COTTO ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE 4
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COTTO’s Patchwork collection, a design by Piero Lissoni, was launched for the first time and enjoyed success
during the Milan Design Week 2015. The collection marries oriental artistry to the West’s rigorous design
standards to create products in the ‘Sophisticated Simplicity’ style: Emotional refinement and complexity in the
interplay of lines, light and shadow pared down to evocative essentials. Forms are minimized until only
outstanding simplicity remains
COTTO Another Perspective 4 invites 8 groups of designers and architects from 6 countries, together with
COTTO’s Creative Design Office, to explore various design perspectives of 9 different forms that can be applied
to the Patchwork Collection in a harmonious yet fun and lively way while also pursuing each designer’s own
interest and expertise.
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Designer profile and project description
01
De Intuïtiefabriek | The Netherlands |
De Intuïtiefabriek is an all-female design studio finding common ground in their intuitive way of working and their
use of materials and techniques. They bring them to create within different fields of design; from slipcasting
porcelain to blowing glass and bending wood. The outcomes vary from furniture to tableware and jewelry. To De
Intuïtiefabriek, design is all about craftsmanship, the touch of material and the actual act of making things. Their
aim is to create perfectly crafted products which you can feel the love with which they were made. They create a
pure, precise and almost fragile feeling, taking the observer into a new world.
Project name: WATERSCAPE
building blocks, Waterscape consists of colorful shapes in different structures and types of foam and plastic. Kids
can create their own playful world above and under water. Connect the floating and sinking elements with ease,
and play around with balance to create a floating Waterscape!
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02
Ferréol Babin | France
Ferréol Babin, born in Dijon in 1987, studied design in France and Japan. In 2014, he spent one year in
residency at Fabrica, the Benetton’s communications research centre based in Treviso, Italy.
His projects are always based on an awareness of function and rationality, combined with poetic and emotional
dimensions. His works have received prizes like Red Dot and ADI, and have been selected by the London
Design Museum as Designs of the Year in 2014.
Project name:
POND / SLAB / FLASK
These three lamps are inspired by a detail, an accessory, a material or a shape we always find in bathrooms.
The first lamp is inspired by the small containers and holders for accessories. Taking on different volumes and
heights within itself, it allows for additional storage for your jewelry, glasses, or a watch.
The shape of the second lamp is that of the ceramic tiles. It is a wall light made of thin sheets with LEDs on the
back, producing indirect lighting.
The third one takes the shape of the small bottles and dispensers that are usually on the shelves. It is designed
as a tray with white glass containers that emit light.
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03
Meike Langer | Germany
Meike Langer is an independent furniture and product designer.
With strong preference for clear lines and natural materials, she is striving for simplicity and functionality as
central values in her design. Meike wishes to create objects, elaborated down to the last detail yet remaining
easy to handle, that can become long term companions and make their owner’s life easier and more enjoyable.
Physical and visual lightness as well as mutability are recurring themes in her work.
She studied at the University of Art and design in Offenbach and the ECAL in Lausanne. An internship in the
studio of Patricia Urquiola enhanced her sense for materials, colors and textures. From her Studio, Meike
collaborates with international clients and galleries such as the Italian label ex.t. Her designs have been
showcased at international trade fairs and exhibition in Paris, Milan, Cologne and Kortrijk.
Project name: PIET
Piet is a series of two wall mirrors and a hand mirror inspired by the Patchwork Collection. The mirrors are
suspended from the wall by a light steel structure. Their distance to the wall gives them a floating appearance
whereas the intersecting bars relate to textile and graphic patterns.
To play with our sensual perception and to support our little everyday vanities, the PIET series always comes with
one mirror in colored glass, offering an opportunity to look at our reflection in a softer tone.
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04
Rui Pereira & Ryosuke Fukusada | Portugal & Japan
Ryosuke Fukusada
Born in 1979 in Osaka, Japan, he studied product design at the Kanazawa College of Art from 1998 to 2002. He
then worked for Sharp Corporation in Japan as a designer for consumer electronic products until 2007. After
transferring to Italy, he graduated from the Domus Academy with Master’s Degree in Interior and Living Design.
From 2008 to 2012, he worked for Studio Urquiola in Milan as an assistant designer of product design to Patricia
Urquiola. He then started his own design studio in October 2012 in Kyoto, Japan, and currently works with
international clients.
Rui Pereira
Rui Pereira is a product designer born in Portugal. His ceaseless interest in learning from different cultures and
mindsets led him to become a nomad; he has lived in Valencia and Milan, where he has worked for Spanish
designer Patricia Urquiola, and he is currently based in Copenhagen where he works as a design developer for
Hay. By working and contacting with different realities, he has progressively developed a critical position towards
the design industry processes and society in general. His research focuses on finding new perspectives and
experiences by proposing new product typologies that create an immediate connection with the user and
simultaneously raise awareness of relevant contemporary issues.
In his projects, Rui explores the potentialities of the materials and manufacture, and makes use of a sharp
language to ultimately deliver clear pertinent objects.
Project name: ChimChim
Learning from the flexibility of the new Cotto’s Patchwork collection, we have developed ChimChim scent
diffusers. Two elements compose this apparently solid object that becomes a container for the scent bottle,
making it accessible at any time. Simultaneously, the user is invited to mix and match the five different materials
which allows for the possibility of creating 25 different combinations. The principle of using dried flowers as a
scent support known as ‘pout pourri’ was translated into solid natural surfaces like marble, red clay, Hinoki wood,
biscuit porcelain and brass. By leaving the surface where the liquid is poured untreated, we aim to enhance the
absorption of the scent into the material, complementing the added fragrance with its natural smell. The steam,
naturally created whenever we shower, will additionally enhance the perfume diffusion in the room due to the rise
in temperature and humidity.
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05
STUDIO 248 | Thailand
STUDIO248 is a product design studio with three designers. They work individually to shape their own creativity
without interfering with one another, yet they manage to style and find tunes to fit their shared design goals.
Being independent during design process does not mean ‘contrast.’ Instead, it reflects each designer’s distinct
characteristics that translate into their work.
Project name: COV CABINET
COV CABINET is the cabinet under the basin which is a way to patch material and form. The rectangle and the
circle of the cabinet are assigned two separate tasks; the rectangular plate covers the cabinet which is the
circular plate itself. Also, the rectangular cover can slide from left to right, so it can hide objects behind the
cabinet by using the pattern of the Patchwork and laser on the cover plate.
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06
THINKK Studio | Thailand
THINKK Studio is a Bangkok-based design studio established in 2008 by Decha Archjananun and Ploypan
Theerachai. Their projects range from small desk accessories and furniture to hotel projects.
Decha and Ploypan were classmates while studying Interior Architecture KMITL, Bangkok. In 2011, three years
after setting up the studio, they decided to study abroad separately. Decha graduated with MAS in Design for
Luxury and Craftsmanship from University of Art and Design Lausanne (ECAL), Switzerland, in 2011, and
Ploypan completed her Master’s program at Inspace at Sweden’s Konstfack in 2012.
THINKK has received local and international awards, including Furniture Design Award 2009 in Singapore and
ELLE Decoration Thailand Design Award. In 2012, Decha was selected by Elle Decoration to be one of the six
Asian talents (Talents à la carte) and present his works at Maison et Objet, Paris, while Ploypan was one of the
design students selected by Formex 2012, Stockholm. THINKK studio was mentioned by Dwell magazine to be
Tomorrow’s Design Stars and was nominated by Elle Decoration Thailand to be Young Designer Talent of The
Year 2012/2013, and eventually was chosen as Thai Designers of the Year in 2013.
Project name: LINES
LINES is a bench for the shower area. Its two-part function includes a sitting space and storage space in different
levels, which can also turn into a footrest when taking a shower or towel drying. Tropical teak wood brings a
feeling of warmth while also being moisture resistant. The design also adheres to simplicity and straightforwardness
of the straights lines of the wood that cross over each other on two layers
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07
Thomas Schnur | Germany
Thomas Schnur is living and working in Cologne. He grew up in the Southwest of Germany, where he was
trained as a cabinet maker before studying Design in Aachen and Saint Etienne. Since setting up his own
practice in Cologne, he has been developing furniture and products for international clients in the design field.
Project name: Grid
Grid translate the 2D Lines of the tiles from Cotto’s Patchwork Collection into a functional three-dimensional
object. A wire grid, which we know from displays for shops and stores is transfered to an object for home use.
Tubes form the frame of the metal grid and a clothing rail – so that the object can be used in the bathroom or
sleeping area as clothes valet or in the hallway and living area as coat rack.
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08
T.R.O.P. terrains + open space | Thailand
TROP is a landscape architectural design studio with a team of designers and construction supervisors. Led by
Pok Kobkongsanti, our philosophy is to create unique design for each project that we work on. We believe that
our design process is as important as the design itself, so we work very closely with each of our clients. Since
2007, TROP has been working on various projects throughout Asia. Currently, our works include Hospitality,
Residential, Commercial and Installation design.
In 2014, we received an Honor Award in Residential Design from American Society of Landscape Architects,
ASLA for our Quattro by Sansiri project. Our Garden at Hilton Pattaya is also short-listed for Hotel of the Year
2012 by World Architecture News, and also won Thailand Property Award for Best Landscape Design.
Additionally, Seascape, our first project in Singapore, won the Singapore Property Award in Residential Design
Category.
Project name: Where there’s a will… there’s a way
Originally, the purpose of any vase is to show the beauty of flowers. However, designers try their best to make
their vases outstanding. As a result, vases are getting more attention than flowers in our opinion. We want to
return to the original purpose of vases, which is to show flowers while the vase remains invisible.
One day, while walking on one of Bangkok’s streets, we saw some weeds growing through small cracks of a
concrete wall. For us, the whole wall acted like a vase for those weeds, which was exactly what we wanted to do.
We then went back to our studio and instead of trying to design a cool vase, we thought about how to camouflage
our vase into Pætchwork Collection’s tiles on the wall.
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09
COTTO’s Creative & Design Office
Project name: Tray
A set of stacked boxes with modular system provides diverse storage solution hinged upon user’s creativity.
With genuine teak and Lissoni’s latest tile design for COTTO – Patchwork, creating artful and delicate box set that
can fit in any rooms.
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supported by
COTTO
Over the years, COTTO has become more and more established as a world-class manufacturer of tiles and
sanitary ware from Thailand. COTTO products are a result of substantial investment in pioneering production
technology and extensive researches which allow us to best understand and respond to the behaviors and the
culture of consumers in each locality of the world. Our stance is to be the responsible trendsetter in the tiles and
sanitary ware industry. Such ambition will position us as the brand that bring “Pride and Pleasure” to our
customers eventually.