Crate Series By Makkink & Bey, Spring Studios - London
Date: 05-11-2010
till 14-01-2011
Location: London, UK
Venue: Spring Studios
Url: http://springprojects.co.uk/flash.html
The Trend Boutique really likes the originality and creativity that has gone in to creating the crate series by Makkink & Bey currently being exhibited at Spring Studios.
These crates are transformed into a cabinets; a by-product transformed into a finished product, extending its life. The crate furniture first appeared after a trip to India, where Rianne Makkink noticed how Indians use very basic crate houses as mobile shops and workspaces. Rooms are piled up as they are needed, and packing and unpacking become unnecessary.
Studio Makkink & Bey used to be housed in an enormous industrial warehouse on a Rotterdam industrial site. The seemingly endless space in the high-ceilinged hall meant they needed to create a workspace on a more human scale. A crate cupboard placed on an old desk created an enclosed workspace isolated from its vast surroundings. The crate doors shield the user from sights and sounds, allowing greater concentration, in a space where there is room only for the absolute essentials.
These shipping crates, normally used to temporarily house goods, take on a more solitary role as a sized down household unit. Each of the crates trade off space against utility. The various models encompass a specific function, which is concentrated inside the crate and in its’ material finish. In its original guise as freight packaging, the crate protects its contents, but as furniture it also becomes a means of personal autonomy.
The wooden retreats can be used to seclude oneself from the outside world, but when unfolded they can become furnishings inside an already furnished room. While travelling, they form familiar spaces within unknown spaces. The leather wrapping of the bed crate can be folded up as a wall panel or a headboard making it possible to adjust the furniture to a personal needs for privacy. The Bath crate transforms into a sauna or dry cleaning room when closing it off. The Sink crate is a wash unit for personal hygiene for enormous spaces, whithout bathing facilities clase at hand. The Vacuum Cleaner crate wears its’ dusty content seamingly on the outside. This crate is covered with a layer of grey fibers flocked onto the surface of the crate.
Bath Crate - Crate Series, Makkink & Bey
Bath Crate - Crate Series, Makkink & Bey
Bath Crate - Crate Series, Makkink & Bey
