Reclaiming Seduction

Continuing the Barbican’s Radical Nature summer exhibition ICON editor Justin McGuirk chairs discussions with Jan Jongert from Dutch design firm 2012Architecten. Famed for their use of recycled and re-used materials they adapt to create innovative and ecological design which avoid the gimmicks and cut right to the point. Most famous was the use of Audi 100 windscreens as shelving units for the Duchi shoe shop in Scheveningen, The Hague. Including a central sitting area produced from left-over wood from a Rotterdam window factory it forms a bench as well as a footrest. Shoes can even be tested on a conveyor belt constructed from reclaimed supermarket cash desks. The entire shop design is composed from an astonishing 90% waste, yet in the talented hand of 2012 it is transformed into a seductive and smooth retail boutique.

Jan Jonhert discusses this and the projects on 20 August 2009 in the Redgrave Suite, Barbican Centre London.