SUPERNORMAL
180 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
Visited: 19th July 2014
Design: In 2006, Jasper Morrison and Naoto Fukasawa put together an exhibition of 204 everyday objects that they considered 'Super Normal design'.
A book accompanied the exhibition: SUPER NORMAL - Sensations of the Ordinary.
In an essay by Jasper Morrison, he describes a set of hand-blown wine glasses he found having an, "atmospheric spirit" that gives the object a, "mysterious and elusive quality."
http://www.jaspermorrison.com/html/8851725.html
This door is a masterpiece, to take a basic glass panel door and to infuse it with what appears to be a distorted and gnarled tree branch referencing bonsai on the exterior handle, only then to mirror this form through what I think was carved stone on the interior handle, is Zen at its finest. I really hope it was stone and not some resin cast made to look like stone. This is what I believe Naoto Fukasawa refers to as Super Normal. Here the designers have taken a simple door to a restaurant and simplified it and refined it by using wood, stone, glass and steel to give it an atmospheric spirit and what Jasper Morrison describes as having a, "mysterious and elusive quality." The thing is, I can't put my finger on it. It is so simple and yet so beautiful at the same time. The feeling of the handles and their contrast to each other, the weight of the door combined with the effortless ease at which it moves for such a large door, creates a perpetual sense of wonder and fascination. It was almost like that scene from Planet of the Apes on the beach where they come across the Statue of Liberty. There is something about the primitive natural elements of the handles combined with the highly precise, man made manufactured glass door that form an ethereal union. The bright neon red glow of the SUPERNORMAL sign is echoed in the reflection on the stainless steel framing of the window beams. Purples, yellows and hints of blue intermingle to create a dance of light on the panels. Upon entering you are presented with a combination of polished concrete, besser blocks and blonde wood alongside a mesh of soft and harsh neon and fluorescent lighting that meld together to form a unique first impression. It's modern, it's sleek, it feels Asian, it felt out of this world, almost beyond its time. To me, this is the Ikebana of door design. True mastery.
This door is a masterpiece, to take a basic glass panel door and to infuse it with what appears to be a distorted and gnarled tree branch referencing bonsai on the exterior handle, only then to mirror this form through what I think was carved stone on the interior handle, is Zen at its finest. I really hope it was stone and not some resin cast made to look like stone. This is what I believe Naoto Fukasawa refers to as Super Normal. Here the designers have taken a simple door to a restaurant and simplified it and refined it by using wood, stone, glass and steel to give it an atmospheric spirit and what Jasper Morrison describes as having a, "mysterious and elusive quality." The thing is, I can't put my finger on it. It is so simple and yet so beautiful at the same time. The feeling of the handles and their contrast to each other, the weight of the door combined with the effortless ease at which it moves for such a large door, creates a perpetual sense of wonder and fascination. It was almost like that scene from Planet of the Apes on the beach where they come across the Statue of Liberty. There is something about the primitive natural elements of the handles combined with the highly precise, man made manufactured glass door that form an ethereal union. The bright neon red glow of the SUPERNORMAL sign is echoed in the reflection on the stainless steel framing of the window beams. Purples, yellows and hints of blue intermingle to create a dance of light on the panels. Upon entering you are presented with a combination of polished concrete, besser blocks and blonde wood alongside a mesh of soft and harsh neon and fluorescent lighting that meld together to form a unique first impression. It's modern, it's sleek, it feels Asian, it felt out of this world, almost beyond its time. To me, this is the Ikebana of door design. True mastery.
Door resistance: 3.5
Closure mechanism: Hidden pivot
Draft: Minimal
Squeak level: 0
Change return time: 39 sec
No comments:
Post a Comment