Structure and science in the digital age
The Sri Lankan Exhibition and Convention Centre transformed into a gathering of art, design and innovation as the Sri Lanka Design Festival came to life over the course of three days in late November.
Conceptualised in 2009, SLDF has since made a mark for itself as the go to event for budding artists, marketers and students with a wide variety of segments dedicated to the vast sphere of modern design and enterprise.
The Interior Design Forum centred on the digital age of interior design with a panel of internationally acclaimed interior designers, architects and product designers tapping into their own experiences and ideas for working in the digital realm.
“Design is a journey; you have to make it special”. The moderator for the forum, Kike Macias, set the pace for a thought provoking afternoon which was dedicated to the process of design and the often unglorified attention to detail and intricacies that lead up to the finished product.
Echoing Kike’s words was the first speaker for the afternoon Ignasi Bonjoch. For the senior Barcelona based designer whose work specialises in luxury brands: “It’s not the finish that matters.”
He described the real problem the increase of online shopping poses to the interior designer and architect.
The disappearance of the sharp, stylish boutique and even the everyday department stores in favour for ebay and amazon may prove a pitfall for the designer, but Ignasi turned the challenge around in his discussion.
“The real story is a wall full of papers,” he explained. The slides he presented of his studio in Barcelona hold fast to his old school ideals. It is the walls full of sketches and scrawls, construction areas marked X’s in blue tape, thumb tacked and blue prints sprawled across the floor that still inspire his best ideas and innovative additions. “Our tools are our hand drawings,” he adds simply.
A large chandelier type structure was both an intriguing and welcoming sight at the entrance to the convention centre. A fitting embodiment for all the festival stands for, the lighting structure branched out into slim geometrical lines, lit up at the tips, like glow worms lying on overhead branches.
The idea for the edgy, whimsical piece came to Daniel Becker when he was in university. For the German designer, his university project he lovingly called “Sparks” would be an idea that would catapult the young designer’s career. Specialising in industrial design, Becker’s studio Daniel Becker Design Studio has catered to clients such as Google UK, Wendt & Kühn and Citibank Singapur.
The panel’s only Sri Lankan speaker was architect Murad Ismail. Known for his minimalist style in balance with its natural surroundings, Murad’s work stretches from the Four Seasons Hotel, Maldives to many a resort on home soil.
“The difference” between the work of an artist and an interior designer, explained Murad, “is that our work has to be a celebration” he smiles wryly, unlike many a melancholy painting.
He emphasised the work of a designer and architect that treads beyond building a beautiful structure. “An interior designer is not a decorator”. For Murad, a student of the faculty of science, University of Colombo before turning to architecture, his job is “a bigger role, it is more scientific.”
Elaborating on architecture in Sri Lanka, he travelled back in time to the 70’s and 80’s a time when there were no imports coming to the country.
The stagnant situation meant that “architects and designers had to be innovative in materials”. With the unbarred potential of the internet and the digital world, he says today a layman has the opportunity to be a designer as well, in their own right. “But technology doesn’t kill the designer” stated Murad.
Closing the forum was John Balmond, of Balmond Design Studio. Established by his father, Sri Lankan born architect, artist and engineer Cecil Balmond, their concept for design is theoretical, research based on form and structure.
“Form is no longer about objects,” John explained echoing Iganci’s own speech at the beginning of the forum. Instead, they delve beyond ‘the organisation’ and draw inspiration for their work from the internal process.