Clarity in Modularity: Allan Wexler and the Team from Parsons Rethink the Modular

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The concept of the “module” has been central to Modernist architecture and design from its very beginning, a legacy that has trickled down to the masses through manufacturers like USM. Originally founded in 1885 as a producer of iron works and window fittings, the Swiss company expanded to sheet-metal products in the post-war boom. Technological advances led to an extensive overhaul of their industrial processes and the commission of a new factory in 1961, which in turn inspired a pioneering furniture product known today as USM Haller Systems, developed with architect Fritz Haller.

In this tradition, the company continues to innovate and explore the potential of modularity in terms of sustainability, as well as how modularity might redefine an object’s purpose and as a means of designing for immaterial labor. We may never realize the Modernist dream of an infinite number of modules, extending forever in a network that reaches the far corners of the world, but the basic principle remains as relevant as ever.

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of their Modular Furniture Haller, USM is collaborating with Zurich-based curators Tido von Oppeln and Burkhard Meltzer to pair leading designers with students from seven of the best design schools around the world. Known as project50, the brief of the six-month masterclasses is simply to “Rethink the Modular.”

Working with students from the AA (London), ECAL (Lausanne), ENSCI–Les Ateliers (Paris), KfG (Karlsruhe), Parsons The New School for Design (New York), Politecnico Milano and the Tokyo Institute of Technology, the curators encouraged the teams to consider space, materiality, how parts relate to one another, and even the idea that these systems could facilitate communication. The projects explore a variety of design ideas within the framework of modularity, from interface design to sound design and even fashion design. These themes are often related to the work of the instructor’s overall body of research and practice. Team leaders invited current and former students to participate in the experimental process at the Domaine du Boisbuchet, a workshop-driven design compound and retreat near Lessac, France.

Led by designer Allan Wexler, the team from Parsons comprises nine students from the Interior Design and Product Design programs. They gathered at Boisbuchet to escape everyday distractions and focus on the task at hand: rethinking the modular. The limited tools and scarcity of materials made the designers think outside their comfort zone, as they didn’t have access to cutting-edge technology or their favorite materials, readily available at an art or hardware store. “Constraints are a good thing, because they force us to use our creativity,” said Wexler, “Without constraints, things are never as interesting.”

The curators had posed the question, “What is a module in contemporary society?,” to which the Parsons team responded, “something unexpected.” “We wanted to look at module as system that organized elements, not as a mathematical thing,” Wexler explained. “The book is a module that contains individual experiences, cultures, stories, and so forth, including fiction and non-fiction.”

With the book as their jumping-off point, the students developed a modular peg system that can be re-organized to arrange books according to the whims of the user. These are systems that allow the reader and participant to establish a customizable system within a set of somewhat standardized objects. The dialectic between freedom and constraint was inspired by Wexler’s work, such as “Chair A Day,” where he made a chair a day for 16 days, each with a different concept, made in under one day. The research also ventured further afield, drawing inspiration from John Cage’s “Indeterminacy,” a series of 90-second stories in which each story took on a different characteristic within the given time frame — from slow short stories to fast long ones.

“Rethink the Modular” will culminate with an exhibition in Milan, during the 2015 Milano Design Week at Furisalone (Salone dei Tessuti). On view from April 13–19, the expansive group show will include not only the seven of projects and works by the lecturers themselves, but also historic designs by Volker Albus, Archigram, Yona Friedman, Fritz Haller, Trix & Robert Haussmann, Hans Hollein, Nathalie du Pasquier, Ettore Sottsass, Superstudio, and Matteo Thun.

To learn more about all of the teams and the upcoming exhibition, check out the project 50 website.

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