The Fractal Table was designed by Platform Wertel Oberfell and Matthias Bär for Materialise.MGX.
Design movements have always been about theatre; the magic tricks you can pull with new technology or cultural insight.
Think of almost any formative design moment. The grandiose structure of Paxton’s Crystal Palace or Van Der Rohe’s floating Barcelona Pavillion. Or indeed Pugin’s Houses of Parliament where structure is decorated to show it off.
Cut to the present. A designer can create any form on 3d design software press print and the form, exactly replicated, rises out of a vat of resin. The freedom that this digital manufacturing technology offers is giving rise to a new baroque style; of decoration as a showcase for what’s possible. No prior technology enabled the creation of such intricacy.
And I love it. It ticks all the boxes. Put your hand up if you’re a little bored with minimal modernism in every furniture store. And the half way house of new decoration isn’t really cutting it either, as it too has been hijacked by the Ikeas of the world as a way to disguise cheapness. Anyway, sorry, I’m ranting now.
So this sort of delight in decoration could be big. Obviously this technology is just gaining momentum, but as it does we may find it fills a need in us (well, me anyway) for much needed wonder and fantasy rather than stark cleanliness as the only escape from a busy life.
One caveat; are there ever going to be any more ‘movements’ or have our attention spans just gotten too short.
Quin lamp from California artist Bathsheba Grossman
Solid CI Chair by Patrick Jouin
Branch Out by Studiomama for TEN - looks like sticks but is a computer generated model.
Fallen Leaves by Guy Beggs
The lost twin ornaments by Committee
Some links:
MWP – Advanced manufacturing technologies
Metropolitan works – digital manufacturing centre
