Our emphasis on craft-based practitioners naturally draws us to work with people who have a strong interest in materials and an intuitive understanding of how to work with them. Our collaborators work with us to research, develop and design a new architectural material. We then invite them to work with their material in architecture, living spaces and towards the production of a series of furniture or products.

'I AM INTERESTED IN EVERY PHASE THAT A MATERIAL TRAVELS THROUGH. HOW IT GROWS, WHERE ITS PARTICLES COME FROM, WHAT IT WILL BECOME IN ITS NEXT LIFE. BY RECONSIDERING HISTORICAL PRODUCTION METHODS WE CAN IMAGINE NEW VOCABULARIES AND FUTURES FOR A MATERIAL.'

Christien Meindertsma is the designer behind Flaxwood. Meindertsma’s creative practice focuses on the life cycles of products and raw materials, tackling themes of local production and underexplored resources. Through investigation, experimentation and careful documentation, she suggests sustainable alternatives to the harmful systems of mass production that have become increasingly hidden in modern-day capitalism. In encouraging a deeper understanding of the materials and products that surround us, she also challenges industry to think differently. Chirstien’s work is in the collections of MoMA, the V&A, and the Vitra Design Museum. Over the years, she has won numerous Dutch Design Awards, as well as creating the award for the prestigious Earthshot Prize.

“MOUNT ETNA IS A MINE WITHOUT MINERS – IT IS EXCAVATING ITSELF TO EXPOSE ITS RAW MATERIALS.”

Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin are the Milan-based design duo behind Formafantasma. Since 2009, when they graduated from Design Academy Eindhoven, they have developed a significant body of work characterized by material investigations, a keen attention to tradition and local culture, a critical approach to sustainability and a strong focus on the cultural values of objects. Their rigorous attention to context and process are always informed by the historical, political and social forces of the time. Formafantasma perceive themselves as a bridge between craft, industry, object and user, with the aim of forging links between their research-based practice and the wider design industry.

Formafantasma’s work has been widely exhibited and published on the international stage with pieces held in the permanent collections of several major institutions including: Museum of Modern Art, NY; Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY; The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago; The TextielMuseum, Tilburg; Stedelijk Museum’s Hertogenbosch, Amsterdam; Museum of Contemporary Design and Applied Arts, Lausanne; The Mint Museum, Charlotte; Mak Museum, Vienna. Paola Antonelli, Senior Curator of the Department of Architecture & Design as well as the Director of R&D at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and esteemed design critic Alice Rawsthorn listed Formafantasma as one of a handful of practices that will shape the future of design.

“I WANTED TO EMPHASISE THE STONINESS OF STONE.”

Max Lamb, the designer behind Marmoreal, challenges tradition through a pragmatic, concise, process-driven approach. His material-based designs are exhibited in museums and galleries worldwide and are highly regarded by both critics and collectors. While he is best known for his studio work, making coveted one-off and small-edition works, he has successfully collaborated with several esteemed industrial manufacturers and design producers. In 2016 Lamb served as the guest designer and jury president of the Villa Noailles Design Parade, and he has served as a Lexus Design Awards mentor from 2015 through 2017. He has received numerous awards, including a 2008 Designer of the Future Award at Design Miami/Basel and the 2010 HSBC Private Bank Design Collection commission. Lamb holds a degree in three-dimensional design from Northumbria University, and an MA in design products from the Royal College of Art, London. He was a tutor for the design products MA at the RCA from 2012 to 2015. He worked for the esteemed designer Tom Dixon before setting up his own studio in London, where he now lives and works.