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STIRring Conversations: Exploring ‘slowness in design’ with Michael Anastassiades
A conversation with London-based designer Michael Anastassiades from Salone del Mobile 2022
Video: Courtesy of STIR, Michael’s profile is by Osma Harvilahti
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STIRring Conversations: Exploring ‘slowness in design’ with Michael Anastassiades

At the recent Salone del Mobile, STIR sits with Michael Anastassiades to discuss his collaboration with Kettal, and how it aligns with a sustainable approach to design and manufacturing.

by Zohra Khan
Published on : Aug 01, 2022

If you are familiar with the practice of London-based designer Michael Anastassiades, you probably know how he weaves poetry in simple geometric forms. His works which include designing of furniture, lighting, objects and spaces, carry a sense of silence and a celebration of the understated. But did you know that the place where Anastassiades comes from - his home in London- is a buzzing hotspot of sights and sounds, and not a retreat untouched by city noises? The rear window of his home - a smorgasbord of stimuli for the Cypriot-born designer actually overlooks the Waterloo Station. He calls it his secret spot. Speaking with Samta Nadeem (Brand Director - Curation and Communications, STIR) during Salone del Mobile. Milano 2022, Anastassiades discusses how in the process of building his place from scratch has he come to embrace the noises and simultaneously filter them to create something tranquil out of it. “I love living in a buzzing city with all its minuses, with all its pluses, you have to embrace the city for what it is. But at the same time, I had to establish myself, build my environment and allow certain filters to come in. Well, it’s almost like building a castle and you have to protect yourself in any environment,” he tells Nadeem how he manages this contradiction.

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Michael Anastassiades in conversation with Samta Nadeem (Brand Director – Curation and Communications, STIR) at the Kettal booth from Salone del Image: Courtesy of STIR

The conversation took place at the Kettal booth where Anastassiades graciously sat with Nadeem to share his thoughts on his association with the Spanish furniture company for which he has designed a fan this year that responds to the Mediterranean summer heat. The idea for Superfan comes from a childhood memory of Cypriot summers when low-ceiling fans braved blistering temperatures as an alternative to air conditioning back then. Today in the wake of climate change, as temperatures rise to unprecedented highs, his collaboration with Kettal is his message to the design world that we need to look for new ways to keep ourselves cool. Designed as a fan for a low ceiling, Superfan’s assembly is defined by three angled blades, which meet at a rotating axis, expressing a union of what Anastassiades describes as ‘modest elegance’.

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Superfan by Michael Anastassiades Image: Courtesy of Kettal
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The Ringer Chair (2021) for Kettal by Michael Anastassiades Image: Courtesy of Kettal

A collaboration that began in 2021 with the design of The Ringer Chair, Anastassiades discusses how for this year’s Milan Design Week, Kettal has been open enough to explore the idea of a product which is quite unusual for a furniture company to take forward. “The fan fits with everything they do about the outdoors, the pavilions they make, and open air situations…” he says. When asked his thoughts on how the material expertise of Kettal in aluminium responds to sustainability and circular design being the overarching theme of Salone del Mobile 2022, the designer continues, “It is not about the material as such. It's about the responsibility that we have as designers to create things that last. The quality of passing things from one generation to another generation is really the ultimate approach to sustainability.” While the biggest learning from the COVID-19 pandemic for humanity has been of taking a step back and to pause mindfully, Anastassiades who has worked with international brands such as B&B Italia, Herman Miller, Flos, Cassina, Bang & Olufsen, and Molteni, is of the view that ‘slowness in design’ too could lead to longevity of a product, and subsequently a future marked by sustainable design.

Watch the full interview by tapping on the lead video.

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 showcased the best exhibits, moods, studios, events, and folks to look out for. We also had our very own STIR press booth at Salone del Mobile - Hall 5/7 S.14, Fiera Milano RHO.

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