ron gilad workshop at domaine de boisbuchet

ron gilad workshop at domaine de boisbuchet
image: alejandro castañeda © domaine de boisbuchet 2013

for the past week, designboom had attended domaine de boisbuchet, situated on a 15th century estate in the country’s southwest region between poitou-charentes and limoges. boisbuchet is a venue for creative experimentation, an initiative established twenty-two years ago by alexander von vegesack, founder of the vitra design museum, where for the past 16 years – each summer over the course of four months – participants have arrived from around the world to engage in relevantly themed workshops lead by selected internationally established artists, designers and architects including werner aisslinger, shigeru ban, nacho carbonell, matali crasset, konstantin grcic, jaime hayon, kengo kuma, ingo mauer, max lamb, and many more.

throughout the next week, designboom will cover workshops from freitag, ron gilad, maarten baas, benjamin hubert, tomas alonso and designmarketo.

ron gilad workshop at domaine de boisbuchet
video: maria verdú bertomeu © domaine de boisbuchet 2013

in the workshop run by tel aviv-based designer ron gilad, participants were subjected to the task of creating ‘something out of nothing’, which appropriately defined the theme of the week-long session. the workshop aimed to awake one from their comfort zone of accepting reality for granted, where they would then design and produce small interventions throughout the ample acreage of land at boisbuchet, sharpen their senses, look for ‘voids’, and develop the function and claim that their own. in the first part of the workshop, participants brainstormed and collaborated to design and build a wobbling wooden chair that integrated chimes to create an interactive rocking experience. 

a bouquet of flowers framed within rebar and reclaimed wood
photo: alejandro castañeda © domaine de boisbuchet 2013

life and death represented through bamboo and metal construction
image © designboom

in the second segment of the workshop, participants were assigned to re-interpret the definition of a ‘bouquet of flowers’. each of the solutions deconstructed the commentary into a wide range of installations using bamboo, paper, metal and other found materials. like a spider noticing the ultimate void between two branches and converting the space into a construction site for his web, the handful of projects exhibited the same kind of contextual approach, incorporating their final works into the surrounding countryside without disturbing the landscape.

take the time to appreciate the details of your surroundings
image © designboom

ron gilad commenting on the theme of his workshop
image © designboom

curiosity and material investigation near the barn 
photo: alejandro castañeda © domaine de boisbuchet 2013

putting together the finishing touches
photo: alejandro castañeda © domaine de boisbuchet 2013

prototyping with some found materials around the site
photo: alejandro castañeda © domaine de boisbuchet 2013

a participant refining some design components
image © designboom

one of the several wire flowers
photo: alejandro castañeda © domaine de boisbuchet 2013

discussion and concept development at the farm house
photo: alejandro castañeda © domaine de boisbuchet 2013

ron gilad
portrait © designboom

about ron gilad

ron gilad’s hybrid objects combine material wit with aesthetic play; they sit on the fat, delicious line between the abstract and the functional. gilad is fascinated with philosophizing about the common objects we live with.  his work, which vary from one-off to limited editions and production pieces, have no “expiration date” and reside in both public and private collections worldwide. gilad asks unceasing questions in 3d form and fabricates answers that create an arena for fertile doubt.