Destination: Tramshed
This year’s London Design Festival will play host to the second Tramshed event – Luis de Oliveira’s own take on the traditional trade fair. Exploring the very notion of how the design industry operates, his approach paves the way for designers themselves to take back control. Article by Emma Craig.
Classic woodwork, stone masonry and enamel kitchenware are perhaps not what you’d expect from the leading edge of design. They are unashamedly rooted in the past – which is precisely why Luis de Oliveira, founder of De La Espada and organiser of the London Design Festival’s Tramshed event, likes them. “I’m trying to stick to what I call the historical materials,” he says, “There are some things that I think are instinctive… The things that require a lot of effort to make, you know people generally like”.
His approach appears to be in stark contrast to the wider values of the Design Festival. Being held this year from 17th-25th September, star names like Murray Moss and Google will be headlining the festival at its hub at the V&A, spotlighting 21st century approaches like 3D printing and the advantages of emerging new software. “Technology pushes possibilities,” says Deputy Director of the festival, William Knight, “Design and technology have always gone hand in hand”. With an attitude like this pervading the festival, the more conventional design methods could easily start to seem out of place.
The philosophy behind Oliveira’s company De La Espada, and subsequently of Tramshed, brings in a different perspective. “Companies are no longer these things that live by themselves in ivory towers. I think people are much more comfortable with the idea of setting up temporary projects and assembling groups of people and working together”.
Falcon Enamelware – Bake Set
It is an approach which proved popular when it came to organising the first Tramshed in 2010, an event which saw over 4,000 people pass through its doors. “I have a general unease with the current state of trade fairs. In fact, I don’t really think they’re happening places at all anymore”, he says on the subject of why he decided to organise Tramshed. “If you’re a smaller company you really look at what you’re getting in return. For a conventional fair it’s actually not that great, so something new is needed, something where it works differently. Rather than running an event that’s focused on companies, we want people to be aware of the figures that are interesting in the industry”.
The official literature describes Tramshed as “a celebration of authenticity”, a concept which is unquestionably reflected in the list of exhibitors. From the iconic Falcon Enamelware to a handmade chandelier by Bocci, the companies and designers showing at the event all have quality and originality in common. The concept of the gimmick has been put aside in favour of design which “contributes to everyday life”, while seminars, talks, good food and music will be on offer to help enmesh the cultural and commercial aspects of the Tramshed. The lack of a single, headline exhibitor also helps to give the show scale. “I think that’s what people picked up in the Tramshed last year; it felt like everything was interesting and new but it wasn’t one dominant thing”. It is this devotion to the human aspect of the design industry which makes de Oliveira’s event stand out.
Bocci – Rossana Orlandi glass chandelier
Tramshed 2011 runs from 22nd – 25th September