Barcelona Design Week 2022

See you at the Barcelona Design Week 2022

“Ukraine. Design for real time”
Design Hub Barcelona/ Design Museum Barcelona
Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes, 37, Barcelona
June 2 to 22

Gropius Low Chair Military Edition
By NOOM in collaboration with Nataliya Bakulina and Antonina Latayko

Design is a method of solving certain problems, it is primarily about the function, which is followed by a clear aesthetic form. Design finds its place in war, for example, in the creation of camouflage nets. 

The net with which the Gropius chair has been upholstered was woven in the original technique, developed by volunteers from the VinnSolard Center, located in Vinnytsia.

In Vinnytsia and other cities and villages of Ukraine, with the outbreak of the war, there are many centers where willing locals and people who moved from the North, East, and South of Ukraine are convening to weave camouflage nets for the Ukrainian military. 

VinnSolard is one of those centers where, from the earliest days of the war, people of various professions worked on camo nets, united by a single goal - victory. Among those who joined the volunteering were Latayko Antonina, art director, a graphic designer from Kyiv, and Bakulina Nataliya, producer and, until recently, editor of ELLE Decoration Ukraine.

The camouflage net is a mesh base with strips of green, black, gray, beige, and brown cloth tied to it. Since all sports and fishing nets in the city were bought almost immediately, one local citizen, a school gym teacher, taught those who wanted to weave such bases with their own hands. Mathematician Svetlana, having mastered the technique, has improved it by calculating the optimal number of cells and their size. It was Svetlana who woven the net base for the Gropius chair, which has more than 4,000 knots. From Vinnytsia, the base was transferred to production in Kyiv, where it was stretched on a chair over fabric upholstery. After that, the chair went to the office of the famous Kyiv architectural bureau, which during the war became a volunteer center. After that Tonya and Nata tied colored pieces of fabric that remained from our production to the chair.

Our installation is a manifesto - an attempt to draw attention to the fact that the war is not over, the war continues. Combining the design of a chair, that was developed in peacetime with a camouflage net from wartime, we aimed to convey our feelings. For every Ukrainian, the world, regardless of his age and profession, is divided into "Before" and "After", and design has acquired new meanings and functions.

#standwithukraine

On the 24th of February 2022, Russia declared war on Ukraine. 
We are admires the braveness of our citizens, government, and military forces. And thankful to everyone who supports us during these difficult times. 

NOOM doesn’t relinquish its obligations to customers. Our productions are distributed; factories and the team are not in attack zones.
Unfortunately, the delivery dates will be shifted. We will make every effort to promptly inform you about the situation in Ukraine and about the possible dates for sending your orders. We ask for your understanding and support.

Real ways you can help Ukraine as a foreigner can be found here: 
https://u24.gov.ua/

#StandwithUkraine 💙💛