Mondo Materialis: Materials and Ideas for the Future - Hardcover

Beylerian, George

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0810936135 ISBN 13: 9780810936133

Publisher: Harry N. Abrams Inc., 1990

Synopsis

At the invitation of the Steelcase Design Partnership--a group of leading contract furnishing, lighting, and textile companies--more than 120 prestigious firms in the various fields of design were asked to share their ideas on the world of materials. Now available for the first time in paperback, Mondo Materialis is the elegant book that accompanied this innovative exhibition.

The object of this project was to record each architect or designer's ideas for the material at hand--be it recycled, found, or specially developed by industrial designers--and to demonstrate the possibilities it presented. Each created a 30-inch-square collage panel, and the resulting images provide a stunning glimpse into the ways and means by which some of the most useful and beautiful aspects of our daily lives have been--and will continue to be--created. Also included in Mondo Materialis are statements from such famous firms as Richard Meier & Partners, Pei Cobb, Freed & Partners, Cesar Pelli & Associates, Dakota Jackson, Inc., Venturi, Rauch, Scott-Brown, and Andre Putman's Ecart describing their specific panels or simply outlining their design philosophies. Mondo Materialis is an invaluable idea and design source book for every architect and materials designer and for anyone interested in design. It is a compelling, thoughtful, and altogether dazzling foray into the possibilities for our man-made environment.

About this title

Reviews

Based on an exhibition sponsored by New York City's Steelcase Design Partnership for the Cooper Hewitt Museum, this intriguing book explores the very essence of the design process. More than 120 architectural, interior and industrial design firms from around the world were invited to present their ideas on the materials and technologies of the future. The contributors range from various Tokyo studios and a Moscow design firm to cutting-edge Euros, such as Vienna's Coop Himmelblau, Italy's Matteo Thun and Paolo Portoghesi, to American architectural superstars Richard Meir, Cesar Pelli and Arquitectonica. Participants created 30-inch-square panels containing work they find inspiring. The reproduced panels illustrate a provocative range of finishes, processes or textures, and reflect current thinking on design potential for the built environment. The panels are organized thematically, including sections on technology, aesthetics and philosophical reflections. The often astonishing visions displayed address fundamental matters affecting the larger evolution of the man-made environment. Beylerian is creative director of Steelcase Design Partnership; Osborne is executive director of the International Design Conference in Colorado.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams Inc.
• Publication date: 1990
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0810936135
• ISBN 13: 9780810936133
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 160