Vitra And Parsons The New School For Design Announce Competition Winners
5.29.09 | New York, NY | Swiss vanguard design institution, Vitra
and Parsons The New School for Design announced today the winner of their
collaborative student design competition unveiled during the 2009
International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF). The project will be on
view through June 5 at Vitra's New York Showroom, 29 Ninth Avenue, in the Meatpacking
District. The competition challenged four teams of architects, interior
designers, lighting designers and product design students from Parsons to
create domestic vignettes that showcase Vitra pieces in new and
innovative ways. The winning vignette was the "Parabox" installation
designed by Anya Keyser, Emily Mak and Jerry Mejia.
Parabox incorporated Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec's Alcove Sofa and Verner Panton's Heart Cone Chair into a vignette overwhelmed by the detritus of everyday life: an effusion of books, magazines, personal mementos and other objects. The winning group has been awarded a trip to the Boisbuchet summer workshop in Lessac, France: Vitra's hands-on educational program in collaboration with the Centre Pompidou. Anya Keyser, studying interior design, and Jerry Mejia, studying product design, are both from New York City, while Emily Mak, studying architectural design, comes from Hong Kong.
The Vitra - Parsons Partnership was a first for Vitra USA. The purpose of the project was to challenge the students' preconceptions about design for the home and to engage in a collaborative design process with their teammates, which spanned the four disciplines taught within Parsons School of Constructed Environments. In addition to Vitra furnishings, the students also were asked to incorporate Ruckstuhl carpets and a few of Artemide's iconic lighting works into their vignettes. Among the other vignettes were "Off the Wall", which incorporates Frank Gehry's "Easy Edges" Furniture pieces such as the Side Chair, Wiggle Side Chair, Wiggle Stool, Low Table and Dinning Table, into a dining environment constructed almost completely of corrugated cardboard. "A Moment with Vitra", in which video cameras and monitors enable visitors to simultaneously view and experience such iconic furnishings as MVS Chaise, La Chaise and Amoebe Highback, each showcased under the spotlight of an Artemide hanging lamp. Lastly, "Beyond Nostalgia" features the work of Hella Jongerius in a cozy environment of domesticity.
The competition was judged by Dwell Editor-in-Chief Sam Grawe, Vitra's Interior Designer Jens Ahlemeyer and Parsons' Interim Director of Undergraduate Programs in Interior and Architectural Design Alfred Zollinger. The fourth and final judge were the visitors to the Vitra New York Showroom during the exhibition; they were invited to vote on their favorite interpretive vignette.
"This group of designers brilliantly captured the purpose of this project, as well as the mission and character of Vitra furniture design," Vitra USA Interior Designer Jens Ahlemeyer says. "The 'Parabox' installation celebrates the texture of our lives, the precious layers of our environments and the constant stream of every day objects which surround us and eventually settle in our nests."
From inception to the creation of the vignettes, the students strived to embody Vitra's legacy as a premier design institution," says Mr. Zollinger. "Collaborating with Vitra was an amazing opportunity for the students to engage in industry and the public."
ABOUT VITRA
Vitra is an internationally recognized leader in furniture, designing all the places people work in their lives. Convinced that rooms and interior design have a decisive influence on people's motivation, performance and health, Vitra has made it their mission to develop furniture and furnishing systems that stimulate, inspire and motivate, while also offering the body comfort, safety and support. Vitra works together with the major designers of the day, including famous American designers Charles and Ray Eames. For more information on Vitra, please visit www.vitra.com.
ABOUT PARSONS
Parsons focuses on creating engaged citizens and outstanding artists, designers, scholars and business leaders through a design-based education. Parsons students learn to rise to the challenges of living, working and creative decision making in a world where human experience is increasingly designed. Parsons School of Constructed Environments is the first in the United States to bring together the disciplines of architecture, interior design, lighting design and product design. The school embraces curricular innovation, pioneering uses of technology, collaborative methods and global perspectives on the future of design. For more information on Parson, please visit www.parsons.newschool.edu/sce
ABOUT ARTEMIDE
The Artemide group, founded by Ernesto Gismondi in 1959, today operates throughout the world, with 16 subsidiaries and affiliated companies, 35 exclusive distributors, with a distribution network that includes 47 single-brand showrooms in some of the world's main cities. Known for its philosophy "The Human Light", Artemide is one of the most renowned and prestigious lighting brands in the world, a synonym for Light, Design and Made in Italy. For contexts of life, Artemide offers not only lamps for moments of relaxation at home, but also large sophisticated installations for lighting public and private professional activities. For more information on Artemide, please visit www.artemide.us.
Parabox incorporated Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec's Alcove Sofa and Verner Panton's Heart Cone Chair into a vignette overwhelmed by the detritus of everyday life: an effusion of books, magazines, personal mementos and other objects. The winning group has been awarded a trip to the Boisbuchet summer workshop in Lessac, France: Vitra's hands-on educational program in collaboration with the Centre Pompidou. Anya Keyser, studying interior design, and Jerry Mejia, studying product design, are both from New York City, while Emily Mak, studying architectural design, comes from Hong Kong.
The Vitra - Parsons Partnership was a first for Vitra USA. The purpose of the project was to challenge the students' preconceptions about design for the home and to engage in a collaborative design process with their teammates, which spanned the four disciplines taught within Parsons School of Constructed Environments. In addition to Vitra furnishings, the students also were asked to incorporate Ruckstuhl carpets and a few of Artemide's iconic lighting works into their vignettes. Among the other vignettes were "Off the Wall", which incorporates Frank Gehry's "Easy Edges" Furniture pieces such as the Side Chair, Wiggle Side Chair, Wiggle Stool, Low Table and Dinning Table, into a dining environment constructed almost completely of corrugated cardboard. "A Moment with Vitra", in which video cameras and monitors enable visitors to simultaneously view and experience such iconic furnishings as MVS Chaise, La Chaise and Amoebe Highback, each showcased under the spotlight of an Artemide hanging lamp. Lastly, "Beyond Nostalgia" features the work of Hella Jongerius in a cozy environment of domesticity.
The competition was judged by Dwell Editor-in-Chief Sam Grawe, Vitra's Interior Designer Jens Ahlemeyer and Parsons' Interim Director of Undergraduate Programs in Interior and Architectural Design Alfred Zollinger. The fourth and final judge were the visitors to the Vitra New York Showroom during the exhibition; they were invited to vote on their favorite interpretive vignette.
"This group of designers brilliantly captured the purpose of this project, as well as the mission and character of Vitra furniture design," Vitra USA Interior Designer Jens Ahlemeyer says. "The 'Parabox' installation celebrates the texture of our lives, the precious layers of our environments and the constant stream of every day objects which surround us and eventually settle in our nests."
From inception to the creation of the vignettes, the students strived to embody Vitra's legacy as a premier design institution," says Mr. Zollinger. "Collaborating with Vitra was an amazing opportunity for the students to engage in industry and the public."
ABOUT VITRA
Vitra is an internationally recognized leader in furniture, designing all the places people work in their lives. Convinced that rooms and interior design have a decisive influence on people's motivation, performance and health, Vitra has made it their mission to develop furniture and furnishing systems that stimulate, inspire and motivate, while also offering the body comfort, safety and support. Vitra works together with the major designers of the day, including famous American designers Charles and Ray Eames. For more information on Vitra, please visit www.vitra.com.
ABOUT PARSONS
Parsons focuses on creating engaged citizens and outstanding artists, designers, scholars and business leaders through a design-based education. Parsons students learn to rise to the challenges of living, working and creative decision making in a world where human experience is increasingly designed. Parsons School of Constructed Environments is the first in the United States to bring together the disciplines of architecture, interior design, lighting design and product design. The school embraces curricular innovation, pioneering uses of technology, collaborative methods and global perspectives on the future of design. For more information on Parson, please visit www.parsons.newschool.edu/sce
ABOUT ARTEMIDE
The Artemide group, founded by Ernesto Gismondi in 1959, today operates throughout the world, with 16 subsidiaries and affiliated companies, 35 exclusive distributors, with a distribution network that includes 47 single-brand showrooms in some of the world's main cities. Known for its philosophy "The Human Light", Artemide is one of the most renowned and prestigious lighting brands in the world, a synonym for Light, Design and Made in Italy. For contexts of life, Artemide offers not only lamps for moments of relaxation at home, but also large sophisticated installations for lighting public and private professional activities. For more information on Artemide, please visit www.artemide.us.
Comment | Categories: Competitions/Awards, Mfg. & Distr., Research/Educations
