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Moon Vignettes by Babnimnim Design Studio at Downtown Design pushes the boundaries of materiality and permeability in design
Harmonies Magazine

Harmonies Magazine

Moon Vignettes by Babnimnim Design Studio at Downtown Design pushes the boundaries of materiality and permeability in design

by
December 11, 2024

Architectural surfaces leader Cosentino unveiled Moon Vignettes at Downtown Design, an immersive tactile installation born out of their debut collaboration with Kuwait-based Babnimnim Design Studio (BNN).

Moon Vignettes is a contemporary reinterpretation of The Moon Gate, a mystical architectural element of Oriental origin. The archetypal moon-like gateway of yore is reimagined as free-standing circular portals that appear to rise from the ground. Symbolic of the cyclical nature of life, the abstracted moon gates in the installation also allude to the “circular nature” of Cosentino’s sustainable surfaces Silestone and Dekton – the brand’s large format hero materials that seamlessly clad everything from the walls to the flooring. The installation stands out for pushing the frontiers of materiality in design by using Cosentino’s impressively scaled slabs as place making elements rather than mere cladding.

Jassim Alsaddah, Partner and Creative Director of BNN.

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Embracing the elegance of simplicity in design, Moon Vignettes, is an artistic composition of three elements: rectangular monolithic walls, circular cut-outs and intricate wooden joinery.
The installation is visually stimulating for its play of earthy colours, textures – a juxtaposition of fluted, matte, high gloss and suede, and ever-changing views though the moon gates, each vignette more alluring than the other. Remarkably permeable, the design invites free flow through the portals on all four sides and a kaleidoscope of vistas both looking-in and looking-out as one walks through and around the installation.
“Our goal was to create a holistic installation that invites interaction from all angles, breaking away from conventional booth designs that typically emphasize a front and back. The key design feature of the booth, ‘the moon vignettes’, offers multiple vantage points, creating an immersive experience for visitors”, explained Jassim Alsaddah, Partner and Creative Director of BNN.

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Visualized as a design gallery, the interior displays the choicest of statement pieces: a bespoke table clad in Silestone Jardin Emerald from Cosentino’s latest Le Chic Bohème collection, design pieces from Cassina and lighting novelties from Vibia.
The Utrecht armchair, a 1935 classic by Gerrit Thomas Rietveld, Mario Bellini’s Cab Stools – the world’s first example of a free-standing cowhide design stool and Soft Corners, a collection of versatile furniture by a Dutch designer Linde Freya Tangelder, are the collectibles from Cassina curated for the space. Vibia’s Array pendant lamps, an exploration of thread lighting by Umut Yamac, circular wall scones from the Dots collection by Martín Azúa and the Flamingo Mini, an intriguing creation that recalls a bird hovering overhead, are the chosen elements of illumination.

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Since 2018, Cosentino has been a regular at Downtown Design, each year creating stand-out installations in partnership with some of the region’s most well-known design practices. Talking about this year’s brief, Cosentino’s Region Director Middle East & India, Eddy Abou Khalil said, “It started with a visual, a photograph of Beyond The Wall, a permanent outdoor sculpture by Architect Daniel Libeskind at Cosentino HQ. It was our open invitation to play with the large format monolithic scale of our materials to create something sculptural. Babnimnim Design Studio surprised us with a multi-layered concept that highlights not only materiality but also ideas of wellness, circularity and design permeability.”

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Other extraordinary details of the installation include phases of the moon captured through sculptural pieces made from offcuts and flora spilling out of the portals like flowering cornucopia. Partnering with landscape design company Secret Gardens, Moon Vignettes will incorporate a range of indigenous species and ornamental plants.
Some of Cosentino’s stand-out collections is integrated into the design. These include EARTHIC by SilestoneXM, a capsule collection designed in collaboration with iconic Italian design studio Formafantasma, Dekton Pietra Edition, a Mediterranean natural stone inspired collection by designer and architect Daniel Germani and Dekton Ukiyo, a first of its kind fluted collection with designer Claudia Afshar.
A perfect balance of masculine and feminine, Moon Vignettes is designed to be calming yet invigorating. Celebrating the interconnectedness of life, the installation invites visitors to slow down and immerse in a world were tradition meets modernity.

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Contemporary concept, sober and elegant lines, colors and muted tones resolutely in tune with the times, noble and quality materials… The multiple creations designed and sculpted by Terry Dwan have everything to seduce us. Take a look at this outstanding talent. An architect and designer at the same time, Terry Dawn has, for a long time, established his notoriety on the international scene, thanks to his remarkable style. Based in Milan, this native American but adopted Italian uses a language of her own. Born in 1957, in Santa Monica, California, United States, she began her career after studying engineering and architecture at Rice University, Houston, in addition to training in Fine Arts at Studio Arts Center International (SACI) in Florence, Italy. The designer, who won the Fulbright Fellowship to study the architecture of cemeteries and war monuments in Italy, graduated from Yale University in Architecture in 1984. After an experience alongside Antonio Citterio, with whom she collaborated from 1985 to 1996 and founded the Citterio/Dwan office, working on several projects and residential complexes, fairs and exhibitions, notably in Switzerland, Japan, Germany and Italy, she opened her own design agency in 1992 and got involved in great designs, whether in architecture or decoration. A book entitled Antonio Citterio & Terry Dwan: Ten years of Architecture and Design, signed by Pippo Ciorra, was published on the occasion of the exhibition that the duo organized in Bordeaux in 1993. At the same time, it multiplies design projects for the biggest publishers and won numerous awards at international competitions. In 1996, she began by developing industrial design plans for firms such as Sawaya and Moroni, Electrolux, San Lorenzo and Driade. An accomplished designer, she juggles with forms, materials and concepts, questions obvious codes, experiments and explores eclectic universes: from the architecture of private residences, public buildings and interior decoration, through the design and the from salon and exhibition design to furniture and porcelain or silver objects, she is interested in everything and comes out with flying colors. Marrying current vision with everyday functionality, some of her works are part of the permanent collection of the Design Museum at the Milan Triennale. Passionate, her career is marked by numerous explorations of the material where wood, her material of choice, occupies a privileged place. She enjoys working with it revealing its multiple aesthetic qualities, through several everyday basics, many models of which have become emblematic, such as Maui, seat in scented cedar wood, edited by Riva 1920, and the Napa armchair, object oscillating between functional piece of furniture and biomorphic sculpture, or even Implement, a desk composed of two juxtaposed and misaligned wooden boards. Her collaboration with Driade is crowned by the timeless Burgos and Bedda sofas. A sought-after speaker around the world, Terry Dwan has taught architecture at SACI, Florence, and co-taught architectural heritage conservation at the University of Milan. Since 2006, she has been Dean of the Council of the School of Architecture at Yale University and a member of the SACI Board of Trustees.
Terry Dwan, multifaceted designer

 

Moon Vignettes Project Collaborators
Furniture: Cassina | @vivium @cassinaofficial
Lighting: Vibia | @vibialight
Landscaping Partner: Secret gardens | @secretgardenslandscaping

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