designers unite with historic viennese manufacturers for passionswege image courtesy of postlerferguson VIENNA DESIGN WEEK SETS ITSELF APART FROM THE OTHERS BY HOSTING THE PASSIONSWEGE

PROGRAM — AN INITIATIVE WHICH SEES FESTIVAL DIRECTOR LILLI HOLLEIN CURATING A SELECT GROUP OF INTERNATIONAL CREATIVES, AND PARTNERING THEM UP WITH HISTORIC VIENNESE MANUFACTURERS. the

collaborations are experimental, but the development process and the realities of market feasibility play a huge role in what each partnership realizes. together, THE PARTIES DISCUSS AND

EXCHANGE THEIR INDIVIDUAL EXPERTISE, RESULTING IN CONTEMPORARY DESIGN OBJECTS AND INSTALLATIONS THAT REFLECT AND HIGHLIGHT THE TRADITIONAL CRAFT TECHNIQUES AND METHODS OF THE PARTICIPATING

‘sisi stars’ which were worn by empress elisabeth as either a necklace, diadem, pendants, brooches and accessories.  the functional tools were created using A.E. köchert’s specialized

jewellery making techniques image © kramar / fischka.com with jewellery being something of an accessory, POSTLERFERGUSON WANTED TO CREATE A SET OF FUNCTIONAL TOOLS THAT EXUDED THE REFINED

SKILLS OF A.E. KÖCHERT’S CRAFTSMEN, AND MADE A PERSONAL STATEMENT. THEY DEVELOPED A RANGE OF BESPOKE RECORDING TOOLS FOR VIENNA-BASED MUSICIAN AND PRODUCER KEN HAYAKAWA THAT SERVE AS

ATTACHMENTS FOR HIS AKG C1000S MICROPHONE. at the heart of the collection is a large brass cone which shields the device and helps distribute the emitted sound, while acting as a means of

balancing the microphone on flat surfaces for ambient recordings. a cable clip that can be attached to large bags, but that can also function as a hook in which to hang the microphone for

hand-free usage accompanies this. the resulting pieces express postlerferguson’s own technical personality, while carrying on the tradition of the ‘sisi stars’, and the unique line of

jewellery that A.E. köchert makes.   detail of the brass cone which distributes sound, while also functioning as a balance for the microphone on flat surfaces image © designboom brass cable

clip that can be attached to bags or act as a hook in which ken hayakawa can hang his microphone image © designboom ian ferguson of postler ferguson portrait © designboom pedrita

collaborated with industrial sheet glass manufacturer stiefelmeyer to create a set of delicate containers image © designboom from the delicate to the industrial — THE PORTUGUESE TEAM OF

PEDRITA (RITA JOÃO AND PEDRO FERREIRA) WERE PARTNERED WITH STIEFELMEYER WHO HAS BEEN MAKING SHEET GLASS FOR COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS, SUCH AS WINDOW PANES, MIRRORS, OR GLASS FURNITURE SINCE

1917. cut down, the glass and mirror sheeting takes on a completely different appearance image © kramar / fischka.com TO CONTRAST STIEFELMEYER’S EXPERTISE IN LARGE-SCALE PRODUCTION AND

INSTALLATION, THE LISBON-BASED DUO WANTED TO SHAPE A COLLECTION OF REFINED DESIGN PIECES. they cut down the sheets of structural and reflective material to form small multifunctional boxes,

along with table and wall mirrors ideal for desktop use. the polished containers give no indication that they have been fabricated by heavy-duty glass, and the addition of colored commercial

felt, normally used in the protection and transportation of the sheets, acts as a soft buffer while adding a graphic boldness to the geometric objects. glass and mirror typically used for

commercial installation is used to create small containers and mirrors image © kramar / fischka.com colored felt is added to pedrita’s designs to act as a buffer, while also softening their

tactility and appearance image © designboom pedro ferreira and rita joão of studio predrita image © kramar / fischka.com ‘j(oy) & l(ove)’ friendship tumblers by BCXSY for J. & L.

lobmeyr image © kramar / fischka.com like pedrita, BCXSY also cooperated with a glass producer  J. &. L. lobmeyr. founded by josef lobmeyr, the viennese manufacturer has been crafting

glassware since 1823. while A LOT OF ATTENTION AND CARE ARE PUT INTO THE SMALLEST DETAILS INTO THEIR OFFERINGS, LOBMEYR’S COLLECTION IS INTENDED FOR EVERY DAY USE, AND THE DUTCH STUDIO OF

SAYAKA YAMAMOTO AND BOAZ COHEN WANTED TO EMPHASIZE THIS IN THEIR COLLABORATION. glasses waiting to be sandblasted and personalized image © designboom taking the classic biedermeier

friendship tumbler that is a definitive part of lobmeyr’s history, BCXSY HAS DEVELOPED ‘J(OY) & L(OVE)’, A SET OF WINE DRINKING VESSELS THAT ARE MEANT FOR A COUPLE. each pair has TWO

DISTINCT GLASSES WHICH ARE USED INDEPENDENTLY, BUT WHOSE PROFILES INTIMATELY HUG ONE ANOTHER; in a way acting as A METAPHOR FOR SHARING A MOMENT TOGETHER, and allowing us to ‘_rediscover the

joy of daily rituals_‘. the glassware is meant to be personalized using a combination of sandblasted motifs, and hand engraving, more specifically the etching of each couple’s faces — one

on each tumbler — turning them into personalized keepsakes. sayaka yamamoto and boaz cohen ‘s profiles captured for placement on lobmeyr’s glassware image © designboom sayaka yamamoto and

boaz cohen of BCXSY portrait © designboom big-game utilized the skills of wiener silber manufacturer to shape a lampshade image © designboom THE SKILLS AND CRAFTSMANSHIP OF WIENER SILBER

MANUFACTURER [vienna silver manufactory] who SPECIALIZES IN A DIFFERENT TYPE OF TABLEWARE — CUTLERY, TABLEWARE AND OTHER ACCESSORIES — WERE HARNESSED BY BIG-GAME. like their assigned

viennese workshop, the swiss studio have a strong belief in developing objects which subtly enhance and embellish everyday life. detail of big-game’s planished metal lampshade image ©

designboom WITH THE DESIRE TO CREATE FUNCTIONAL, BUT OPTIMISTIC PRODUCTS, BIG-GAME DESIGNED A LAMP WHOSE SHADE HAS BEEN PLANISHED — A TECHNIQUE WHICH INVOLVES THE REPEATED HAMMERING OF SHEET

METAL SO THAT IT BECOMES SMOOTH, OR BRINGS FORTH AN ORNAMENTAL INDENTED FINISH. profile of the lamp image © kramar / fischka.com installation view of studio deFORM’s mirrors and chair

conceived jointly with shoemakers rudolf scheer & söhne image © kramar / fischka.com STUDIO DEFORM (JAKUB POLLÁG AND VÁCLAV MLYNÁŘ) WORKED JOINTLY WITH BESPOKE SHOEMAKERS RUDOLF SCHEER

& SÖHNE WHO SINCE 1816, HAVE BEEN MOULDING THE VERY BEST LEATHER INTO QUALITY, MADE-TO-MEASURE FOOTWEAR. for their passionswege project, THE CZECH STUDIO WANTED TO BRING FORTH AN

ALTERNATIVE TANGIBLE AND SENSORIAL, ALL-ENCOMPASSING EXPERIENCE OF THE HIDES USED BY RUDOLF SCHEER & SÖHNE. studio deFORM have designed a chair from wood and sheet leather, which

envelopes the sitter in the smell and feeling of the hide image © designboom A LOUNGE CHAIR WHOSE HIGH-BACK REST IS MADE FROM A CRUDE LEATHER SHEET, ENVELOPES ONE INTO THE SMELL AND FEELING

OF ANIMAL SKIN; WHILE A SERIES OF HANGING WALL MIRRORS — steel sewn onto leather — EXPRESSES THE SUPPLENESS OF THE MATERIAL, AS EVIDENCED BY THEIR MOUNTING HOLES WHICH BECOME STRETCHED OVER

TIME, FORMING ELLIPSES. the family of furniture which studio deFORM has envisioned not only demonstrates hand-crafted precision, but also responds to how high-quality products should

seamlessly mature over time. detail of a wall-hanging mirror image © designboom václav mlynář and jakub pollág of studio deFORM image © kramar / fischka.com mathak + mahlknecht seating

island designed in partnership with stani polsterie image © kramar / fischka.com wrapping up the passionswege program is STANI POLSTERIE, who JOINS THE PROGRAM FOR THE FIRST TIME AND IS THE

YOUNGEST OF THE PARTICIPATING VIENNESE COMPANIES. local creatives MATHAK + MAHLKNECHT (MAGDALENA AKANTISZ AND PETER MAHLKNECHT) WORKED WITH THE 16-YEAR-OLD UPHOLSTERERS. employing stani

polsterie’s expertise in furniture restoration, THE VIENNA-BASED STUDIO HAVE FABRICATED A SEATING UNIT, BUT NOTHING LIKE THE CONVENTIONAL SOFA. in their entirety, the combination of the

modular green upholstered pieces allude to a cultivated landscape image © kramar / fischka.com the LOW-SITTING ISLAND IS A COMPOSITION OF NUMEROUS MODULAR UPHOLSTERED SEATING AND RECLINING

ELEMENTS IN VARIOUS TONES OF GREENS, SO THAT COLLECTIVELY THEY AESTHETICALLY REFER TO A CULTIVATED LANDSCAPE. the modules can be easily moved through a system influenced by chinese checkers

image © designboom the seating island in full use during vienna design week image © designboom magdalena akantisz and peter mahlknecht of mathak + mahlknecht image © kramar / fischka.com