virgil abloh transports classic VITRA pieces into the future in 2035 installation

architect, DJ, artist, entrepreneur, artistic director of louis vuitton and founder of off-white, virgil abloh, has now joined the roster of world-renowned creatives who have created pieces for VITRA. for the occasion, the 38-year-old genre-bending designer is presenting an installation called TWENTYTHIRTYFIVE where he showcases his vision of a home in 2035 along with three spin-off products that were developed in conjunction with the show.

image by julien lanoo, © VITRA, also main image

installed at the zaha hadid-designed fire station at the VITRA campus, virgil abloh’s TWENTYTHIRTYFIVE exhibition is divided into two parts — ‘past/present’ and ‘tomorrow’. the focus of the artistic intervention is the interaction between an adolescent and his home surroundings and how it evolves through the years, taking into consideration the evolution of technology, changes in society, and themes such as sustainability, recycling, dematerialization and overabundance.

image by julien lanoo, © VITRA

the first section portrays a seemingly arbitrary collection of furniture and other items including the original petite potence lamp and antony armchair by jean prouvé along with pieces by charles and ray eames. the condescend assemblage of memories results in a dreamy atmosphere that takes root in the long-term memory of the teenager.

image © designboom

for the second section, abloh travels in time to the year 2035 and shows the first own home of the now adult protagonist. ‘the teenager has become a creative doer who transforms his memories and experiences, all of the cultural and social influences, into his own products, thereby finding a personal field of activity,’ says nora fehlbaum, VITRA’s CEO. the 2035 studio serves as a space for both living and working where familiar objects have been adapted and hacked.

image by julien lanoo, © VITRA

image © designboom

the futuristic room includes the three developed projects. the first one is a wall of consecutively numbered bright orange bricks dubbed ceramic blocks. the brightly colored ceramic objects are not just a structural element but become storage objects in virgil abloh’s concept. the objects are part of a 999-numbered limited collection.

image © designboom

the second product is a remake of jean prouvé’s potence wall lamp developed in 1942. fascinated by the industrial clarity of this concept, abloh has accentuated this characteristic with an orange lacquer finish that gives it a new visibility, while a striking LED bulb in an oblong cage further enhances the appearance. this version is available in a limited and numbered edition of 300 pieces.

image © designboom

last but not least, virgil abloh is presenting an armchair that pays tribute to jean prouvé’s 1950s antony. with its dynamically curved wooden shell and distinctive metal base, this small armchair was one of the french designer’s last furniture creations. the multi-talented designer pays tribute to this iconic piece by giving it a plexiglass shell that reveals the supporting metal structure, which is further accentuated by a bright orange lacquer finish. the armchair is available in a numbered exhibition spin-off limited to 100 pieces.

image © designboom

‘to me, design has the inherent idea of being a bridge from the past, with an eye towards the future,’ explained abloh, who was fascinated by the designs of jean prouvé and had an interest in exploring the frenchman’s work from the outset of his cooperation with VITRA.

image by julien lanoo, © VITRA