Shop the look - Urban Splash HoUSe

hoUSe, the brainchild of Urban Splash, is a project that aims to deliver high quality, architect designed, super flexible, modular new builds. With the tag line "Designed by you, built by US" hoUSe allows you to arrange the space according to your individual needs.

hoUSe New Islington is a new concept designed by the award-winning architects, Shedkm, and Utility have been working closely with Urban Splash to provide beautiful, contemporary interiors that complement the architectural design. Here is a sneak peek at the pieces chosen for you New Islington build.

Fritz Hansen Ro Chair
Price: From £2074.00 at Utility
Designed by Jaime Hayon, this wingback chair envelops the sitter in a cocoon of sheer comfort. "Ro" means tranquility, matching the brief which called for a chair that is not only comfortable, but extremely beautiful and relaxing also.

Punt Sussex Media Unit
Price: From £1814.00 at Utility
This oak louvered T.V cabinet by Terence Woodgate is a development on his 'Sussex' range. It has one cupboard on the left hand side with an internal shelf and a retractable louvered door as well as a soft closing drawer on the right.

Content By Conran Mica Side Tables
Price: £185.00 at Utility
The Mica occasional tables by Terence Conran are part of a capsule range that is both bold and contemporary, with clean lines and a graphic aesthetic.

Foscarini Binic Table Lamp
Price: £127.00 at Utility
Binic is a cute table lamp by Ionna Vautrin for Foscarini. A fun 'take away' design Binic is available in six different colours.

Broste Pouf
Price: £85.00
This exquisite pouf from Broste will merge into any living space without question. Comprised from a durable cotton outer material to provide maximum comfort.

Watch this space - More to come, as new designs are revealed.

The Return of the Grand Prix

In the 1940s, Fritz Hansen experimented with steam bending plywood, which caught the attention of the young architect, Arne Jacobsen. Jacobsen normally designed his furniture for a specific purpose, but in 1952, he developed the three-legged Ant - for no other reason than a desire to make an all purpose chair that was easy to stack. This was a chair with a moulded, double curved seat and back element, in one complete piece which, with a light spring in the back, felt both comfortable and secure. 

The Ant proved itself to be Denmark's first real piece of industrial furniture, but at first, Fritz Hansen was not interested in producing the chair. It required major investment in new production machinery, and the manufacturer did not believe it would sell. When Jacobsen turned up with an advance order for 400 chairs for the canteen of Danish healthcare company Novo Nordisk, he was able to convince his manufacturer of the product's potential.

Arne Jacobsen continued to develop the Ant chair, and in 1955, the Series 7 was launched. It had the same self-supporting plywood seat shell and pre-assembled frame of chrome plated legs, but the seat and back were wider, and the new chair was equipped with four legs instead of three to ensure greater stability.

The Finest Distinction

In 1957, one more chair was launched along the same principles. The 3130 chair was introduced at the Designer's Spring Exhibition at the Design Museum of Art & Design in Copenhagen. The chair got its nickname later that year while on show at the Triennale in Milan, when it received the Grand Prix - the finest distinction of the exhibition.

A number of new types of glue had recently been developed that made it possible to glue larger pieces together than previously. Jacobsen exploited this technical triumph to construct a new edition of his steel chair, now with wooden legs as well as seat, and with more defined shape to the back. He saw the chair as an alternative to the first two chairs, which with their steel legs had a rather colder and more industrial expression.

In order to make the new chair's legs appear more slender, he shaved arched lines into the circular legs, so that a section at a right angle to the central line of the legs shows a surface that could almost be a triangle. When the chair first came on the market, the four legs were laminated from 31 layers of veneer. The grooves in the legs' two outside edges ended where the legs reached the bottom of the seat, so that the glued surface on the flat part of the legs could be as large as possible.

The original Grand Prix did not achieve the same level of success or sales figures as either the Ant or the Series 7. This was partly because it was so complicated and expensive to produce, but also due to problems with its construction, which proved to be fragile - the legs broke off too easily, and the chair was taken out of production

New production methods today have made it possible to produce the Grand Prix chair's frame in one piece, which is attached to the bottom of the seat in a circular shape - in exactly the same way as both the Ant and the Series 7. This has improved the chair's construction considerably, making it far sturdier.

This season, Fritz Hansen reintroduce the Grand Prix 4130 with wooden legs which is available in Oak, Walnut or a choice of 9 coloured Ash veneers.

All the chairs mentioned are available at www.utilitydesign.co.uk

Click to view:
The Ant Chair
The Series 7 Chair
The Grand Prix 3130
The Grand Prix 4130

Article Source: Katrine Martensen Larsen for Republic of Fritz Hansen

FRITZ HANSEN Favn Sofa

With my love of all things purple (the Utility logo for instance) I love this colour combination of the Favn Sofa from Fritz Hansen. Launched in Milan this year Favn, designed by Jaime Hayon, comes in 10 set colour combinations - as specified by the designer - or can be ordered in one single fabric choice from any of 9 options in the Kvadrat range. Favn has had a lot of media attention recently and it's easy to see why. It's mid century modern appeal is both familiar yet as a contemporary design it's completely original. Favn has also been designed to sit beside other Fritz Hansen classics like the Egg Chair and Swan Chair. A sound investment!

Sneak preview of new Fritz Hansen Nap Chair

The Nap Chair is an addition to the Fritz Hansen range, designed by trained cabinet maker Kasper Salto.

Available with or without arms in four neutral colourways, the Nap Chair is a reflection of Salto's own approach to design - design with relevance. "The name Nap is an abbreviation of the three key sitting positions; Normal, Active and Passive – because sitting is in fact a constant movement." says Salto.

The Nap Chair features a nylon shell with glossy exterior and a rippled interior to emphasize the geometry of the chair. The contours of the chair will naturally adapt to the shape of the human body, making it a comfortable, well priced seating option. What's more, it's stackable too, as we all know that sometimes a flexible option for when extra guests arrive is an entertaining must!

Fritz Hansen Nap Chair from £208.00

Fritz Hansen Coat Tree

If you invest in just one interiors update this Spring, it has to be this quirky Coat Tree by Sidse Werner for Fritz Hansen. Designed in 1971, this bold coloured coat stand makes a confident addition to your hall or living area. It's perfect for a busy family life as it's extremely durable - if rumour has it, it can hold up to 48 Russian fur coats - now that's heavy duty!

The branching arms of the Fritz Hansen Coat Tree set at different heights mean that even little ones can hang their coats and bags.

Fritz Hansen Coat Tree from £722

Available in Multi Coloured, Multi Grey or Chrome

Colour of the Year - Turquoise

Not only is turquoise the Colour of the Year for 2010, it was also the colour palette of choice for Arne Jacobsen when designing the famous Room 606 at the SAS Hotel, Copenhagen in 1966. Both the Egg Chair and Swan Chair designed by Jacobsen for Fritz Hansen, were used in Room 606, in their fabulous turquoise shades.

Both chairs are available from us at Utility - we only stock the original designs, so you can be sure you are getting a design classic!

Room 606, SAS Hotel, Copenhagen