Oscar Díaz
Jarrones RGB
RGB azul
RGB verde
RGB rojo
Calendario de tinta
Cubertería Found
Fast Track
Espejo Narciso
Lámpara Profile
Lámpara Profile
Iluminaria Socket
Iluminaria Socket
Pen-Pal
Oscar Díaz
Jarrones RGB
RGB azul
RGB verde
RGB rojo
Calendario de tinta
Cubertería Found
Fast Track
Espejo Narciso
Lámpara Profile
Lámpara Profile
Iluminaria Socket
Iluminaria Socket
Pen-Pal
Óscar Díaz is one of several young Spanish designers who, having studied at London’s Royal Collage of Art, has settled in the UK capital. And he stands out among them because, although he’s still at a very early stage in his career, it’s obvious that he’s extraordinarily creative and imaginative.
Díaz, who was born in León in northwest Spain in 1975, studied industrial design in France. On graduating, he worked for several years in the studio of Paris-based designer Matali Crasset, and was involved in her projects for Artemide, Danese and Edra, among other companies. After graduating from the RCA, he was invited to work at Japan’s Oribe Design Centre – which brings together domestic and overseas designers with companies in Gifu in central Japan – where he designed furniture specifically for the Japanese market.
In 2006, he set up his own studio. Since then, his clients have included Veuve Cliquot, the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London and hip French homeware company Domestic.
One of his best-known products is his glass vase called RGB (which stands for ‘red, green, blue’). These combine artesanal techniques, specifically hand-blown glass, yet refer to contemporary culture. The vases – three vases, one in red, one in green and one in blue, which nest inside each other – work like a 3D pixel: once superimposed, the red, green and blue glass creates a violet-coloured pixel effect. The RGB design was shown at the exhibition, Eyes on Spanish Design, at the London fair 100% Design last September.
Equally eye-catching is Díaz’s Ink Calendar. Made of absorbent paper featuring numbers and words in relief, it exploits the principle, in physics, of capillary action: ink is absorbed slowly into the paper and colours in one number per day. The months are colour-coded using differently coloured inks: blues and other cold tones are used to indicate winter months, while warm colours, like yellow and green, represent summer months.
More recent designs include his Found cutlery and Fast Track lamp, both created last year. Found is a super-lightweight cutlery set initially made out of recycled plastic bottles. To start with, the spoons, forks and knives are fashioned out of curved parts of the bottles but are then coated with copper or tin plate to give them a metallic finish. The appeal behind this idea lies in the fact that each piece is different and that it allows everyday objects to be made out of existing objects.
Fast Track is a lamp comprising a band of electroconductive fabric which you fix to any two points in a room. One or more LED lamps can be attached to this with some pegs. The advantage of this is that each lamp can be moved to whichever point the user wants to position it at.
Among other accolades, Díaz won a prize in a ‘Young Talents’ competition organised by French publication Madame Fígaro in 2007 as well as in the Design Challenge competition, set up by London’s ICA, in 2008.
In 2009, he co-founded Parallel Projects, a programme devoted to curating and designing exhibitions. This is currently working on various shows set to open soon, among them one called Design by Performance in Hasselt, Belgium, which opens on March 13 (www.z33.be), one named 13,798 Grams of Design in Milan, which starts on April 14 (www.lambrettoartproject.com) and another called Common Language, which takes place in Bordeaux in France from May 17 to 28.
Creating green spaces all over the world.
Personal, honest products that improve our environment.
Last year, the University of Montevideo opened its new School of Engineering (FIUM). The interior design project for this spacious and modern building was carried out by the Uruguayan studio Dovat Arquitectos, and the Enea furniture that furnished it was supplied by the Spanish company's distributor in Uruguay.
This School is located in the LATU (Technological Laboratory of Uruguay) technological park and has 2920m2 of space over three floors. The spacious waiting, café, and outdoor areas were decorated with Enea's designer furniture.
The KUBIKA bench designed by Estudi Manel Molina was selected to adorn the School’s waiting areas. Thanks to its modular seating with or without backrests, it allows infinite configurations so that students can work in groups or take a final look at their notes. The polypropylene OH! armchair created by Gabriel Teixidó and the COMA 4L stool, designed by Lluscà Design, were also used in this space.
In the same area, professors can meet and work as a team in a functional environment thanks to the LTS System table with wooden legs and the NOA chair by Estudi Manel Molina, with an upholstered seat pad for greater comfort. In addition, the OH! PATIN armchair with front upholstery for more comfortable seating, is for those more personal moments to finish planning a lesson or simply escape until the next class.
The café features the NOA stool, a mustard-colored polypropylene seat and backrest that brings comfort and style to a space where you can have a snack before the next class or a mid-morning coffee to recharge your batteries.
And on the building's terrace, we find the STREET chair with armrests by Estudi Manel Molina along with the LOTTUS AL table created by Lievore Altherr Molina, which come together in a pleasant environment where you can relax after a long day of studying, rest after a tough exam, or share a meal with classmates, weather permitting.