INTERIEUR 2010 has chosen a guest of honour from outside Europe: Japanese architect Junya Ishigami

The 22nd edition of the DESIGN BIENNALE INTERIEUR promises to be full of surprises again. With ‘the new world’ as its central theme, a young Japanese architect as the guest of honour and an ambitious range of fringe activities, INTERIEUR 2010 will be the talk of the town. Project co-ordinator Dieter Van Den Storm: “The objective with INTERIEUR 2010 is to show and suggest a few facets of the new world. We owe it to our reputation to look beyond our borders so that we can be innovative and embrace the future. With our careful selection of exhibitors and our out-of-the-ordinary guest of honour DESIGN BIENNALE has dared to wade into the new world of architecture and design.” INTERIEUR 2010 will take place between 15 and 24 October in Kortrijk.

The design press is holding a debate today on conservative design versus more progressive and playful approaches. INTERIEUR 2010 has opted for an open vision of the broad theme of the new world of design and architecture. A vision which is reflected perfectly in all the cultural fringe activities and in particular the presence of the young architect Junya Ishigami. This vision is reinforced by Sara De Bondt who works in London and who is responsible for the corporate style and the de vylder vinck taillieu team of architects that is responsible for the all-over stage setting and architecture of the biennale.

GUEST OF HONOUR Junya ISHIGAMI
It goes without saying that the Japanese guest of honour Junya Ishigami (°1974) is a surprising choice. For the first time in its history that goes back five decades DESIGN BIENNALE has looked for a guest of honour outside of Europe, in Asia. And this was a conscious decision because the future is being written overwhelmingly in the East. While new generations of ground-breaking designers are being carefully primed in China, South Korea and Taiwan, Japan remains the source of the most innovative creative ideas. The ‘PICNIC’ project that Ishigami has designed for the biennale is extraordinarily extraordinary and illustrates why he has been called the wunderkind of contemporary architecture. Visitors to INTERIEUR 2010 are guaranteed a surprise when they see his beautiful picnic furniture.

INTERIEUR 2010 DESIGN COMPETITION & THEYOUNGDESIGNERSFAIR
In addition to international exhibitors, the presence of the top designers of tomorrow is also indispensable. The ‘INTERIEUR 2010 Design Competition’ and ‘theyoungdesignersfair’ are two initiatives that form the ideal platform for showcasing new prototypes and groundbreaking designs of budding designers to the public. An international jury will pronounce their critical judgement of a competition on the theme of The New World. In this they will not just be looking for fresh, new creative ideas, but also functionality, technology and reproducibility. The jury will include designers and captains of industry such as Giulio Cappellini (IT), Nipa Doshi (IND), Marcus Fairs (UK), Pierre Keller (CH) and Lowie Vermeersch (BE).

EXHIBITION ‘The Neighbours
The aim of DESIGN BIENNALE with its exhibition ‘Voisins/Voisines – Nachbar/Nachbarin – Neighbours – Buurman/Buurvrouw’ is to show that surrounding countries have put a lot of effort in recent years into broadening their own notions of design. Their new world takes account of the desiderata of the Internet generation. The gadget aspect of design is put to one side to make way for good products that have durability, low-energy consumption, new materials or humour close to their heart. Four curators with a background in the broad field of design give their single-minded visions of design in their own countries: Cédric Morriset for France, Premsela, Dutch Platform for Design and Fashion for the Netherlands, Petra Schmidt for Germany and Michael Mariott for the United Kingdom.

DESIGNER OF THE YEAR: Bram Boo
This is the fifth time that the Interieur Foundation, together with the magazines Weekend Knack and Weekend Le Vif/L’Express, has chosen the Designer of the Year. Following in the footsteps of Alain Berteau, Nedda El-Asmar, Stefan Schöning and Sylvain Willenz, it is now the turn of Bram Boo (°1971) this year. In October visitors will be able to discover his widely varying portfolio during the biennale.

Bram Boo is self-taught and works as an independent designer. His pieces of furniture are autonomous objects, surprising, unique, poetic, ambiguous. He forces spectators to review their everyday habits, because his trademark is all about combined functions of sitting, storing, working and relaxing. Bram Boo designs for different Belgian and international manufacturers and brands. His work can be seen in the collections of Indera, Feld and Drisag. This year we will see furniture for schools at Vanerum and work in the ‘carte blanche’ collection of van Bulo.

DESIGN at WORK 2010
Design at Work 2010 is a platform for innovation and product development that is organised in co-production with the Interieur Foundation and takes place together with ‘theyoungdesignersfair’ and the ‘INTERIEUR 2010 Design Competition’ in the basement of the Kortrijk Xpo campus. On the menu:

- Creative companies: stand holders, design brands and design studios
- IP (Intellectual Property) award selection 2010
- Belgian red dot award winners 2010
- Online boutiques: a selection of Internet companies
- Design Stimulation Services
- Design Forum: lectures, debates and presentations
- The Party!

All activities of Design at Work are, in the same way as the cultural programme and the fringe activities of INTERIEUR, labelled activities connected with the Belgian Presidency of Council of the European Union from 1 July to 31 December 2010.

FORUM & MASTER SPEECHES
INTERIEUR 2010 and Design at Work will also be holding discussions this year with an impressive list of international speakers and current themes. A forum and the XXL room offer the accommodation needed for a comprehensive programme of lectures, workshops, discussions and presentations.
The agenda of the Design Forum 2010 already includes a wide range of topics and inspiring speakers: ‘How is design evolving in China and Asia?” with Michael Young and Jeremy Sun among others; a workshop with Agnete Enga, the driving force behind FemmeDen; master speech by Dan Formosa, founder of Smart Design; designer Tom Dixon about his drive and drivers; the Pininfarina story of Lowie Vermeersch… and Alasdhair Willis (UK) of Established & Sons.


INTERIEUR 2010 – practical information
The 22nd Interieur Biennale will open its doors on 15 October at Kortrijk Xpo. It will last ten days during which INTERIEUR 2010 will be the platform par excellence for showcasing the very latest creations of more than 250 international exhibitors, young designers and upcoming talent on a surface area of 40,000 m². For full details and news, surf to www.interieur.be.

About the INTERIEUR Foundation
The Interieur Foundation was founded in 1967 with the goal of promoting creativity in contemporary design, from pure design to modern interior architecture. To this end the Foundation puts on large-scale events the most famous of which are DESIGN BIENNALE INTERIEUR and Design at Work. Interieur is an international event that offers an overview of the latest ideas, products, creations and achievements in the field of interiors, interior design and much more.

For more info
Interieur Foundation I www.interieur.be

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