Already in the spring of 2016, COR owner Leo Lübke and Uwe Fischer (1) formulated the premises for an experimental collaboration project with the programmatic title "COR Lab". To begin with, suitable young studios – designers - were identified to create new furniture for contemporary working and living environments in their own and at the same time COR-oriented understanding of design. The briefing embraced designs for a table with a bench, a room divider system, a sofa, a stool and various items of side furniture. With the workshop idea as an interdisciplinary approach that combines the strengths of different designers in a collaborative model, the seating furniture manufacturer is treading new paths in the development of comfortable furniture for cosy areas in which people can communicate, work or just relax.
(1) COR has been collaborating successfully with Uwe Fischer since 2010, which has led to the development of innovative furniture programs such as Affair and Scope in particular for the contract segment.
Ideas workshop brings different designers together
For the first time, a team of experienced and young designers was formed for a COR innovation project (2), the selection being made by Uwe Fischer. "As a tried and tested cooperation partner in the contract sector, he is represented with his own designs, but also active as mentor and moderator in our 'laboratory'," explains Leo Lübke. In March 2016, four design teams took up their work: Büro Uwe Fischer and the newly acquired working partners, the studios Aust & Amelung, Relvãokellermann and Pauline Deltour. The young creative teams, which almost programmatically included the three female designers Miriam Aust, Pauline Deltour and Ana Relvão, were very impressed with their working tour of the factory and their familiarisation with the experts in the development department. Leo Lübke: "For them, and this naturally also applies to Sebastian Amelung and Gerhardt Kellermann, everyone has their own 'language' and attitude. To combine these individual talents in an ideas workshop was part of the experiment, and the result is more than successful." The dedication to craftsmanship, the sensitivity to the processing of a wide range of materials and the openness of the manufacturer for new design approaches have in turn inspired all newcomers at COR – both male and female designers – to incorporate precisely these values in their designs and to reinterpret them.
(2) In 2008 "FantasticFusion" was created as a Europe-wide touring exhibition on living in the 21st century, design: Studio Vertijet/ manufacturer: COR and Kvadrat. The future project presented a fantastic world in which the boundaries between interior and architecture are removed: Walls and floors, textiles and furniture all merge together.
The collaboration principle: method and result are one
Briefed by Uwe Fischer, the creative teams developed the new furniture models independently of each other. Level and Bridge (bench and table), the room divider system Chart, the peripheral furniture Bond, the sofa Floater and the stool elements Drop are innovative individual designs that each stand alone. During the joint presentation in the manufacturer's development department, the potential to position the furniture also as a compatible ensemble in the sense of a collection quickly crystallised. Leo Lübke: "The COR Lab experiment is based on a collaborative platform in which young and experienced designers join forces to work, develop and communicate with us. This working method and the result achieved - furnishing concepts for collaborative zones in private or public spaces – correspond with each other."
Design teams present their designs live
Ideas and suggestions of the creatives have also been realized in the communication of the new collection, which is positioned in the contract and home segment. Gerhardt Kellermann, photographer and designer, presented the COR Lab and its protagonists in Hamburg's Hafenstudio. The designers worked on site for three days, rehearsing and interacting with their furniture in different settings and scenes. Parallel to an elaborate photo production with new imagery for the COR Lab brochure and a microsite at www.cor.de, movies (interviews and clips) were created which are also employed on all current social media platforms. Art direction was in the hands of the Hamburg agency Factor, while the film production was realized by the Berlin Nous Film.
Exhibition premiere in the COR Haus
On the occasion of the Partner Days, the special event for retail partners worldwide, the thematic exhibition COR Lab will be presented to the media for the first time in the COR Haus brand centre from 18 September 2017. At imm cologne 2018, the trade fair premiere is then intended for the general public. "With this new collection, we are addressing overarching target groups, home design experts and contract planners alike," says a pleased Berthold Strüve, Head of Marketing. As usual, the premium brand interprets the fusion of living and working worlds in its own special way: with comfortable, individually designed furniture possessing an emotionality that almost makes one forget the work factor.
www.cor.de/lab
Design teams from Frankfurt to Paris
Büro Uwe Fischer
Model: Level, height-adjustable table
Modell: Bridge, upholstered bench
www.office-uwefischer.com
Aust & Amelung, Kassel
Miriam Aust und Sebastian Amelung
Model family: Bond, stationary and mobile side furniture/-tables
www.aust-amelung.com
Relvaokellermann, Munich
Ana Relvão und Gerhardt Kellermann
Model: Chart, configurable room divider system
Gerhardt Kellermann: Visual presentation/Photography
www.relvaokellermann.com
Studio Pauline Deltour, Paris
Pauline Deltour
Modell: Drop, stackable upholstered stools with/without rollers
Modell: Floater, upholstered sofas and easy chair with shelf system
www.paulinedeltour.com
Contact COR
Berthold Strüve, Head of Marketing
Nonenstraße 12, 33378 Rheda-Wiedenbrück, Germany
t +49.(0)52 42.41 02-240, b.strueve@cor.de
Press
Helga Sonntag-Kunst, hsk communications
Warnckesweg 43, 22453 Hamburg, Germany
t +49.(0)172 4157756, info@hsk-communications.com
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