Homebuildlife: Object Rotterdam: show highlights

Jo Meesters, Raw Color and Studio MGKG at Object Rotterdam 2012

For four days this month, the Las Palmas building in Rotterdam was taken over by art galleries, design studios and up and coming designers for Object Rotterdam - which drew 12,500 visitors this year. WGSN-homebuildlife presents the exhibitor highlights from a stand-out edition that mixed art and architecture, industrial design and craft.

Cityscapes Gallery at Object Rotterdam 2012

The fair's director Anne van der Zwaag announced at the outset that she planned to inject new life into the event this year, and says that the plan worked well: "The new format with high quality objects as well as more conceptual and experimental design presentations excited professionals as well as the general public."

Sander Bokkinga at Object Rotterdam 2012

Dutch designer Jo Meesters (interviewed here), Studio MGKG and photography & graphic studio Raw Color exhibited together, with the poetic nature of their respective pieces leading to a calming, craft-oriented space. Cityscapes Gallery showed a collection of design-art pieces including architectural models by MVRDV and the Gravity stool by Jólan van der Wiel - which is a key reference in our Alter-Nature materials direction.

Muller Van Severen at Object Rotterdam 2012

Sander Bokkinga showed a range of pieces including Fence, a sculptural piece composed of a chair, lamp and footstool all joined together with green hosepipe, while Muller Van Severen, a joint project by designers Fien Muller and Hannes van Severen, also featured conjoined furniture - in this case a collection of steel tables and loungers with overhead lamps attached.

Ontwerpduo, Jeroen Wand and Nienke Sybrandy at Object Rotterdam 2012

Ontwerpduo (interviewed here) showed their fairytale-inspired lighting system, Light Forest, alongside works by Jeroen Wand and Nienke Sybrandy - including the bolted grey Paper Chair (below).

Ineke Otte at Object Rotterdam 2012; photo by Marcel Kollen

Dutch designer and artist Ineke Otte showed a range of offbeat jewellery, including oversize necklaces made of tufts of grass and mossy rocks; while design platform Tuttobene showcased a range of furniture and art pieces with a powerfully primal look.

Tuttobene at Object Rotterdam 2012

Studio Vij5's innovative Newspaper Wood (featured here) was displayed in the forms of cabinets and shelving, while Lizan Freijsen's textile pieces, called Koningskleed and inspired by water stains, crept along the floor of the stand.