inside objects of common interest's studio, experimentation winner of THE DESIGN PRIZE 2021

OBJECTS OF COMMON INTEREST AWARDED THE DESIGN PRIZE 2021 GOLDEN MADONNINA

eleni petaloti and leonidas trampoukis of objects of common interest receive the golden madonnina trophy of milan’s THE DESIGN PRIZE 2021 in the category ‘experimentation’. designboom visited the greece and US-based design duo in new york to deliver the award and get a tour of their studio, where we got to learn more about their ongoing projects and latest material experimentations. the two create objects and installations that play with textures, hues and transparency through materials such as their opal resin, which transforms sunlight into pale blues and deep oranges (more here). lately they have been busy setting up a new resin fabrication studio, which will open soon close to a newly-formed gallery district in piraeus, greece.

‘opal resin is mimicking the natural opalescent gemstone that exists in nature, but in acrylic,’ leonidas trampoukis tells designboom in this in-depth interview. ‘up until now, it only exists in blown glass – glass opalescent – but not in solid volume. we are the only ones who can make the acrylic opal, exactly because of the experiments with the fabricator who we acquired the business from. it’s basically like a solid piece that we pour colors and special secrets in and create layers of material that has this iridescent effect.’

in the video above, objects of common interest receive THE DESIGN PRIZE 2021 golden madonnina, and take us through the making of their recent works while offering a sneak peek at their latest experiments.

leonidas trampoukis and eleni petaloti of objects of common interest with the golden madonnina

image © designboom

DESIGNBOOM VISITS OoCI’s studio in New YORK

located in brooklyn, the US studio of objects of common interest is filled with material experiments and various prototypes from recent projects.‘our process is very intuitive,’ the duo notes. ‘we believe in our guts and how we can make something that will come out correct. some projects need more attention, of course, like chairs and more detailed things, and for that we might be doing mock ups. many times we do a prototype and we present it in exhibitions or shows, and then we modify it throughout when it passes the prototype stage.’

during our visit, eleni and leonidas guided us through the making process of projects such as their ‘doric columns’ for kvadrat and ‘opal resin’, both of which were on view until recently as part of their ‘hard, soft, and all lit up with nowhere to go’ exhibition at the noguchi museum (more here). OoCI’s objects and installations balance between art, design and architecture, with references that vary from nature, history and their own personal experiences. ‘we come from a background of architecture and art, none of us studied design,’ leonidas explains.‘we both studied architecture, and eleni worked in the art world for many years as an art studio director, so art has been an important reference since the very beginning – specifically abstract art. we’ve seen a lot of inspiration from minimal art and abstract expressionist art.’ watch the full tour and ceremony in the video above, and read our in-depth interview with the studio here.

‘relativity of color’ combines glass and acrylic elements, inspired by artist josef albers’s studies on color | image © designboom