Founded in January 2013, 13&9 Design is an interdisciplinary design collective from Graz, Austria that celebrates the unique talents and partnership between award-winning architecture firm INNOCAD and product and fashion designer ANASTASIA SU.
13&9’s beginnings were an immediate success after winning the international competition for the renovation and redesign of the historic Zeughaus building for the City of Graz. The multidisciplinary team received the top prize and international notoriety for its ROLLING STONES project following the opening of re-designed Kanonenhalle. 13&9 and INNOCAD received more accolades after Graz was designated as an official UNESCO City of Design in 2013, which solidified the city as a beacon of creativity. The ROLLING STONES project also received first prize in Berlin’s noted LEAF Interior Design Awards in 2013 for as “public building” and was honored in 2014 by Contract Magazine at their Annual Interiors Awards. 13&9’s work has also been acknowledged at the Architizer A+ awards and at the FX International Interior Design Awards in 2014.
13&9 first presented their work in the US market at “WantedDesign” in May 2013. Immediately the brand received praise and attention for its eclectic and highly varied product collections and original design philosophy. Their work has appeared in top design, news and architectural publications, including: ABC News, Azure, Architectural Digest- Italy, Directors Notes, 360° Design Magazine, Interior Design, Metropolis, Core 77, Design Boom.
The creative community at 13&9 not only work as a design studio for international companies such as VITEO OUTDOORS, XAL and ARTIFORT/LANDE but also produces and sells products under its own label. Production is completed by trusted manufacturers based in the Graz region. The interdisciplinary team’s successful cooperation with specialist partners has led to outstanding achievements in furniture, fashion, accessories, lighting and art objects, as well as for industrial design and audio installation projects.
Their work relies on the interplay between architecturally-inspired forms and fashion. The work explores the contrasts between qualities such as masculinity and femininity as well as permanence and transience. This encourages interdisciplinary thought in every project and gives the brand the flexibility to be extremely creative when developing new products and concepts.
13&9’s designs seek to create a unique dialogue between the individual and the environment, by expressing through design how we all are connected and impact one another. The concept is that these designs also reveal us as a society while we interact and live with these products. Such issues as modularity, compatibility, flexibility and transformation are key in 13&9’s development of new products, particularly in the attempt to allow consumers to create individualized uses for products that adapt them to how they live. Finally, 13&9 is fully committed to producing product in partnership with small-scale and local manufacturers to support production in the collective’s immediate area and encourage responsible environmental practices across the board. “Our aim is to strengthen the bond that exists between the product and the individual; further, we seek to transmit the label’s creative energy in each product, which we hope, provides a window into 13&9 Design’s core values as a group and what we stand for individually and collectively”, says Martin Lesjak, Founder and Partner.