Johannes Budde reimagines Isola Design Festival outdoors with ‘concrete on a roll’

Visitors at Isola Design District will find an unusual, intriguing seating arrangement parked outside the festival premises. Have you ever imagined sitting on a rug that is deceptively covered in concrete? During the upcoming Milan Design Week, Johannes Budde will exhibit unique concrete stools. The area sponsored by the German gin brand Monkey47, is part of the Isola Design Festival. The gin from the Black Forest in southern Germany transforms the park in the shadow of Bosco Verticale into WunderBar!, an eclectic open-air gin garden where the art of mixology meets design, creativity and conviviality. The all-day public event will take place from the 7th to the 12th of June at Via Gaetano de Castillia, 20124 Milan – next to the iconic green buildings, Bosco Verticale.

For the uninitiated, the design platform and community, Isola Design is the host of the event that streamlines programmes of several exhibitions with newcomer and established designers around the upcoming district of Isola. For the festival’s outdoor exhibition, Budde is set to display Rug ’N Roll concrete stools crafted in vivid colour cast in Concrete Canvas®. “Furniture should not be understood as additive objects but as integrative components of space,” says Budde of his design philosophy. Budde founded the Cologne-based label that specializes in creating versatile furniture and home decor that appeal to a broad range of tastes. His partner and co-founder Meike Papenfuß leads the business side of BUDDE.

The concrete stools, developed by BUDDE, embody the spirit of the outdoor area which is a bustling hub for visitors of the fair. Dubbed ‘concrete on a roll’, the design process of the stools is not only intriguing but satisfying to one with a palette for functionality and aesthetics. Crafted out of a flexible fabric, and impregnated with a thin layer of concrete, the fabric is left to hydrate and harden for 25 hours. The highly durable, waterproof and fire-resistant material becomes the base of the loose pleats that are imagined by the designer. “Concrete Canvas® is a flexible fabric. We realised that Concrete Canvas® allows for a high variety of shapes and applications. A technique to roll the canvas by hand and subsequently bend it proved to be the most promising. In a sense, the material naturally emerged into an organic shape because of its characteristics reminiscent of flexible rugs. We found this shape with its thrilling drapery best suited for stools,” explains Budde of his design process.

The contours of the stool emerge as naturally-emerging creases. The soft-looking drapery enters into a fascinating symbiosis with the actual hard material – elevating the value of Concrete Canvas®. The design process began with the free exploration of the material and led to the production of stools. The production technique gave the project its name ‘Rug ’N Roll’. The production has been optimised to prevent cutting waste, granting the design its status of a zero-waste product. Roll it – bend it – water it – be surprised!

Find Johannes Budde's outdoor exhibition at Isola, Milan from 7th to the 12th of June, 2022.

STIR takes you on a Milanese sojourn! Experience Salone del Mobile and all the design districts - 5vie, Brera, Fuorisalone, Isola, Zona Tortona, and Durini - with us. STIR’s coverage of Milan Design Week 2022, Meanwhile in Milan showcases the best exhibits, moods, studios, events, and folks to look out for. We are also excited to announce our very own STIR press booth at Salone del Mobile - Hall 5/7 S.14, Fiera Milano RHO.