December 2009 Archives

Dutch designer, Maarten Baas is the 2009 Design Miami Designer of the Year. At 31 years old, his work already had an enormous impact on the design world. According to Design Miami Associate Director Wava Carpenter, "His work has transformed the way collectors understand the landscape of contemporary design and has opened the market to a younger generation of designers. Baas pioneered the way with his first collection Smoke , his graduation project which became an international design sensation through his collaboration with New York gallerist Murray Moss."

For Miami, Baas has created an installation that includes a selection of pieces from earlier collections (the 2 horizontal images above), as well as various items that have influenced his process. His Cabinet of Curiosities is completed by the newly fabricated piece, Real Time. This work features an outer shell of irregularly shaped welded steel, surrounding a refined, well polished wooden interior. According to Design Miami Director Ambra Medda, the new work looks "like abstract monsters behaving like cabinets." It could easily have been a drawing from Where The Wild Things Are come to life!!!!" Originally conceived as a collection of cabinets, the difficulty in creating this piece has resulted in Maarten's decision to only create this single, unique "monster!!!" As he said......."NEVER AGAIN!!!"

MORE TOMORROW FROM MIAMI!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Droog will present its first house at Design Miami. Commissioned by Amsterdam housing association Ymere and designed by Tokyo-based Atelier Bow Wow, an understated façade conceals an extraordinary interior furnished with Droog products. Imagined for a single, a contemporary family or as a VIP guesthouse, the one-of-a-kind layout is essentially a seamless flow of spaces, each with its own functionality merging with circulation space. Private rooms such as the master and optional guest bed, the bath, the balcony and a sound-proof refuse are amply separated by shared space, creating a unique combination of contact and independence, spaciousness and intimacy.