EUGENE, Ore. -- (Jan. 30, 2012) -- Sometimes a chair is just a chair, and sometimes there’s more to it.
Nils-Ole Zib, an independent furniture designer, educator and product development consultant based in Denmark, is out to prove just that. His upcoming Gunilla K. Finrow lecture series in Portland and Eugene, entitled “Own Works – The Process,” will address his unique design philosophy.
The lectures will be held in Portland at 6 p.m., Feb. 2, at the University of Oregon White Stag Block Event Room (70 NW Couch St.), and in Eugene at 5:30 p.m., Feb. 10, at 115 Lawrence Hall.
“It’s always about continually rethinking and refining furniture design,” Zib says of the design process. “Furniture should be simple. Stripping down to the core the essence of design and then adding my personal interpretation is what I try to do.”
Zib has his studio and workshop, ZIBIZ Møbeldesign & Produktion (created in 1986), in his native Denmark but is teaching a winter term furniture design studio at the UO. The studio, titled “Wooden Chair,” explores the craft and function behind wood materials and the artistic expression furniture can carry. The studio allows students to go beyond the aesthetics of furniture design and into the function behind objects.
“It’s about, ‘How can I imagine this to be 3D?’” Zib says. “I want (students) to create the physical transformation from a blank sheet of paper to a working prototype that addresses functionality as well as art.”
Zib has a long history in furniture design. His work ranges from conceptual and abstract to traditional design, and has been featured worldwide in exhibitions in Stockholm, Copenhagen, Paris, Vienna and Amsterdam. Additionally, he has worked with internationally renowned furniture companies including IKEA, Compwood Machines, Sorø Stolefabrik, Veskø and more. In between projects, Zib teaches design courses and studios in Denmark and Sweden, and now at the UO. Every summer, he teaches a Scandinavian furniture design studio at the Danish Institute for Study Abroad (DIS), which also attracts UO students.
“I read somewhere that good design isn’t when I have no more to add, but when I have no more to remove,” Zib says. “That way of thinking has stuck with me over the years.”
Zib’s lectures at UO are sponsored by the Interior Architecture Program in the Department of Architecture. For more information, visit http://architecture.uoregon.edu/node/365.
-- by Emily Wilson
About the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon is among the 108 institutions chosen from 4,633 U.S. universities for top-tier designation of "Very High Research Activity" in the 2010 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The UO also is one of two Pacific Northwest members of the Association of American Universities.
MEDIA CONTACT: Karen Johnson, A&AA external relations and communications, 541-346-3603, karenjj@uoregon.edu
SOURCE:Alison Snyder, director, interior architecture program, absny@uoregon.edu, 541-346-1447
LINK:http://architecture.uoregon.edu/node/365.
Note: The University of Oregon is equipped with an on-campus television studio with satellite uplink capacity, and a radio studio with an ISDN phone line for broadcast-quality radio interviews. Please contact the Center for Media and EducationalTechnologies at 541-346-3091 for scheduling.
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