Academic--and Functional
Denise Assad was inspired to design a poolside chaise that doubles as a float when she took a class in materials at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena and discovered new polypropylene plastics.
“They are weather-resistant and can sit out in the sun all day without fading,” she said. “I thought, Wow! What a chance to make a lounge chair that also floats. Chlorine won’t hurt it.”
And, she added, it would be inexpensive (potentially retailing for about $70), easy to manufacture and recyclable. Researching the outdoor furniture market, she discovered a gap between high-end lines and cheap items. “I aimed for the Ikea set who still enjoy aesthetics but don’t want to spend a lot of money.”
And now Assad’s sculptural, spa-blue Serpentin Chaise is headed for the world’s most prestigious furniture fair, the Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan, Italy.
She is one of 10 students from the Art Center’s environmental design department invited to exhibit their original entries April 11-16 at the fair’s Salone Satellite, which spotlights new and provocative work from around the globe. Like many of her fellow students, Assad, 30, a former director of publicity for Donna Karan New York, is studying for a second career. Exposure at this level could result in the sale of a design to a top manufacturer or even a job offer.
Although it’s not uncommon for Art Center students to be represented in major shows, this is their first invitation to the Milan fair, said Patricia Belton Oliver, chairwoman of the department. “They invited us after seeing our work at the Paris and New York furniture fairs,” she said. “We made the grade and it’s very pleasing. It exposes us to the world of design, and it’s great for the students to get a world view, networking and meeting manufacturers who are potential employers.”
In Oliver’s opinion, the Milan show is unrivaled as a lighting and furniture design fair. Radiating from a large central exposition hall to hundreds of showrooms all over the city, the show attracts an estimated 170,000 trade professionals from 140 countries. “It’s the place to learn what’s happening and who is doing what,” she said. “All the companies compete to have the coolest exhibits.” It’s also a chance to emphasize the wide range of talent at Art Center, said the school’s new president, Richard Koshalek. “It’s a big honor and the furniture we are exhibiting is extraordinary.”
Koshalek took over as president of the 70-year-old school six months ago, after retiring as director of Los Angeles’ Museum of Contemporary Art.
“The school is largely known, and for good reason, as training the leading auto designers around the world,” he said. “But we have nine different disciplines, from graphics to film and product design, and we’re going to focus on the cutting-edge work being done in them all.”
Furniture design is one of the school’s newer disciplines. The environmental design department (furniture, lighting and other items for interiors) is 8 years old, said Oliver, an architect who joined the faculty in 1992.
“But Art Center was already big on doing product, so going into furniture was a natural,” she said.
And it’s also appropriate for a city like Los Angeles, which has upward of 1,200 furniture manufacturers, she added.
Her students design furniture for contemporary needs, recognizing that we are entering an era in which space and resources are becoming more scarce, she said. “Our designers focus on multi-functional pieces and who will use them. They try to maintain a sense of playfulness and experimentation.”
Multiuse concepts are what motivated graduating student Sean Yoo to design his sofa-desk. “I had built several pieces of furniture and realized how many natural resources I was wasting,” said Yoo, 30, a former planner for the city of Torrance. Rather than build a table and a couch and a bookshelf, he combined them into one compact unit of plywood and metal, saving money and providing maximum flexibility. “It’s the smarter way to go.”
Philip Godfrey Aja, 26, also designed a space-saver. Inspired by the work of Minimalist artist Donald Judd, he combined upholstered and hard-surface cubes to create a modular unit that can be a daybed, separate stools or a love seat.
“The idea is that it could work in a home or in a public place such as a lobby,” he said.
Other participants and entries are Amy Ruddick, Kimberly Jo Murray, Monika Wahyu, Aaron Rincover, Jonaton Guzman Damian, Holly Schmitt and Kelly Lee.
Art Center is one of eight schools in the world tapped for the Salone. “I can’t say enough about how thrilled I am at this opportunity,” said Assad. “You meet experts--maybe a manufacturer might come up and want to talk. We are keeping our fingers crossed.”
Connie Koenenn can be reached at connie.koennen@latimes.com.
