with the “(un)forbidden city” operation alessi sought to organize the first organic exploration of the potential of chinese product design.
under the meta project responsibility of gary chang, alessi asked eight chinese architects to reinterpret one of the most archetypal of their products, the tray.
a preview of the research was presented in september 2011 at an exhibition curated by gary chang at the china shijintan contemporary art center in beijing, during beijing design week.
“the other major new presentation under the “officina alessi” are the results of the “(un)forbidden city” operation. this was our first exploration into chinese design: eight trays and containers conceived by eight different architects selected among the most interesting exponents of contemporary architecture in that country, leading us into a new world and a new culture, as fascinating as it is distant, mysterious and promising”… alberto alessi
tray/container in 18/10 stainless steel and melamine. “trick and treat”, designed by gary chang (edge design institute ltd) is part of the “(un)forbidden city” project, and it is not only a tray for the kitchen or for the tableware. in reality it can be a spice-holder for the table, a bottle-opener in the kitchen, a snack-holder in the living room, a vase in the study, a tissue-holder in the bathroom, or a tea-light candle-holder next to the bed. it follows you everywhere, and its functions change with your needs and desires. its appearance and operation change with a mere rotating movement.
dimensions: 9.8"w x 3.5"h x 5.8"d
lotus leaf centerpiece by chang yung ho for alessi
centerpiece in 18/10 stainless steel. a lotus leaf, designed by chang yung ho (atelier fcjz) is part of the “(un)forbidden city”. this centerpiece represents the will to take inspiration from the nature with very small design influence. this lotus leaf was picked from the lotus pond of the old summer palace and was left six month to dry. the obtained form has been scanned with a tridimensional scanner and transformed in a mould to obtain the stainless steel copy that produces the tray. the mould can be used on both sides in order to obtain two different ways of containing or serving.
dimensions: 17.8"w x 2.5"h x 16.3"d
tray in anodized aluminum. “jane”, designed by liu jakun (jiakun architects), is part of the project “(un)forbidden city”. it can be spread out for presentation on the table, or folded up for easy carrying.“ slight variation of the angles can make it a little curving up, or can let it come up with many different forms. (liu jakun)
dimensions: 14.5"w x 9.5"d
stand in 18/10 stainless steel and wood. “floating earth”, designed by yan song ma, is part of the project “(un)forbidden city”. its height and sculpturesque shape suggest that it can be used not only as a cake stand but also as a tray or table centerpiece.
dimensions: 15.5"w x 8.8"h x 15"d
tray designed by urbanus, is part of the project “(un)forbidden city”. in the kitchen or in the living room the empty “trayscape”, waiting for something that will come, looks like a table sculpture, a dark stone shaped like a lake landscape surrounded by the gentle hills that you can find in a precious, traditional chinese garden. the full “trayscape” is turned upside-down and the edges of its landscape became the support and the flat surface becomes the place where objects or food lay down to be served. the two different souls belonging to “trayscape”, the expectations arising from the empty object and the functional use of the full tray are to be felt separately. the one excludes the other.
dimensions: 17"w x 1.5"h x 12.3"d
tray in 18/10 stainless steel. “clouds root”, designed by wang shu (amateur architecture studio), is part of the project “(un)forbidden city”. “clouds root” was inspired by the stones in the garden of the academics, which are considered clouds and represent the effects of the relationship between man and woman. “clouds root” is a system of two trays for the kitchen and the living room, one big and the other small, one male and the other female.
dimensions:
clouds root 33: 13"w x 7.5"d
clouds root 54: 21.3"w x 11.8"d
