A Dynamic Tool
Anna Moldenhauer: The development of “foild” is the first collaboration between atelier oï and Brunner, how did that come about?
Aurel Aebi: We have been interested in Brunner as a company for a long time now, we find its work fascinating. On visiting the Brunner plant, we had the opportunity of acquainting ourselves with the company’s super-skilled engineering and we were all the more impressed. We then realized joint projects in which we designed the relevant interior architecture and Brunner was responsible handled the furnishing, e.g., for a school in Singapore. At the same, when paying a visit to our offices, Marc Brunner had the chance to find out how we work – in a space of some 900 m² in what used to be a motel dating from the 1960s. The “Moïtel” offers us enough space for a materials library with some 20,000 sample materials plus exhibition space, workshops, and offices. The interaction that has taken place ever since is fundamental to our work.
Marc, what is it about atelier oï’s portfolio that appealed to you?
Dr. Marc Brunner: We specifically look to collaborate with the kind of designers whose work excites us and atelier oï’s approach to materials in the design process, plus the studio’s great ideas immediately struck a chord with me – time and time again, they manage to develop products, the likes of which people just haven’t encountered before. After a joint distribution project, we moved on to actual product development, in a very open brief. The courage required is now amply paying dividends. “foild” represents something fantastic, something we were not expecting as such, and it has defined a new typology as far as we are concerned. This simply doesn’t happen that often, which makes it so very special for us.
What questions did you ask yourselves in terms of the product development?
Aurel Aebi: The world of work is in a state of flux and the pandemic has placed the subject of flexibility on the front-burner. Depending on what kind of project we are talking about, a large number of teams are now shedding or gaining staff at short notice. This means that planning with room divisions of fixed sizes is far too rigid. The fact that Brunner provided us with a very open brief gave us the opportunity to observe freely how we can play a part in shaping current working environments. Observation is one of the best ways of thinking. We are currently planning various workstation concepts for large corporations such as the Swiss Federal Railways and we have noticed in such projects that people basically only need one kind of element, namely a bracket that you span across a space. With “foild” in a matter of only seconds we can erect flexible structures in a room that can serve as room dividers, sight screens or blinds.
And that always remain an elegant feature. Nevertheless, most room dividers do tend to possess a somewhat static quality.
Aurel Aebi: Exactly. Especially when they are not really needed at any particular moment, they give the impression of being superfluous. “foild”, by contrast, can be folded up and tidied away at any time, thus saving space.
"foild" is currently a prototype. What is the next step?
Dr. Marc Brunner: With “foild” we took a product concept to the pre-series production stage within the space of only three months. The next step is to define the right materials and manufacturing techniques. Our aim is to create a sustainable product; this is why “foild” makes such sparing use of materials and why it can be assembled and dismantled without tools. Its structure is very light and it can be packed very flat before being sent out. We are, in parallel, investigating the best textiles to cover it with – for the initial presentation in Milan, for instance, we opted for an upholstery fabric by Kvadrat . These are the details that we will address in the near future. Thanks to “foild”’s good design by atelier oï, the basic elements of the product are already in place.
Aurel Aebi: Brunner implemented the idea extremely quickly, thinking it through right down to the smallest details. This enabled us to come up with a space-shaping item of furniture, one that is easy to handle. Its complexity lies more in its insides and these are practically invisible from the outside. I call this “the beauty of the core”. Something else that appealed to me is the fact that our design was capable of referencing that flair that is typical of Romandie, that French-speaking part of Switzerland that links France, Italy, and Germany. It is only such an ideal interplay that births a perfect result and the same is true of “foild”. Dynamic, light and precise, plus the fact that it is thought through right down to its tiniest of details. Thanks to its folding grille the interior architect can open the product up as required or fold it up and put it away again. The textiles are simply hung on the structure itself and nothing has been screwed in or stuck down, completely in line with the principles of sustainability. As designers and architects, we need to get used to thinking about all our designs in cycles, as things that needs to be put up and then taken back down again.
On top of this, simple structures are more difficult to design because nothing can be hidden in them – every detail is visible.
Aurel Aebi: Absolutely. The structure’s ingenious connectors also means that a large number of steps are no longer necessary at the production stage, as users can slot the product together themselves.
Dr. Marc Brunner: “foild” consists of aluminum and, because it can be assembled and dismantled without tools, is easy to repair, should the need arise. Likewise, users can replace the textile section themselves whenever they like, something that is, to my mind, amazing. Moreover, the system can be extended if so desired, since it consists of only a small number of different elements. In my opinion, everything about this product, from the lightness of the material it uses right down to its small carbon footprint, contributes, at the end of the day, to making the sustainable design that is “foild” exactly what it is. Moreover, as a basic archetype “foild” boasts the kind of quality design that will retain its fresh, contemporary feel for many years to come. The kind of product that will still be relevant tomorrow. What we are aiming to do is to put across a strong message with as few materials as possible. “foild” is a tool for designing space the way its users see fit. This room divider is flexible and light, allowing customers to always erect it just where it is needed at a particular time. The scope of possible uses is huge.
Brunner’s DNA includes making the impossible possible, to move boundaries and to come up with new approaches. atelier oï takes a multidisciplinary view, to what extent do you find that reflected in Brunner’s motto?
Aurel Aebi: Designing is the act of formulating and rejecting, and is something that is not always successful from the word go. It requires passion and the will to get back on your feet, to go on, even after what appears to be a failure. This is all part of a whole, part of the process. There are people from ten different disciplines in our team, everything from boat designs to engineers, lighting engineers to material designers, architects to scenographers and landscape architects. Working together, we thus achieve results that take account of different perspectives. Which means that we are in a position to adopt a playful approach to would-be boundaries. The large number of different combinations so characteristic of our work are reflected in the very name of the product that is “foild”, a product that includes the “oï” of atelier oï.
Dr. Marc Brunner: I would like to underscore two things that Aurel has mentioned – courage and passion. These are, without doubt, two qualities that we have in common and that strengthen our collaboration. Putting our whole hearts and all our energy into what we do and not giving up when something doesn’t work straightaway. "You miss every shot you don´t take", to quote Wayne Gretzky, the famous Canadian former ice hockey player. In my opinion, that says it all. The courage to stick to your guns and indulge in experiments from time to time usually comes up trumps, as you can see with “foild”.
For the 2023 Milan Design Week you created a peaceful oasis right in the heart of the bustling district of Brera, a place where visitors could experience the way that “foild” works as part of an artistic installation similar to a ballet performance – including the appropriate stage design and background music. What kind of emotions were you hoping to communicate with this scenography?
Aurel Aebi: foild’s folding grille allows for the interplay of light and shadow, thus creating the kind of spaces that can be described as lively. Our scenography for Brunner’s showroom in Milan is adjustable in terms of size and is accompanied by the music of an accordion – an instrument whose function is also determined by movement. Our intention was to allow the subjects that inspire the design to be perceived by the senses, in order to direct visitors away from a fleeting glance and towards a conscious process of looking. It is hard to find a moment of peace and quiet in view of all there is on offer at the Salone del Mobile and the Milan Design Week, to find the time to take a closer look at a product. Our scenography successfully amazed visitors, thus focusing their attention on the product. What we managed to create in Milan was an atmosphere that illustrated our vision – to conjure up flexible spaces in which the sharing of knowledge can take place, so that we can come up with ideas together. As I always say, a scenography needs to be designed in such a way that it works even without explanations of any kind. It needs to move people somehow.
In recent years, the idea of New Work has been the subject of much discussion. In terms of “foild”, what does the ideal working environment currently have need of?
Aurel Aebi: A large number of people who were going to work in an office every day before the pandemic have no desire to return to structures of that kind anymore. As we have now seen, working remotely is a viable option, as a result of which living and working have now become ever more intertwined. In parallel, working as part of a team has grown in importance. After all, every project benefits from combining various areas of expertise. Furthermore, with its textile component, “foild” also boasts a natural element. We are fascinated by everything that is dynamic. Everything that is static is preceded by something dynamic and this was a fact that we want to be reflected in our product. Accordingly, our room divider is a static element, yet one that is somehow, nevertheless, dynamic. The spaces created by “foild” are flexible – they can be unfolded, deployed and then folded back together again. I think that this new flexibility, within an existing space, for example, is one of the things that have made the prospect of the office attractive once more. Nowadays, static structures such as cubicles are no longer up-to-date. What’s more, the kind of simple presentation on a screen to be found in video chats are just not enough to make a company’s staff members identify with their company, what is needed is a physical meeting place.
Dr. Marc Brunner: What I would like to highlight at this point is “foild”’s user-centric design. Users can make the product their own, and thus, to a certain extent, the space to which they are returning. The office is important as a place of work and will continue to exist – it is our job as designers to make this space attractive once more, meaning that people will be happy to return to it. We are social beings and for creative work in particular, personal encounters are very important, that coming together in space. The furniture needs to be available to both planners and users as a tool and it is our job to develop that tool. The other products in Brunner’s portfolio – such as the “boards”– a family of products for agile methods of working – also fulfill these requirements. Even from the facility managers’ viewpoints, “foild” is an asset. After all, even the kind of curtains that are suspended from the ceiling are a lot of work to put up and, if there is a fire sprinkling system in operation, in order to comply with fire safety regulations, a distance between the curtains and the ceiling of around 60 cm must be adhered to. We, by contrast, invert the principle, and start at floor level, this simplifies all the other steps involved. This alone is a great argument in favor of our product. All the aspects that we have discussed demonstrate just how up-to-the-minute “foild” actually is and we are now translating the creative idea dreamt up by atelier oï into something real.
