Dubai-based consulting editor, design journalist and interior architect Pratyush Sarup curates the key design trends emerging from Downtown Design 2017.
From materiality and shape to innovation in engineering and production, the world’s leading design brands are taking cues from nature to deliver a new generation of mindful luxury. For its fifth edition, Downtown Design brings some of the most pioneering and eco-conscious brands to the fore.
For Interface; the world's largest manufacturer of commercial carpet tiles, design innovation goes hand in hand with sustainability. Having already eliminated water from their production process and developed glue-free installation systems, they have now turned to biomimicry for inspiration. The result is a stunning new collection of modular carpets that prescribe a softer, more textural approach to corporate interiors. A plethora of shades and textures, even sizes – skinny planks for example – means workspaces can now blur the lines between indoors and outdoors with a humble design investment.
With each component – be it brass work or blown glass – made manually, the Portuguese lighting atelier; Serip continues to shun symmetry and balance to celebrate the inherent beauty in nature’s uncertainty. Understandably, nature-inspired organic shapes, disproportion and uneven forms define the lighting brand’s distinct visual language. Leaves, flowers, the fluidity of water, and its stillness in ice are just some elements informing the Serip catalogue.
Apical Reform, the India-based studio, deploys progressive production technology for its new collection, Terra. A family of furniture and lighting, Terra is punctuated with spliced representations of terrains from our planet and the moon. Applying parametric design formulae to topographic data, the studio can create custom pieces to denote locations that may be of personal significance to the customer or are specific to a project.
Known for innovative and design-led outdoor solutions, Tuuci relies on its research into nature and extreme climatic conditions to create precisely engineered parasols, cabanas and shade sculptures with a 100% replaceable parts.
On the other hand, Chabros empowers the regional woodwork industry with its extensive portfolio of natural woods, veneers and marquetry that deliver high quality, sustainably sourced finishes to luxury interiors.
To register to attend Downtown Design 2017, click here
To see more brands exhibiting at Downtown Design, click here
Follow Pratyush Sarup on Instagram: @pratyush.sarup
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