The Design Line: 25 November – 2 December
We’ve almost had a whole year of Design Line, and what a year it’s been. This week, the argument over the National Gallery revamp escalated, A$AP Rocky customised a spiky design icon, and the French baguette got UNESCO protection. Oh, and our new publication Design Reviewed #1 launched – you can reserve your copy here.
Now look what you’ve done, you’ve upset Denise Scott Brown (image: Selldorf Architects).
An inappropriate decision
The week kicked off with a warning. Faced with Selldorf Architects’ imminent redevelopment of the Sainsbury Wing at the National Gallery, Denise Scott Brown, one of the building’s original designers, stepped forward with a plea for planing permission to be denied. The current proposal to remodel the building’s entrance and lobby, she said, would result in “destructive, irreversible demolitions” within a building that only received Grade I-listed status in 2018, leaving refusal of the plans as “the only appropriate decision”. These pleas fell on deaf ears, however, with approval given a day later. It sets a worrying precedent. Scott Brown is not necessarily opposed to development of the space (which is treated as the main entrance to the National Gallery, despite not having been designed as such), but believes that any redevelopment “should return to the original plans and try to understand what they stood for”. By contrast, the Selldorf proposal is sweeping, clearing out much of the space’s original character to create a more open entrance. It seems, all things considered, shabby treatment of a fascinating building that deserves careful attention, and one that sets a troubling precedent for future work on listed structures. As Scott-Brown cautioned, “What this architect does now in this Grade I-listed building could endanger all the others.”
Getting high is getting rather highbrow (image: Layer).
High subscribing
Looking back on 2022, there’s been a distinct trend within design for giving drug paraphernalia minimalist makeovers. Garish graphics suggesting dubious legality have been swept away by highbrow concepts such as ceramic bongs by Weed’d, J Hill Standard’s cut crystal pipes (see Disegno #34) and Bompas & Parr’s branding-free blown glass poppers bottles (see Design Reviewed #1). This week, psychedelics got a rebrand from industrial design studio Layer. Called Keia, the conceptual project imagines a discrete subscription service for people looking to micro-dose their drug of choice. Layer imagined pebble-shaped mailout boxes made of organic materials that reflect their contents. A box made of mycelium could contain psilocybin-laced pastilles, while the stems of tea plants could be pressed into a packet to hold pellets of ayahuasca tea. For origami-folded paper tabs of LSD, perhaps a case made of wheat byproduct – a wink to the hallucinogenic ergot fungus that creates the acid that gives the drug its nickname. But Layer’s slick branding for a high-end subscription service for the Global North feels a little hollow as a concept given that the criminalisation of the drugs trade has left death, destruction and incarceration in its wake. Furthermore, ayahuasca has a deep spiritual significance to residents of the Amazon rainforest and shouldn’t be undertaken without the guidance of a shaman – it is not something that can simply be brewed up like your morning cup of PG Tips.
With its new listing, La Frègate can hope to weather any storm (image: Twentieth Century Society).
Safe harbour
From listing woe to listing triumph: while the Sainsbury Wing drifted into troubled waters this week, happier news arrived in the form of the La Frègate cafe in Jersey having been granted Grade II-listed status. Designed by Will Alsop (1947-2018) and Jan Störmer in 1997, the café has a form that resembles an upturned boat hull, and has become the youngest listed building in the UK following a campaign from the Twentieth Century Society. It’s a superb addition to the list – a bit silly and giddy in a pleasingly seaside way, but also well suited as a form to withstand the winds generated by its exposed site – and an important one too given that the café was believed to be under threat of plans to redevelop its surrounding waterfront area. La Frègate may still be moved from its current site, but at least the listing provides a degree of protection that would otherwise have been absent. “The sculptural idea of the design is that of stranded ‘ark’, which of course can be carried on with next flood – so the location is not so important,” Störmer said. “Certainly, I can speak for my late friend and partner Will Alsop, and myself, that we hope that La Frégate will find another place on the beautiful island of Jersey.”
Insurance could be the only way to ensure Hawai’i’s coral survives (image: Auntmasako via Pixabay).
Insurance assurance
Coral reefs are vital to marine ecosystems, but the climate crisis continues to destroy them at an alarming rate. Not only do rising sea temperatures from global warming bleach and kill them , increasingly strong storms also damage the coral. In Hawai’i, where reefs have declined by 60 per cent due to human activity over the past four decades, the coral provides an essential natural defence from hurricanes. This week, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) NGO purchased a $2m insurance policy for the island chain’s reefs that will ensure a payout from storm damage to allow for speedy repair work. “By investing in nature, our insurance and finance partners are demonstrating its value as a critical natural, cultural and economic resource,” said TNC executive director for Hawai’i and Palmyra, Ulalia Woodside Lee. This is the first US-based policy of its kind, but TNC has already successfully used insurance policies to get payouts for reefs in Mexico and Belize. Scientists are also rising to the challenge of designing devices for coral repair in Hawai'i, including fibreglass reinforced plastic structures for coral nurseries. TNC’s policy will cover Hawai’i’s reefs until the end of 2023, but greater action will need to be taken by the major polluting industries to prevent extreme weather events escalating further.
There’s musroom for more in the Cactus family (image: Gufram).
Cacti x fungi
Everyone likes Cactus, right? Since its launch in 1972 with Italian brand Gufram, Guido Drocco and Franco Mello’s polyurethane coat-stand (well, it could be seen as a coat-stand, but really it’s just a lovely big cactus) has been through countless editions, colourways and artist collaborations. This week saw the latest in this long line of takes on Cactus, with musician A$AP Rocky partnering with Gufram to launch the Shroom Cactus at Design Miami. So, what’s the difference between Cactus and Shroom Cactus? Well, the clue is in the name – A$AP Rocky has decorated the base and side of the piece with a series of hand-painted mushrooms, with the resultant piece being the first output from his newly founded Hommemade design studio. Did Cactus really need mushrooms growing up its side, we hear you ask? Well, no, but nor do they particularly detract from the original beyond emphasising the kitschiness of the work. They’re just sort of there. In this respect, Shroom Cactus seems the perfect embodiment of the design/celebrity collaboration: they don’t add much, and your only real hope for the partnership is that it won’t detract too much either. It’s still the original Cactus for us, but Shroom is a pleasant enough addition to an already big family.
Mon dieu, the baguette has been enshrined as a cultural lynchpin by UNESCO (image: UNESCO via Twitter).
Bread ahead
Consider the baguette. Could you design a more perfect bread form? Its signature long and thin shape cooks quickly and creates the ideal ratio of fluffy crumb to crunchy crust. Its iconic silhouette is believed to have been born from function: legend has it that Napoleon Bonaparte commissioned a longer loaf that soldiers could easily carry around on marches to battle. Another tall tale about the elongated baked good says that the overseer of construction workers building the Paris metro, concerned about knife fights between rival workmen, commissioned a bread that could be torn by hand. Today, the baguette is one of France’s most easily recognised symbols, yet its independent bakeries are threatened by the rise (no crumby pun intended) of supermarkets and sourdough. In a move to protect the humble baguette, this week UNESCO added it to its list of “intangible cultural heritage”, which recognises the traditions and skills that give cultures their identities. "The baguette is a daily ritual, a structuring element of the meal, synonymous with sharing and conviviality,” said UNESCO chief Audrey Asoulay. “It is important that these skills and social habits continue to exist in the future.” At the announcement, jubilation broke out amongst the French delegation, who celebrated by waving fresh-baked batons in the air. Vive la baguette!