Exhibition: Philippon and Lecoq at Demisch Danant

Central to the French postwar reconstruction/industrialization effort, Philippon and Lecoq were among a group of young architects who changed the face of French furniture production in the 1950s and 1960s. Inspired by the teachings of the modernist masters of the Union des Artistes Modernes (U.A.M.), their goal was to bring harmony and comfort to interiors, employing modern materials and techniques, to improve the daily life of French citizens in the challenging postwar climate. Philippon and Lecoq’s furniture combines minimalism with a pervasive sense of architectural refinement and elegance. The couple approached interiors as well with an almost puritanical sense of functionalism, but succeeded in creating an extremely efficient environment which was still comfortable and humanly accessible. They received numerous prestigious awards during their career including the ‘Rene Gabriel’ prize in 1961.

Exhibition: Antoine Philippon and Jacqueline Lecoq, at Demisch Danant

Iittala Citterio 98 Flatware by Antonio Citterio & Oliver Löw

With its distinctive design and balanced proportions of the Citterio 98 cutlery collection have earned it the status of a modern design classic. In designing the range, Antonio Citterio and Oliver Löw took the traditional cutlery of French cafés as their source of inspiration and updated it to meet the demands of contemporary functionalism. The matt brushed stainless steel design feels equally at home in both a formal dinner setting and at a relaxed get-together with friends. Available as a 16 piece and 24 piece set, or sold by the piece.

“From the cook’s knife to the teaspoon, every item in Iittala’s Citterio 98 range of flatware displays the same perfectly balanced proportions.”
- Phaidon Design Classics

Iittala Citterio 98 Flatware, by Antonio Citterio and Oliver Löw

Books: Less and More: The Design Ethos of Dieter Rams

Heavily influenced by the German Bauhaus and Ulm School of Art, Dieter Rams pioneered a design spirit which embraced modernity and placed function above all, resulting in products that were free of decoration, simple in function and its purpose self-evident. Through his more than 40 years of work at Braun, Dieter Rams designed anything from hair dryers, cigarette lighters, loudspeakers, radios and radio-phonographs to clocks and watches. Each item holds a special place in the history of industrial design and has established Dieter Rams as one of the most influential designers of the late 20th century. With the logically-placed and spatial definition of their controls, simple forms and philosophy of functionalism, Braun products remain influential to product designers today.

Less and More elucidates the design philosophy of Dieter Rams. The book contains images of hundreds of Rams’s products as well as his sketches and models – from Braun stereo systems and electric shavers to the chairs and shelving systems that he created for Vitsoe and sold by sdr+. In addition to the rich visual presentation of his designs, the book contains new texts by international design experts that explain how the work was created, describe its timeless quality, and put it into current context. In this way, the work of Dieter Rams is given a contemporary reevaluation that is especially useful in light of the rediscovery of functionalism and rationalism in today’s design. Less and More shows us the possibilities that design opens for both the manufacturer and the consumer as a means of making our lives better through attractive, functional solutions that also save resources.

Read more: Ten principles of “good design”

Less and More is edited by Professor Klaus Klemp and Keiko Ueki-Polet. One of the world’s leading experts in the field of product design, Klemp has been acquainted with Dieter Rams for many years and is an authority on his work. Ueki-Polet is one of Japan’s most renowned design curators. She is well acquainted with design developments in both Asia and the Western world and works at the Suntory Museum in Osaka.

Less and More: The Design Ethos of Dieter Rams, Editors: Klaus Klemp, Keiko Ueki-Polet, German/English, 19 × 23 cm, 808 pages, full color, PVC cover, in slipcase
ISBN: 978-3-89955-277-5

Buy it here: Amazon or Gestalten

Functionalism Revived by Braun Associates

Modern Home, by Braun Associates

Books: Domus Collection

The quintessential works of Modernism

Founded in 1928 by the great Milanese architect Gio Ponti, the magazine’s central agenda has always remained that of creating a privileged insight toward identifying the style of a particular age, from Art Deco, Modern Movement, Functionalism and Postwar to Pop, Post-Modernism and Late Modern. Beautifully designed and comprehensively documented, page after page domus presents some of the most exciting design and architecture projects from around the world.
This twelve-volume reprint features selected highlights from the years 1928 to 1999. These texts have been written by many of the magazine’s renowned past editors: Mario Bellini, François Burkhardt, Cesare Maria Casati, Stefano Casciani, Germano Celant, Manolo De Giorgi, Fulvio Irace, Vittorio Magnago Lampugnani, Alessandro Mendini, Lisa Licitra Ponti, Ettore Sottsass Jr., Luigi Spinelli, and Deyan Sudjic.

Domus collection is a major publishing achievement and an important must-have for all design and architecture teaching institutions, practicing architects, designers, collectors, students, and anyone who loves design.

Wallpaper* Best Book Award

Buy it here: Domus 1928-1999. Vols. 1-12