Bureaucratics – Images by Jan Banning

From the photographer:

In each country, I visited up to hundreds of offices of members of the executive in different services and at different levels. The visits were unannounced and the accompanying writer, Will Tinnemans, by interviewing kept the employees from tidying up or clearing the office. That way, the photos show what a local citizen would be confronted with when entering….

….Each subject is posed behind his or her desk. The photos all have a square format (fitting the subject), are shot from the same height (that of the client), with the desk – its front or side photographed parallel to the horizontal edges of the frame – serving as a bulwark protecting the representative of rule and regulation against the individual citizen, the warm-blooded exception. They are full of telling details that sometimes reveal the way the state proclaims its power or the bureaucrat’s rank and function, sometimes of a more private character and are accompanied by information such as name, age, function and salary.

A controversial new twist on DIY – license to build.

In lieu of an entirely new design, Belgian brand, Extremis, introduced a kit at the Milan Furniture Fair. The box includes the drawings, specifications, and limited license to manufacture one product assembly. The kit costs 20% of the actual product. From a consumer’s perspective, I find it interesting to consider the specific value of the intellectual property of a product beyond the tangibility of the inherent function, materials, and craft. Outsourcing manufacturing at a more personal scale, locally, is a provocative environmental story as well.

via design milk

The SITE Collection for Davis wins Best of NeoCon Gold award for 2010.

The collection will be presented at the NeoCon World Trade Fair in Chicago - June 14th – June 16th 2010 – Merchandise Mart suite 3-115.

Otto will be presenting the collection throughout the show in the Davis showroom. Hope you will stop by and make an introduction.

What is it?

SITE Video

SITE is a collection of low, large-scale tables, modular benches, and a highly configurable storage system designed to create immersive spaces for collaboration in applications ranging from conference rooms to large public spaces.

As the trend continues towards distributed project teams, we believe the centralized workplace will be most effective and relevant in how it facilitates the rich collaborative interactions so essential to project work. As the use of large-scaled plasma screens becomes more common in the workplace, SITE plays a critical role in connecting individuals either face-to-face or at a distance via web conferencing.

SITE effectively leverages real estate by activating under-utilized “in between” spaces (i.e.: lobbies, concourse, open areas, etc.). When configured for large-scale applications, SITE’s inherent flexibility is reflected in how it easily serves large and small groups, as well as individuals based upon the way users orient themselves within the setting.

Each element in the SITE collection is designed to be repurpose-able and reconfigurable. Every component retains its inherent value as a standalone product. However, when utilized in concert the thoughtful and fluid design creates highly effective and inspired settings in which to gather and work.

Our recently launched product collection, Denizen, for Coalesse wins a Good Design Award from the prestigious Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design.