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Designer of the Year
Lucie Koldová
"To me, Das Haus was a complex project which gave me a significant chance to design a concept of living in my own way and, simultaneously, to supplement it with either newly designed objects or objects close to me. The nine months of work and the ensuing enormous influx of creative energy and inspiration gave birth to a new series of lights and furniture. It was an exciting ride from the beginning to the end. I enjoyed the absolute freedom and the enthusiasm of all the people involved; the new opportunities were to arrive soon and, despite the many demanding moments, it was absolutely worth it!"
This is how Lucie views the prevailing emotions linked with the exceptional project with a one-year distance of time. The project is a great and unprecedented success of Czech design, since it was the first time ever when the January IMM Cologne international furniture festival entrusted the design of a conceptual installation to a Czech artist. The most successful and admired item was the Chips lounge chair, re-employing the traditional technology of hand-bent wood developed by the Czech company TON. Its dominant feature is a lightweight backrest in the shape of a potato chips, which simultaneously forms one of the three bases. Its lightness contrasts with the massive seat equipped with a variable backrest cushion.
The modular sofa, Link, resulted from the cooperation with the Croatian company Prostoria. Yet another new furniture item is the Blossom upholstered object, the production of which was assumed by the German company Käfer & Hummel. It is in a shape of a small island and can thus be used for both sitting and lying, and since the handrests reach as far as under the seat, its mass looks as if levitating. The Czech brand Brokis then served as an umbrella of the production of new lights.
Apart from the concept of the two-meter Sparkles, it was the suspended spherical lights with matt core, Big One, and the almost jewellery-like Jack-O'Lantern, formed by a grille with a spherical light source wedged into it. It also exists in a recently presented table version.
Danica Kovářová