Béatrice Durandard: The Multi-Functional

(adam štěch, jiří macek) The Youngsters installation at the DMY Berlin last week included young French designer Beatrice Durandard, who has, apart from many other things, come to terms with the microbe of multi-functionality in a very peculiar manner. This microbe seems to attack us almost with every step we take.

Beatrice Durandard (b. 1985), who is currently focusing on her final work at the renowned ECAL in the Swiss city of Lausanne, presented several projects at the DMY Berlin, in which she plays with variability in every possible way. The Les Modules lamp, which represents her final work and was created under the leadership of young Max Lamb, is a variable object, which is apparent from its name. The lamp consists of three geometrical glass parts that can be combined in many different ways; thus, the lamp always looks different. The principle of these combinations allegedly enables the user to create 54 different variations.

The project, entitled Table Objects, also deals with variability. Beatrice Durandard integrated four decorative objects – a vase, a saucer, a candlestick, and a bowl – into a multi-functional object whose function can be changed by adjusting its position. Moreover, the somewhat ghostly object has several positions without a function so that the user can realize that non-functionality for an object can sometimes be acceptable even though it would be just a mere decoration. Beatrice Durandard’s ironical perspective is very close. She enjoys design in its whole spectrum – from industrial design to pronounced artistic limited editions – and amuses herself with it. One can see it in her portrait that she provides to media, as well as in her plywood stool, where she played with various types of wood. These are ordinary miracles.

www.beatricedurandard.com

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