t the entrance to this year’s Handmade exhibition
stood Maarten Baas’ ‘Forever Young’, a twist on
the archetypal children’s playground. The installation
conjured up the innocent thrill of swings and
roundabouts, controlled velocity – though some
of Baas’ designs were far from innocent.
The passing of time, together with the tipping
point between childhood and maturity, are
concurrent themes in Baas’ work. ‘Forever Young’
responds to ‘a relentless desire’, explains the designer.
‘As a child you want to grow up, and as an adult you
want to stay young. It’s a search for balance between
both; you always balance your intuition with a certainrationality. For me, it is about creating designs that
are meant for the mature world, while at the same time
having the directness and the spontaneity of a child.’
The Italian furniture manufacturer Henge tapped
one of its expert artisans to bring Baas’ extravaganza
to life. His spring rockers and monumental slide
are all made from burnished steel and polished brass,
the slide welded in two steps using a special alloy
with copper components, an oft-employed technique
in Baas’ designs. ‘Henge is not a normal industrial
production,’ says CEO Paolo Tormena. ‘We have
a different mentality, and this collaboration with Baas
and Wallpaper* is the best expression of our approach.’A
Making Of...