Minimalissimo Weekly Edit
Minimalissimo in Design
Hello. I hope you've had a good week. Welcome to November. Not long left. Something I have been thinking about this week is Popular vs. Good. They're not the same. And the distinction can be unravelled extensively. But thinking about this in a design sense, popular design isn't always good design. And vice versa; good design isn't always popular. To me, good design is measured by applying common principles that can determine its success (success in terms of achieving its designed purpose). Popularity is measured by a degree of admiration at a particular time and comes with a large amount of luck. This then made me consider our approach to curation. It's good to share work that we believe has been designed well but may not have been or will be widely acknowledged and celebrated. I try to avoid asking the question: "Will this be popular?" Instead asking, "Is this genuinely good design? Do I find beauty in this work?"
Our features over the past week include a visit Okinawa in Japan to celebrate Shinichi Ogawa's latest architectural design of a small yet striking hotel. We take a close look at Atelier Naerebout's superb coffee table design, and we get to grips with a pandemic-induced new normality with a unique dinnerware collection by BOIR. Have a read, take it slow, and enjoy your Sunday.
— Carl Barenbrug, Creative Director
Features
EMIL NAKIJIN
Water sparkles playfully against white walls. The sun sets, casting a glow over the green landscape below. Sounds of the sea find their way up to the terrace. The comfort of a gorgeous room is just steps away. A feeling of contentment is inevitable. This is the experience of Emil Nakijin, a luxury resort in Okinawa, Japan, designed by Shinichi Ogawa.
Axe Coffee Table
This slim steel Axe coffee table, designed by Atelier Naerebout for FEST, is as beautiful as it is useful. The quality of the coffee table reveals itself through an exciting play of lines, surfaces, and the quality of the material in combination with light.
The New Normal
With The New Normal, BOIR integrates the current context of the pandemic to the design for a new collection of experimentations. Besides refining the ideas to their core, the designers also ventured in the grey zones of intimacy and distance—two polars of desire in the times of social distancing. The results are symmetrical designs that are bounded by distance or physical disruptions.
From the Archive
Cointec Office
Cointec Office is a workspace for a consultant firm designed by Spanish architecture firm Dot Partners. The office was designed to emphasise spaciousness, with one large room stretching across the entire structure.
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This monthly edition of the Minimalissimo newsletter was supported by aprile, the hanging chair
inspired by spring days and designed by Matteo Modica, aprile is a simple suspended chair that oozes elegance—a floating seat, shaped after spring petals, swinging gently. designed and handcrafted in Italy with artisanal love.
whether you're looking for visual inspiration or design insights, you can visit our gallery to discover the very best of minimalism in art and design.
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