Our life and work are mobile, taking place at flexible times and flexible locations, in a team or alone, in the company or at home. In developing a room divider that creates such functional zones and takes the need for privacy into account, Ana Relvão and Gerhardt Kellermann have come up with a multifunctional, highly aesthetic solution. "Chart is neither a wall, nor a shelf, nor a room divider," Ana Relvão explains. "It stays in the background," adds Gerhardt Kellermann, "while serving as a backdrop for varied and situational use." Seen from a planning point of view, they have designed an individualised system whose constants consist of two offset, upholstered, adjustable partitions. The resulting space between them creates volume, and the outer surfaces can be individually configured from both sides. Heights of 212/212 cm serve only for wardrobe solutions. In principle, a high and a low wall element (212/127 cm) or two low elements (127/127 cm) are combined: This creates homely islands that preserve transparency and avoid sight barriers. It was precisely this feeling for a scenic effect that predestined Relvãokellermann for the design of an unconventional room divider," recalls Uwe Fischer, who selected two more young design teams for the COR Lab and accompanied them in their work. "On the other hand, they work very matter-of-factly, especially with regard to functions and technical details."
A real COR type
Chart is the first room divider to be produced by COR. That is why its designers concerned themselves extensively with the special production possibilities of the manufactory. The processing quality of wood, fabrics and upholstery, but above all the possibility of individualising each basic design in terms of type and requirements, were what stimulated their design work for the COR Lab. This was not without consequences for the new room divider. Constructional components such as its solid wooden frames can be adapted to the most varied requirements in the contract sector. The lightweight partition walls are filled with a paper honeycomb material, while fine perforations provide good room acoustics. Each wall surface is "dressed" in a textile upholstery cover. Fixed screw connections on the floor are optional, with stability and load-bearing capacity being derived primarily from a simple and ingenious design principle: The shelving surfaces screwed into the spaces between them give the wooden frame stability. Adjustable plastic feet on the undersides provide additional support and level out any unevenness. The upholstery covers, on the other hand, are invisibly drawn in and fastened to the wall ends. This is made possible by the COR groove, a patent that the manufacturer employs in many items of its seating furniture.
How to cook a new soup?
Ana Relvão and Gerhardt Kellermann are regarded as talented young designers who do not look for the easy options. They question tasks critically and place them in an interdisciplinary context. "We never find anything just easy," comments the Portuguese designer. "The question is, how to cook a new soup." Also in the product development of Chart, they did not just take something off the shelf or rework old recipes. On the manufacturer's side, they were able to find three important ingredients: COR is comfortable, cosy, and caretaking. As with any good dish, one can also feel with a good product whether it is authentic or honest. "They don't cheat," says Ana in reference to her client, who has been producing seating furniture in Rheda-Wiedenbrück since 1954. The room organiser, as Relvãokellermann like to call their design, remains faithful to this philosophy once again in 2017.
Brief profile Relvãokellermann
Ana Relvão and Gerhardt Kellermann have been running their joint industrial design office in Munich since 2016. Relvãokellermann work for clients from culture and business, developing and designing products and objects. Their approach is interdisciplinary and collaborative at the same time, with clients also benefiting from an external network on a project-by-project basis. The design office analyses and solves its tasks with the aim of designing new areas of application and scenarios. Their creative focus is on the use of new materials and technologies – in response to current social developments. Ana Relvão (31) comes from Portugal and graduated in product design from the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Lisbon in 2009. Gerhardt Kellermann (33) started his own studio for industrial design and photography in Munich in 2012. He studied industrial design at the State Academy of Art and Design in Stuttgart with Prof. Uwe Fischer, among others, and is also a lecturer in Stuttgart, Saarbrücken and Braunschweig. Clients: Auerberg, BFS, Bulthaup, COR, Ervilha Criativa, Gaggenau, Griffwerk, Holzrausch, Huawei, L&Z Elements, Schönbuch, Seymoure, SZ Magazin, Util, WirtschaftsWoche, Writersblok, ZEIT Magazin.
www.relvaokellermann.com
Contact COR
Berthold Strüve, Head of Marketing
Nonenstraße 12, 33378 Rheda-Wiedenbrück, Germany
t +49.(0)52 42.41 02-240, b.strueve@cor.de
Press
Helga Sonntag-Kunst, hsk communications
Warnckesweg 43, 22453 Hamburg, Germany
t +49.(0)172 4157756, info@hsk-communications.com
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