hebel. today · 2 November 202668 / 69
Arts · Arts
Designers rethink the role of objects in public life
Designers are increasingly treating the built environment as a site for social intervention rather than simple decoration. In Ghent, the Design Museum reopened with an exhibition that involved 40 residents in shaping institutional accessibility,…
From 3 newsletters · 1 min read · one thing to try
Designers are increasingly treating the built environment as a site for social intervention rather than simple decoration. In Ghent, the Design Museum reopened with an exhibition that involved 40 residents in shaping institutional accessibility, proving that design organizes collective life and makes public spaces more relevant (Mônica Barbosa Recebe). Similarly, at the Fondation Cartier in Paris, Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama transformed an industrial ruin into a classroom to host public performances and discussions (Mônica Barbosa Recebe). These projects shift the focus from the creation of static objects toward the active facilitation of community engagement and democratic participation.
“The photograph is the first day. The real piece is what comes after”
Mônica Barbosa Recebe - Global Edition
Historical archives and industrial materials offer new ways to interpret the relationship between craft and utility. Antonio Colombo opened an archive in Milan that documents Italian design from 1919, featuring industrial steel tubing used in both Marcel Breuer’s chairs and Cinelli bicycles. Meanwhile, companies like Karimoku New Standard and ASICS are repurposing EVA foam from discarded footwear into upholstery for furniture, demonstrating that technical expertise in one field can improve comfort in another. Such efforts emphasize that design solutions often emerge from the collaboration between factory, artist, and designer rather than isolated creative genius.
Conceptual artists continue to challenge the utilitarian nature of furniture through performance. In 1974, Alessandro Mendini set two chairs on fire outside the offices of Casabella magazine, a ritualistic act intended to critique the role of design in cultural history (Scratching the Surface). Today, contemporary designers like Adriana Wynne Ronson explore the tension between fragility and strength by working with bronze, glass, and stone to translate internal sensations into physical form (The Spotted Zebra). Whether through destructive performance or material transformation, these artists push familiar objects into unfamiliar territory to invent new languages of form.
Try today · 45 min
Document the design history of an object you use daily.
Choose a piece of furniture or a tool in your home, research its designer and the materials used, then write a one-page summary of its manufacturing origin.