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Trends in Design: Transparency by Elisabetta Bagliani
Oh so light: the newest trend in design is characterized by a transparency which facilitates perception, rather than exposes.
Transparencies In architecture Lightness in architecture is a contemporary paradigm which is often combined with the use of transparent materials and designs to provide shading, sequential surfaces, objects perceived rather than exposed, challenging the eye to discern the metaphysical properties of the physical object. The result is an architectural rush--a sort of "Crystal Aquarium" in which the human entity fluctuates in a sort of limbo, imprisoned in a magic spell. Fashion: Showing the Light The trend toward lightness is emerging in fashion as well as in design. It is expressed in simple forms which are given life by their materials: as airy as silk voile or cold and unyielding as crystal, but with a lightness still... Italian Transparency in design The sinuous lines of Prospero Rasulo's "console" Charlotte (for FIAM) are formed by a single plate of curved crystal. It represents a perfectly executed stroke of transparency... ...as is the table designed by Andeas Stoeriko for B&B Italia: a satin-finish glass plate resting on a metal trellis work supported by a cast-iron stand. The table is a veritable sculpture, inspired by the light glinting on the surface of ocean waves. Kartell has come out with bookcases and carts in transparent shock-resistant metacrylate which create a young and lively ambience.
"Giano", a side table of extremely clean and formal lines, was born of two plates of curved glass. The upper plate is of crystal, curved to 10/12 mm, atop another curved to 6mm. Crystal flower vases, those crystal accents which are the true protagonists of the decorating scene. Several fine objects represent contributions in the sector made by big names in fashion. With their sinuous lines, their variegated play of colors, their delicate borders, vases constitute an ornamental presence of the first magnitude. Crystal, more than any other substance, augments flower arrangements. It can be molded, transformed into true sculpture, such as presented by Gucci (see photo) as part of their house decor series, such as designed by Gianni Versace for Venini, with its asymmetrical lines, and then,"Luna", the intensely blue vase created by Ettore Sottsass, also for Venini. See more in our page on glass design This synthesis of volumetric essence is carried to the height of subtlety, to the point of incorporating the constructive elements into the pulsing heart of the work-- reducing their weight and thickness to the thinnest of membranes possible to maintain this "mirage-house", once envisioned by Mies Van der Rohe. |
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