View spectrum 2001 - Brief Article

Architectural Review, The, June, 2001 by Penny Mcguire

At Spectrum 2001, held in May at the Commonwealth Institute, London (previewed in AR May 2001), six exhibits were awarded an AR Spectrum Award for Design Excellence. On this, the fifth occasion, judges were Alison Brooks, of Alison Brooks Architects; designer Thomas Heatherwick; and Steven Tompkins of Haworth Tompkins Architects. AR editor, Peter Davey presented the awards. Winners were as follows (in alphabetical order):

* Car Connection for Meeting Point: linked pieces of furniture, reminiscent of a gym horse, furnished with round tables, on which you can sit, perch or simply lean. Judges commented on its appealing quirkiness and the designers' real attempt to do something fresh'.

* Edward Marshall Arts Trust for the Torus Bench, designed by Christopher Palmer. Made of steel wire, the seating uses the strength of its form to appear almost unsupported. Judges were unanimous in commending its 'archetypal quality, its eloquence and modesty'. They felt design remained true to intention and they liked the use of a single material and the light touch of the designer.

* Fredericia Furniture for The Unrockable: a concave seat, by Hans Sandgren Jakobsen, made of 35 wooden staves driven into a curved wooden base and surmounted by a turned knob. Judges were amused by the botanical imagery, and admired the craft skill involved in its manufacture (by HB Taedrejeri).

* Interface Fabrics for Gecko: a three-dimensional upholstery fabric of randomly repeating organic shapes, designed by Penny Lovatt. Judges especially liked the texture and colours of the material.

* Ize Workshop for the Crown Grange Collection, a range of cast stainless-steel door handles by Kenneth Grange. Judges liked the purity and functionality of design and the way it expressed the quality of the material. They also much admired the design and ingenuity of the firm's exhibition stand, based on a series of openable cabinets.

* Wittmann Design for Matrix: a range of upholstered seating by Hannes Wettstein. The judges commented on its 'poise and tension'. This was 'a well-made range' and they particularly liked the low-backed sofa which 'supported the tail-bone and encouraged good posture'.

Judges also commended:

* Material Connexion: as an enterprise much needed by artists, designers, architects and manufacturers. The firm acts as an international resource centre, a library of new materials providing information on developments in technology and experiments in glass, metals, polymers, and ceramic-based, carbon-based and natural materials. To gain access you must become a member of the organization, possible through the internet: www.materialconnexion.com

* Fantoni for the Oasis chair designed by Ross Lovegrove and made by Frighetto. Sculptural and upholstered in brilliant colours, the chair invites reclining.

Judges particularly admired the delicate way in which the chair meets the ground with a small clear plastic foot so that it appears to be floating in thin air. It was, they felt, a move away from heavy fetishistic bases'.