Guest Country: Austria

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The BCN Design Week organizes for the first time the activity "Guest country", an initiative that aims to generate business opportunities between professionals and companies participating country.

The guest of this first edition is Austria, a country that excels in the design potential of the sector and the projection of its professionals. "Guest Country: Austria" includes a symposium during which attendees can see presentations by a delegation of five Austrian designers and four representatives of companies engaged in the design of the country.

Following the symposium there will be a Matchmaking Event to enhance the exchange of ideas and trends and to promote the collaboration between two leading countries in terms of design.


AUSTRIAN COMPANIES

ETERNIT-WERKE LUDWIG HATSCHEK AG
Presentation: Stefan Berger, Product Manager Design & Interior
www.eternit.at

The company was founded by Ludwig Hatschek in 1894. Hatschek was searching for a light-weight material, which should be easy to work with and should at the same time be weatherproof and durable. He experimented with various bonding agents to harden asbestos cardboard in order to produce panels out of this compound material. Eventually, Hatschek succeeded with a mix of Portland cement and called the new, revolutionary material “Eternit”, deriving from Latin “aeternus” for everlasting, eternal. Eternit was granted a worldwide patent in 1903.

The material retains its fascination thanks to its mouldability, which can only be obtained at a certain step during the production in the machine developed by Hatschek.
In 1954, Swiss designer Willy Guhl was the first to create furniture solely made of Eternit. His legendary garden chair, which resembles an endless loop, as well as the matching side table are considered popular furniture design classics and are pioneers in the field of moulded Eternit.

In 2010, Rainer Mutsch succeeded, in close cooperation with Eternit, to create DUNE, an example of the excellent statical characteristics of fibre cement used for industrial design.
DUNE shows the extremely flexible use of fibre cement and at the same time the possibilities of a handcraft moulding process.

J.& L. LOBMEYR    
Presenation: Johannes Rath, Managing Partner
www.lobmeyr.at

Founded in 1823 LOBMEYR is hand making Crystal and Chandeliers as a family business in Vienna, Austria.
The unique craftsmanship is used to materialize important historic designs of e.g. Adolf Loos, Josef Hoffmann and those of contemporary artists like Polka, Ted Muehling or Stefan Sagmeister.
LOBMEYR employs 40 members of staff and is selling its products via the Vienna flagship store and selected retailers around the world. International private customers are provided with one of a kind individual solutions.

VITEO GmbH
www.viteo.at/

When Austrian architect Wolfgang Pichler came up with idea of designing a series of outdoor furniture he was looking for some to use in his own garden.

He intended the series to meet his own design standards and the requirements of a top quality product: the perfect synthesis of form and function would convey relaxation and quality of life in fast-moving times! In addition to high and uncompromising quality standards he wanted ergonomics, durability and variable functionality to define the product philosophy.
It didn’t take long to consider what the company should be called. VITEO is derived from Latin viteus (the vine), and is a homage to the beauty of the natural surroundings in the wine region of southern Styria, where the company is based.

VITEO has now been designing and producing outdoor furniture to sells these products across the world.

WOLFORD
Presentation: Silvia Azzali, Market Director Italy / Spain / Portugal
www.wolford.com

Wolford AG, based in Bregenz on the shores of Lake Constance, supports 14 subsidiary companies across the world and distributes its products to around 65 countries via its own boutiques and trading partners.

The Wolford brand stands for the highest quality and innovative knitting technology. At the same time, it embodies timeless elegance and luxury. In its more than 60-year-history, the company has evolved from a producer of legwear and bodywear to an internationally recognized premium brand with an extensive product portfolio. With its five product groups Legwear, Ready-to-wear, Lingerie, Swimwear and Accessories, Wolford offers essentials and fashionable items for a woman’s wardrobe from head to toe.



AUSTRIAN DESIGNERS

GP DESIGNPARTNERS
Presentation: Rudolf Greger / Industrial Designer, Managing Partner
www.gp.co.at
    
Do you want a high level of creativity, an understanding of customers and market structures and ideal cooperation?
We at GP designpartners are the design team you are looking for.
Do you want an unmistakable product? Should we open up entirely new perspectives or set new benchmarks? Are you looking for creative intelligent solutions, an appealing design and all of that despite technical constraints? Do you need a partner who understands your market, who can fulfill the requirements of a specific target group, someone with a quick grasp of things, someone who knows the motives of the target group and can work out ideal customer benefits, someone who is focused on the target group? Then let’s meet so we can discuss how we can be of use to you.

TAHLIAySEBASTIAN
Presentation: Talia Radford & Sebastian Gomez
www.taliaysebastian.com

taliaYsebastian is an Industrial Design studio based in Vienna, focussing their efforts on Human Design to match suitable technologies. Human Design takes into account the position of our being and acts through design accordingly, so that by challenging habits, mind-sets, processes and systems we may create a sustainable world amongst one anonther and in conjunction with our environment. taliaYsebastian work on the one hand B2B, and on the other lending their design expertise to NGO.

THOMAS FEICHTNER  
www.thomasfeichtner.com

Thomas Feichtner was born in 1970 in Brazil. Following his schooling in Düsseldorf, Germany, he attended and graduated from the University of Art and Industrial Design in Linz, Austria, at which he also began teaching a few years later. All of his works emphasize artistic aspects and an experimental approach to design.
Feichtner has received numerous international awards and his works have by now been included in the most important design collections. Feichtner is a professor for product design at the Muthesius Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Kiel, Germany. He lives and works in Vienna.

RAINER MUTSCH
www.rainermutsch.net

Rainer Mutsch studied Interior and Furniture Design at the HTL Moedling, Industrial Design at the University of Applied Arts (Prof. Paolo Piva) in Vienna, Furniture Design at the Denmarks Design Skole in Copenhagen and Product design at the University of Arts (Prof. Archim Heine) in Berlin.
Mutsch worked as a designer and personal assistant for Werner Aisslinger in Berlin, Germany,
and founded his own studio for industrial design in 2007 in Vienna. Rainer Mutsch´s work was internationally exhibited in cities like New York, Milan, Paris, London, Stockholm and Tokyo.

Clients: Swarovski, Viteo Outdoors, Eternit, Sixinch, BMW/Mini, Coca Cola, Blachere, Auria, Kohlmaier Vienna, Flora

VALENTIN VODEV
www.pixstudio.net

He lives and works in Vienna. He graduated in Industrial Design at the University of Applied Arts Vienna and obtained a MA in Design Products from the Royal College of Art in London.
In 2004, he founded Pixstudio and has been developing and designing various award-winning products since 2005. In 2009, he won the Red Dot Award in ‘Mobility’ for his electric bicycle ‘Biquattro’.
Vodev took part in countless prestigious exhibitions such as the Salone del Mobile in Milan, 100% Design in London and Tokyo, the ICFF in New York as well as collaborated with Ron Arad for his exhibition at the Barbican Art Gallery in London.
Some of Valentin Vodev's client projects includes: Mothercare, Villery & Boch, BASF, Tetra Pak, Absolut Vodka, and others. His work has been published in some of the world leading magazines for design & architecture such as Icon, Wallpaper, Frame, Abitare, Blueprint, Dwell, Intramuros.

“To me converting ideas into products is a ‘metamorphosical’ adventure from the common to the unexplored – a discovery through which I can define new functions and forms. Design can be used everywhere - from the modelling of children´s toys to the cockpit of a lorry. In short – design is for me a cocktail of logic, aesthetics and art.”

Organiser: BCD, Advantage Austria and DesignAustria
Location: Roca Gallery Barcelona
Entry: by registration

This session will be held only in English.

Registration