Savouring the Tradition for XTRA Gazette

Inside the age-old practice of Japanese tea making, tea and design intertwine to bring out the universal values of harmony and respect at the heart of human relationships.

It was 1951 when Charles and Ray Eames hosted the now historic gathering of their friends and contemporaries, including artist and designer Isamu Noguchi and his fiancé, silent film star Charlie Chaplin and other notables, at the Eames’ Case House #8 in Los Angeles, California. An assembly of talents, the momentous Japanese tea ceremony organised by Charles and Ray Eames highlighted the importance that the designers had placed on the role of design in facilitating human interactions, particularly guest-host relationships embodied in the most profound ways through the art of Japanese tea making.

With the event having been recreated several times since, both in the United States and in Japan, to celebrate the spirit that Charles and Ray Eames wanted to communicate, the latest such gathering on a tranquil Saturday morning at the XTRA Marina Square showroom in partnership with Urasenke Singapore Association brought together a select group of designers and design enthusiasts to commemorate the original ceremony and delve deep into the art and meaning of tea making. Looking beyond the choreographic ritual of the centuries-long practice and the novelties of Japanese tea preparation, the universal importance of forging caring and respectful connections to one another underpinned the act of serving and being served the tea. The room full of strangers and acquaintances bonded convivially, with conversations flowing long after the event came to an end.

The intimacy of the Japanese tea ceremony was palpable in the scrupulous and precise process of the tea making and the care taken behind each gesture of the tea master and the guests. With all five senses, awakened and alert in the exactitude of the process, the feeling of calmness overtook as the ceremony participants took turns to prepare tea with well wishes and thoughts for the guests. Conversations became hushed, but also more profound and meaningful, as if in appreciation of the moment that was no longer ordinary.

And then, everything came together – the gentle aroma inside the cup, the careful but rigorous whisking of the matcha powder with water until a layer of consistent foam formed atop of tea, the particular movements of turning of the cups, the atmosphere of the entire room. Inadvertently and perhaps deliberately, attention drew to smallest details in an effortless and freeing way, with the way the tea was passed from one person to another, the careful handling of the cup, the bond between the two people as they shared a profound moment of care. The universal and collective need for a genuine human connection spanning many centuries and diverse cultures, preserved in an intimate setting and in a delicate cup of soul-warming tea.

Future-Proofing Our City for Senior Living for IndesignLive

Experts address the myths and truths about getting old and highlight the importance of inviting user participation for optimally designed senior care spaces at the recent Design Conversations panel discussion, held as part of Singapore Indesign 2016.

Dealing with and designing for the ageing population is hardly a new challenge. But more often than not, even in countries where the elderly comprise a substantial part of the demographic, the issues that are pertinent to the care and wellbeing of seniors are often swept under the rug, while the resulting design solutions for elderly care are frequently approached in a clinical manner.

Held as part of the recent Singapore Indesign 2016 event on Saturday 8 October, the Design Conversations panel discussion LiveLife: Future-Proofing our City for Senior Living saw a group of industry experts come together to discuss the creation of age sensitive environments. The speakers included Kang Fong Ing, a partner at COLOURS: Collectively Ours consultancy for collaborative design and placemaking; Dr Chong Keng Hua, Assistant Professor of Architecture and Sustainable Design at SUTD and leader of SUTD’s Social Urban Research Groupe (SURGe); and Joshua Comaroff, design consultant at Lekker Architects.

“There is a lot of social stigma when it comes to elderly care,” said Kang Fong Ing at the start of the discussion. “When people get older and older and their health begins to deteriorate, we start to shy away from addressing these issues openly.”

As part of the discussion, the idea of a more participatory process, where the elderly could have a chance to provide input about the spaces that are being designed for them, came up as an effective way for designers to become more in tune with the needs of the aged. Dr. Chong urged designers to let go of existing assumptions about the elderly and relinquish some of the control over the design process, instead, learning from the users and designing together with them for optimal results. The aspect of learning from the elderly stood out as essential in eliciting informed design responses when attempting to create age sensitive environments. As Comaroff highlighted, “When we talk about seniors, we are talking about an entirely diverse group of people. We have to [create] spaces that allow for different types of activities.”

Bringing up the typology of senior care and senior community centres, Comaroff also called for a re-examination of the disability centred, medical model of caring for the elderly that is seen as the prevalent institutional model. Comaroff highlighted the value in finding ways to domesticate and bring back social and domestic rituals into senior care spaces, much like he and his partner Ong Ker-Shing did for the APEX Harmony Lodge project, to provide comfort and ways to keep the elderly users active and engaged intellectually.

All three speakers spoke of mental, physical and social engagement with surrounding spaces and the larger community as crucial in the design of the elderly care spaces of the future. Warning of the negative aspects of overdesigning spaces, the discussion highlighted environments that could be empowering if they elicited a sense of awareness of the surroundings to keep their users more aware, mobile and agile for a more fulfilling life. “A certain amount of calculated, tolerated risk is important to keep people alert, active and strong,” elaborated Comaroff, with Dr. Chong advocating for spaces that discouraged idle passiveness through design.

“Many seniors feel that they cannot contribute much and that they are not challenged much. In truth, growing old still means growing and learning. How can we, as designers, keep the ageing population challenged and mentally alert?” inquired Chong.

The subject of coming to terms with morality and dealing with death, in many ways, summarised the discussion and highlighted the persistent social stigma associated with the latter stages of growing old. Comaroff lamented the out-of-sight-out-of-mind mentality that overshadows the process of passing on and said that the process of coming to terms with the end of life was an integral part of a larger social infrastructure that could not be ignored.

“The way to start openly talking about these difficult moments of transition is to talk about death as a social eco-system,” emphasised Comaroff at the conclusion of the discussion. “Eventually you will have to take care of the person who is currently taking care of someone who is dying. We need to think of death and getting older as part of the larger process and embrace the cycle of life. Only then can we bring more attention to design in this sector.

A Global Discussion About the Future of Our Cities

RIBA’s first-ever International Week brings together leading names in architecture to open a global discourse on the roles architects can play in shaping future cities.

With an aim to bring together some of the most renowned architects representing continents around the globe, the Royal British Institute of Architect’s (RIBA’s) inaugural International Week is a high-profile event set to promote constructive discourse and debate on the future of cities.

Tackling the issues of design in an age when more and more people are living in cities than beyond them, leading professionals including Ma Yansong, Sir David Chipperfield, Odile Decq and Amanda Levete, among others, are scheduled to speak at a keystone conference. Titled ‘Change in the City: Opportunities for Architects in the New Agenda’, the conference will comprise a part of the International Week events.

It will address urban design challenges and opportunities as laid out in the ‘New Urban Agenda’ – a framework adopted at the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development that tackles how cities should be planned. The conference’s roster of international speakers will seek experts’ perspectives and examine key opportunities for architects highlighted in the New Urban Agenda.

Anchoring on three main themes – housing, cohesive society and cultural heritage – the panel of experts will seek to interpret what the New Urban Agenda defined by the UN summit (and attended by very few architects) means for architecture, including how it can be adapted by architects to stay relevant in the rapidly changing times.

RIBA President Jane Duncan has commented: “Architects need to play a vital role in shaping our urban future. RIBA’s International Week will connect with architects, no matter where or what size their practice is, to help them understand the potential impact and opportunities of global urbanisation. Under the umbrella of the New Urban Agenda, the week will provide explanation and inspiration, showing how the architecture profession can use its skills over the next two decades to make a valuable and long-lasting contribution to our future cities and society.”

The ‘Change in the City’ conference will form an integral part of a week of activities from 3 to 7 July at the RIBA and serve as a vehicle for discussion of current issues such as rapid urbanisation and migration, from architectural and sociological perspectives. The conference will be accompanied by a free exhibition, showcasing the participating architects’ work in relation to contemporary urban challenges.

Marie Christine Dorner: Furniture Design from an Architectural Perspective for Habitus Living

Interior and furniture designer Marie Christine Dorner discusses spatial sensibilities, balancing design influences and her creative partnership with Ligne Roset. Olha Romaniuk writes.

http://www.habitusliving.com.sg/community/marie-christine-dorner-furniture-design-from-an-architectural-perspective

With an unmistakable architectonic quality present in her interior and furniture designs, Marie Christine Dorner is a master at combining functional and poetic elements in her multifaceted projects. In her latest project for French furniture company Ligne Roset, Dorner’s keen sense of architectural space, along with her affinity for storytelling and material exploration, shines through, resulting in objects that appeal to the cognitive and physical experience of spatiality at once. Selected pieces from her 2015 and 2016 collections were exhibited at this year’s International Furniture Fair Singapore.

For Dorner, who studied at the École Camondo in Paris where she now lectures, furniture and interior design go hand-in-hand. The designer attributes this perception to Camondo’s teaching approach that integrates interior and furniture design within one curriculum. A constant element throughout her projects, Dorner’s sensitivity to architectural space and the way a human body relates to it translate into insightful visual and physical design solutions in her interior projects and furniture pieces.

“Every time I design a piece of furniture, I feel like I am designing architecture on a smaller scale,” says Dorner. “For me a piece of furniture is a space. It should be seen in its context. And whenever I design a space, I feel that it is a collage of furniture. Of course, with a piece of furniture you are closer to the body than in a space, but a space is close to the body as well. It all has to be designed in a very human scale.”

Dorner, who has lived in metropolitan cities like London, Paris and Tokyo has acquired an intuitive way of balancing her Eastern and Western influences. She realised her penchant for experimenting with different materials during the early phases of her career. For her defining 2004 show, Une Forme/ One Shape, Dorner explored a chosen shape in different materials, based on the notion that design must be seen as an art where the material comes first. The concept was put into production by Ligne Roset some years later with the ONE SHAPE sofa and table produced in white ceramic, black-stained oak and natural oak finishes.

According to Dorner, her long-standing professional relationship with Ligne Roset commenced about 10 years ago, when Michel Roset took note of the designer’s CRASH low table prototype – photos of which Dorner had sent to Ligne Roset two years prior. 

In 2015 and 2016, Dorner completed two consistent collections of furniture for Ligne Roset. For both collections, Dorner experimented with various aspects of storytelling and materiality to create collections that represented a small universe and drew inspiration from architectural elements.

“I was trying to use materials to create a small universe, like a small town in a reduced scale,” elaborates Dorner. “ALLITÉRATION, the book shelf, is a good example of this. It attempts to present a bookshelf as a small building in a context of a space – how a bookshelf can emphasise emptiness and presence and give rhythm to a space.”

These days, Dorner is busier than ever. She is working on an upcoming collection for Ligne Roset, as well as projects ranging from private residences to a collaboration with a kitchen brand. Despite the various project typologies and scales, Dorner’s passion for storytelling and material exploration remains a consistent thread in her work. 

Dorner has also expressed interest in working with textiles and redesigning hotels. “I always want to tell a story when I design something,” concludes Dorner. “If you buy a piece of furniture, it has to answer your questions. Similarly, with hotel design, it is a very nice typology for a designer, because it gives a great opportunity to tell a story, to create a full universe and make people dream.”