future exhibition
This was the first large-scale exhibition in 20 years by leading Japanese product designer Toshiyuki Kita, who won the XXII Compasso d’Oro Prize in July this year.
Toshiyuki Kita’s Timeless Future exhibition
The exhibition focussed on important resources and the development of life and culture as well as industrial design. On display were Kita’s vast range of works, including furniture pieces, household items and lighting fixtures. There was also a section devoted to works exhibited at the Milan Triennale.
Truly an attempt by Kita to look into futuristic design, design for the everyday, and traditional industrial design throughout a long-spanning career.
AT DESIGNTIDE TOKYO
Daisuke Kitagawa
With the theme focussing on sustainability, this upcoming young designer, Daisuke Kitagawa, left quite an impression.
His prototype series of everyday products can be used together with his designs. Tolerance by Daisuke Kitagawa is the theme and within it, the Rename collection. The crux of the design is to strip away the name of objects like cups, glasses and jars by ’tolerating’ a wooden extension that changes its original use, hence Tolerance & Rename. By introducing a new function to these readymade objects, Daisuke Kitagawa gives them a new lease of life – and a new purpose, along the way.
Daisuke Kitagawa and his Rename collection
Especially following the great earthquake on 3.11, it’s heartening to see how most of the new ideas generated by these young Japanese designers address sustainability in new and creative ways.
Other images…
At the Designtide extension in Aoyama – large installations by artists within the Cibone shop.
At Designtide Tokyo – “A piece of natural paper” is 100% natural organic handcrafted paper that can be made into greeting cards, room fresheners, window displays and more.
At Tokyo Designers Week – a section created by the youth from Tohoku (area affected by the 3.11 disaster) to express their thanks to their supporters from Japan and globally.
International companies (such as above, from Taiwan) were also there to participate in Designtide Tokyo.
Tokyo Midtown Design Touch outdoor exhibition
Top image: Toshiyuki Kita’s Timeless Future exhibition
Photos and contribution by Andrew Tan, director, atomi.
A searchable and comprehensive guide for specifying leading products and their suppliers
Keep up to date with the latest and greatest from our industry BFF's!
Channelling the enchanting ambience of the Caffè Greco in Rome, Budapest’s historic Gerbeaud, and Grossi Florentino in Melbourne, Ross Didier’s new collection evokes the designer’s affinity for café experience, while delivering refined seating for contemporary hospitality interiors.
As well as considering the materials and processes used to manufacture furniture solutions, companies like Workspace are shifting their focus to the entire lifespan of products.
Sub-Zero and Wolf’s prestigious Kitchen Design Contest (KDC) has celebrated the very best in kitchen innovation and aesthetics for three decades now. Recognising premier kitchen design professionals from around the globe, the KDC facilitates innovation, style and functionality that pushes boundaries.
Marylou Cafaro’s first trendjournal sparked a powerful, decades-long movement in joinery designs and finishes which eventually saw Australian design develop its independence and characteristic style. Now, polytec offers all-new insights into the future of Australian design.
In Hong Kong, JJ Acuna / Bespoke Studio has created a contemporary fine-dining restaurant, fit for his eminence, the top Korean chef, Mingoo Kang.
A refined system that boasts an adaptable approach to the work space and encourages individuation in shared environments has been duly recognised at NeoCon.
Winner of the The William Wardell Award for Public Architecture at Victorian Architecture Awards 2023, Bendigo Law Courts by Wardle places consultation front and centre in defining what court should be and how it might be experienced.
The internet never sleeps! Here's the stuff you might have missed
Ahead of the 2024 edition in Perth, renowned international architecture practice, OMA, launches its PRINCIPLES collection pushing the boundaries of modularity in office furniture.
Nazcaa boasts a statement design for a singular restaurant and it’s right at home on the Dubai hospitality scene.