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... Exhibiting at the Milan Design Week

05/12/2017 | Talking about ...

Graz meets Milano. Architecture students of TU Graz presented their solid-wood seating furniture prototypes at the Design Week in Milan, reaping great enthusiasm for their designs.

Irmgard Frank and the amm team: Franziska Hederer, Marianne Machner, Judith Augustinovič, Sebastian Reiter, Petr Müller, Corinna Wassermann, Philip Waldhuber and Rainer Eberl.
“amm – architektInnen machen möbel” does exactly what it says: TU Graz architecture students design furniture. The label was initiated in the Furniture Design Production course in 2012 by Irmgard Frank at the Institute of Spatial Design – and has been very successful in the last few years since with its furniture design. In 2017 the team had another big show at the Milan Design Week.

The “amm – architektInnen machen möbel”  label was initiated in the Furniture Design Production course at TU Graz’s Institute of Spatial Design in 2012 by Irmgard Frank. The course has been offered in this form since 2012 and discovered its marketing maturity in the 2013/14 winter semester. The amm team: Matthias Gumhalter and Claudia Gerhäusser (until summer semester 16); Irmgard Frank and Franziska Hederer (winter semester 16/17), master carpenter Rainer Eberl, student assistant Marianne Machner (since winter semester 15/16), Judith Augustinovič (since summer semester 17).

  
Ventura Lambrate: everything’s set up! Now we’re ready for the stampede.
For the Graz architects the Ventura Lambrate was a unique and unusual opportunity to present their own work at such an international and top class event and to see their designs rated not only for their attractiveness but also for their suitability for daily use.  “Sitting on solid wood” was the theme of the seminar in the 2016/17 winter semester and it managed to get the design of unexpected, idiosyncratic seating furniture made of solid wood off the ground. The prototypes from Graz were presented in a striking ocean of turquoise. Situated in the best place in the middle of the hall, the wall and floor in the colour of the amm logo caught the attention of the visitors. Handy folders with pictures and descriptions of the exhibited objects provided insight for the interested public. 

The 56th Milan Design Show took place at the beginning of April. It included the Salone del Mobile programme – the world’s leading furniture exhibition at the Rho Fiera Milano exhibition centre – and the Fuorisalone – a range of events across the whole city at diverse locations, which also includes the post-industrial district of Lambrate. This year, too, was dedicated to young international and adventurous designers and schools of design.  

The in part very unusual stools though initially hesitantly tested by visitors, soon gained enthusiastic attention and were assessed as to their usability and comfort. The objects were occupied, grappled with and explored and their multi-functionality carefully scrutinised. Whereas the “mitra” stool can also be used as a lampshade, laundry basket and wastepaper basket, the “bulb” – a ready-made constructed out of a stainless steel bowl and a solid-wood lid – can also serve as a small table and store odds and ends. 
Visitors at the Ventura Lambrate testing the stools.
The craftsman-like quality of the execution and the designs’ stripped-down use of materials under the experienced guidance of Irmgard Frank, Franziska Hederer and master carpenter Rainer Eberl succeeded far beyond convention and boredom and without flirting with lifestyle trends.     
Corinna Wassermann and Philip Waldhuber are delighted to get the opportunity to present their designs to an international public.
The high quality of seating items points to an intensive grappling with and questioning of the function of sitting itself and signals a great desire for experimentation. The “market maturity” and interest in the furniture was affirmed by invitations to participate in various events, such as the London Design Fair, Potentiale in Feldkirch and Design.Ve in Venice, and cooperation with Berlin University of the Arts, Akademie für Gestaltung und Design München and the Universitat Jaume I in Castelló de la Plana, Spain, among others, and contacts for production possibilities.  Readers who also want to try out the stools will have the opportunity to do so during the Graz Open Architecture '17.   Now it’s up to Irmgard Frank’s team to make the next move, sound out possibilities and sell the products designed by amm. There is already ample interest.  

Information

Graz Open Architecture '17 Exhibition and summer festival of the Faculty of Architecture at TU Graz.
Date: 30th June and 1st July 2017  You can find all the relevant information on the website of Graz Open Architecture ´17.

Contact

Judith AUGUSTINOVČ
Dipl.-Ing. Dr.techn.

Institute of Spartial Design
Rechbauerstraße 12/II
8010 Graz

Phone: +43 316 873 6482
jaugustinovic@tugraz.at
www.raumgestaltung.tugraz.at