ICFF Talks
The ICFF is North America’s frontier for the gathering global gusto of invention, education, and conversation. As such, each year it assembles a curriculum of seminars and panels to pique the ever-curious designers and to further their continual education.
Material ConneXion: Material of the Year
11:00 a.m.-12:00 noon
Dr. Andrew Dent, vice president of library and materials research at Material ConneXion, announces the winner of Material ConneXion’s Medium Award for Material of the Year. The Medium Award celebrates superlatively innovative materials juried into the library within the past year.
Monocle: Ronan Bouroullec
2:00-3:00 p.m.
Hugo Macdonald, design editor of Monocle, engages Ronan Bouroullec, one of France’s famed industrial design brothers Bouroullec, in conversation about the frères’ latest design adventures – commercial and experimental – and about where design is headed next.
Spontaneous Interventions
11:00 a.m.-12:00 noon
Panelists including commissioner and curator Cathy Lang Ho; architect Michael Sorkin; MoMA senior curator of the department of architecture and design Paola Antonelli; and Freecell co-founder John Hartmann discuss the cities-centric theme of the U.S. Pavilion at this fall’s 13th International Venice Architecture Biennale. In recent years a host of designers has been doing its best to improve the quality of life in their cities. From urban farms to guerilla bike lanes, temporary architecture to poster campaigns, urban navigation apps to crowd-sourced city planning, these efforts cut across boundaries and share an optimistic willingness to venture beyond convention and deploy fresh tactics to make cities more sustainable and accessible.
Dwell: Jason Miller and Søren Rose
2:00-3:00 p.m.
Kelsey Keith, senior editor of Dwell, confabs with Jason Miller, the much-honored designer-founder of the eponymous Brooklyn-based studio, where he produces coveted and widely exhibited objects of everyday purpose, and CEO and creative director of Roll & Hill, a contemporary lighting company that produces work by a select group of designers and with Søren Rose, the cheeky, multi-talented head of the Copenhagen and New York product design and interiors studios by the same name, about what it means to be an artist, designer, merchant, and entrepreneur with a global outlook and a sense of quality and craft in today’s demanding market.
Interior Design: Spanish Design
11:00 a.m.-12:00 noon
Cindy Allen, editor in chief of Interior Design, explores the alluring, and always intriguing state of Spanish design with three of its current luminaries: Jose Manuel Fernandez, partner in Cuerto, the specialist in creating sustainable and swank interiors for restaurants, hotels, and shops, including Madrid’s trendy bar/restaurant Madrilla, and the minimalist Salam Hotel in Abu Dhabi; Gerard Sanmarti of Lagranja, who with his partner, Gabriele Schiavon, is known for high-concept projects including Ceramic Oasis, concept shops for United Colors of Benetton and Camper, and award-winning products; and Inti Velez and Daniel Mancini of Wanda, a firm known for incorporating paper and cardboard elements into its designs for such clients as Carolina Herrera, MTV, Veuve Clicquot, and Louis Vuitton, and for the paper lamp it created exclusively for Madrid’s Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza.
Metropolis: Design Dialogues
2:00-3:00 p.m.
Susan S. Szenasy, editor in chief of Metropolis, examines the latest trends in kitchen and bath design with Ingolf Matthée, CEO of Dornbracht Americas, the eternally inventive, determinedly German manufacturer of kitchen and bath products; Mark Wolinsky, president of Wetstyle, the Montreal-based designer and manufacturer of award-winning, hand-crafted, made-to-order bath furnishings; and Aurelie Schwend, interior designer of the Rockwell Group.
4:00-5:00 p.m.
Susan S. Szenasy, editor in chief of Metropolis, discusses the evolution of the surfaces market with Keith Barrette, COO of BR111, the leading resource for exotic solid and engineered hardwoods manufactured in Brazil and Asia; Matthew Grzywinski, principal of Grzywinski + Pons on behalf of Ceramics of Italy, a global leader in innovative ceramic and porcelain surfaces for interior and exterior applications; Sarah Abdallah, interior designer at Rockwell Group; Michael Suomi, principal and VP interior design at Stonehill & Taylor; and Grace Jeffers, design historian, materials specialist, and Wilsonart Contract consultant.
Portuguese Architecture and Design
11:00 a.m.-12:00 noon
Rui Manuel Boavista Marques, trade and investment commissioner, Portuguese Trade and Investment Agency, looks at the current state of Portuguese architecture and design with Eduardo Benamor Duarte, assistant professor of interior architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design; Amandio Pereira, entrepreneurial designer, president and chief executive officer of Menina Design Group, the Portuguese furniture specialist, and founder and CEO of Boca do Lobo and Portugal Brands, known for limited edition pieces; and Janet Morais, the multifaceted designer and creative spirit behind a group of luxury brands that include her own DeMorais International, an interior design firm and the Washington, D.C.-based Koket, and Sr. Pereira’s Boca de Lobo.