Before winning the Golden Madonna trophy at the Milan Design Awards in 2021 (click here for more information), designboom interviewed objects of mutual interest, namely designs in Greece and New York founded by eleni petaloti and leonidas trampoukis studio. In the fields of art, design and architecture, objects of common interest create still life installations and experience environments and objects. The studio often experiments with materials, textures and tones, such as the holographic surface treatment of its "Future Archeology" series (see here), or opal resin, which is part of their ongoing exhibition at the Noguchi Museum, transforming sunlight It is light blue and dark orange (more here).

In our interview, leonidas trampoukis talked about the creative process of the studio, their experiments with different materials and techniques, and their new resin production studio, which is about to be established near the newly established gallery area in Piraeus Opened. "We don't think about specific materials or specific directions when we work, and almost every project is brand new," he explained. "We have used many materials, such as metal, resin, fabric, and anything, because our intention is not in form or material, but in ideas." 

Tube light, 2019 | Lighting | Acrylic All pictures are provided by objects of common interest

DB: How are objects of common interest born? What is the focus of your practice?

Objects of Common Interest (OoCI): There is no specific date of birth, more or less we established an architectural practice, LOT Architects, around 2015. We started experimenting with objects of common interest to do small-scale things, not for any specific project, just out of curiosity, and the need to do things faster than architecture. We started doing things ourselves, tried and showed it to a few people, they suggested us, or they said,'Ah this is a good thing, why don't you do it more professionally or expand it into a business. "This is what we did. We started to do some preliminary exhibitions in galleries and cooperated with the company, and then one thing brought another thing, and it became more serious. Our first method is when we When we started to deal with materials here in New York, it was a gallery shop. We made a lot of things in Greece and shipped them to sell. Then an important thing was that when we started working with art athina, we made some lounges and seating. Chair installation. One thing brought another thing. I think the situation got worse around 2017, when we won the competition to design a public installation in Flatiron Square in New York. Then in the whole process, we started Integrate architecture, space design and objects, and formalize them into objects according to interest to work on this smaller scale. We are the same person, the same studio, but we have two identities so that we can Freely take different directions in your work. Objects of common interest installation art Athena

DB: Can you tell me something about your process? When creating a shape or object, what is the first step you take?

OoCI: We work together, myself and eleni, we have a seven-person team in Greece and New York. So this is a teamwork, but most of our projects basically start from a conversation with eleni. Even if we have a committee, even when we get some ideas from references, we do a lot of things through discussion. We walked, we discussed, and defined the direction in a certain way, without even sketching multiple times. We have a very clear idea of ​​the direction we want to take, and since then everyone has worked on the project with the team or themselves. We start from the sketch after the discussion, and then immediately jump to the final production, which means that we don’t really make models, or sometimes we do rendering and 3D models, but we like the experience and proportions of working with manufacturers from the very beginning. Detailed experience. So we kind of skipped this process, which is time-consuming and requires a lot of trial and error. In this sense, there are many improvisations, but there are also many manufacturers’ trust. After we worked with them, we became more and more aware of how they worked, we knew their ideas, and we learned a lot from them. So this is more or less a process, it is very intuitive. We believe in our guts and how we do the right thing. Of course, some projects require more attention, such as chairs and more detailed things, for which we may make models. Many times we make a prototype, we show it in an exhibition or exhibition, and then we modify it when it passes the prototype stage. Standing Stone, 2020 | Exhibition | Adam – Brussels Design Museum

DB: So you didn't consider the pre-defined form, but let a lot of manufacturing influence the appearance of the final product? Do you sometimes change something while building?

OoCI: To be precise, we follow the manufacturer, and then we follow the production and change things in the process, or we let the manufacturer also make suggestions. We do not consider specific materials or specific directions, and every project is almost entirely new. You have seen that we use a lot of materials, such as metal, resin, fabric, and anything, because our intention is not in form or material, but in ideas. There is a potential concept or a common denominator between all our projects, namely the simplicity of form, or we have somehow merged hidden ideas or things that seem to be attached but actually not attached, or hallucinations Idea. For example, our tube chair may feel very hard and strong, but it is very, very light. It is made of carved foam, so you can lift it yourself. Or what we do with inflatable objects. In the exhibition of the Brussels Design Museum, it is standing stones with large and small elements. They look very heavy and strong, but at the same time, they are made of air and very light. . So we bring these ideas in every project, but they are completely different each time, with different material applications. So sometimes the material comes first, sometimes the idea comes first, and then we find the material to realize it. In this sense, we retain one idea, but every time we make ourselves think of something new. Tube chair, 2018, | chair | foam, fabric

DB: Do you experiment with materials and processing methods yourself in your studio, or do you outsource and visit different craftsmen in their studio?

OoCI: It's both. For example, it is very difficult for us to make inflatable toys ourselves, so we cooperate with professional manufacturers in the UK. We have used 3D models, we used different models in the studio, and then we sent them directly, and they sent us full-size samples and works. Then we edit it on the spot and send back comments, and then they send back the correct version. So it works in a real model, but it works in a real scale model. For something like a tube chair, we made the initial prototype ourselves, we got large pieces of foam, we hand-sculpted it in the studio, and then we gave it to the manufacturer. They perfected this technique with machine cutting, but still follow the same engraving principle, not by hand but by machine. Other times, such as using marble, we use 3D models, we make small-scale models, and then immediately go to a marble craftsman. So this is really a mixture of back and forth cooperation.

volax objects, exhibited at the carwan gallery in 2021

OoCI: As I said before, sometimes we will fix a material, we say yes, now we want to use wood, because of this and this reason, we insist on using the material, and then we start to analyze the characteristics of wood material, so it gives To our thoughts of form. For example, in our "volax" work at the carwan gallery (see more here), we want to work with wood because we have never used wood before, and this is the starting point. Therefore, we know that we want to make stone formations, we want a lighter material, not a material as heavy as a stone, but at the same time it is not super light, because it must still have a sense of existence and courage. So the idea of ​​wood comes from it, something between very light and very heavy, something that can be managed. Wood can be processed or processed manually, so that we can truly complete this process. We do start with the machine process and then complete it by hand. So this is why we use wood. At the same time, we want to have a very tangible and soft texture, so wood gives this texture. Other times, suppose we do something that we want to be transparent, such as constant, transparent or semi-transparent. So what can be transparent or translucent? It can be glass, acrylic, or inflatable. So choosing one or the other is related to the weight, the difficulty of manufacturing and the speed at which we need it. Sometimes, logistics gives us the idea of ​​working with given materials. For example, the idea of ​​inflatable toys was originally for an exhibition held together with art athina. They need something very fast and need to be implemented within a month, you know the Greek style, so we don't have time to do more complicated things. We have established this connection with a manufacturer of inflatable products that they can produce within a month. So this is why we make inflatable toys, and it also brings us the idea of ​​conceptualizing inflatable projects, and so on. Manufacturing process of "volax" objects

DB: In addition to materiality, you also try various forms, such as inflatable toys, and even your functional items, which usually have unexpected forms. Where did you get these inspirations?

OoCI: This is related to nature and our own personal experiences, travel or viewing things, inspirational elements. Most of our reference materials are not from the design world, but from everyday situations. So, for example, the project named "Formation" is these blue backgrounds, and its inspiration comes directly from the New York pipes we see on the street or in the exhaust ducts. Many references also come from history. Recently, we have begun to incorporate more Greek history and ancient elements. The standing stone project is an abstraction of Cycladic art statues, exploded in an inflatable scale. Of course, we do have references from architecture and design, but we don’t want to directly refer to specific things. We come from a background in architecture and art, basically, so none of us have studied design. We all study architecture. Eleni has worked in the art world for many years as the director of the art studio, so art has been an important reference from the beginning, especially abstract art. We have seen a lot of inspiration from minimalist art and abstract expressionist art. So I would say that it combines experience, art and design. I think we study the design more from what has been done and how we avoid repeating what has been done to try more original design aspects, but don't copy the existing elements. formations | Art Athena's installation

DB: During this year's Milan Design Week, you showed "Future Archeology" objects made of steel, right? But they holographically processed them.

OoCI: They are made of steel and wood. Therefore, it is basically a logistics combination. Some things cannot be made of metal, and some things cannot be bent with wood. We don’t really care about ideas that are wood or metal, but we care about ideas that are simple in form. The start of the project is the completion, not the material itself.

Future archeology in Alcoba during Milan Design Week 2021

OoCI: In a completely different set of jobs, we are interested in color, color change, and perception. One of the early projects was "The Relativity of Color". These glass and acrylic elements were inspired by Joseph Albers' research on color. This is also about color, color and illusion. This paint, this finish is very illusory, it will change as you move around the object, if you put it in a dark or bright environment, it will change. This is the whole idea of ​​it. It was produced in previous experiments on resin castings and this milky white material that we developed jointly with the manufacturer. We have actually bought his business. It is a special kind of pigment, we put it in the mixture, it will refract the color and create different shades and hues, so we want to use the relativity of the color to do this, 2017 | glassware | hand blown Glass, acrylic

DB: Is this the same paint that you used for certain items in the Noguchi Museum exhibition?

OoCI: It is the same, it is what we call "opal", imitating the natural milky white gemstone that exists in nature, but in acrylic. So far, it only exists in blown glass-milky white glass-and not in the solid volume. We are currently the only company that can manufacture acrylic opals, precisely because of experiments with the manufacturer from which we acquired business. It is basically like a solid piece of work, we pour colors and special secrets into it, and create a layer of material with this rainbow effect. offerings-rock II, 2000 | The copyright of some of the items of common interest exhibited by the Noguchi Museum belongs to designboom

DB: Can this also be used in different forms, or larger forms?

OoCI: Yes, it can. This is what we will experiment with in our own production studio. It can be anything we want, and we can control the color, transparency, translucency, and size we want. We create the mold and then cast it. We can also use it to create very rectangular parts, just cast blocks and cut them. So we will do a lot of things from it soon.

Doric Column in Noguchi Museum

OoCI: We will open a manufacturing studio focused on casting resins. Resin is a mixture of chemicals that produces this very hard mixture that is neither heavy nor light, between the weight of wood and marble. After he closed the business for 40 years, we bought this machine from a manufacturer that used to work in New York, and now, as we said, we have filled two containers from New York to Athens. We have a space in Piraeus, close to a newly established gallery area, where Kavan Gallery is. This is a space of 800 square meters (8000 square feet), very primitive, where we will be resin casting. Initially we will start with our own experiments, and then we will open it up after perfecting the technology in order to make things for others, designers, works of art, and all kinds of resin-related things. Opal Curved Stool, 2019 | Stool | Acrylic

DB: What are you doing now?

OoCI: We got a commission from the high-end luggage company rimowa. They held a show in Paris, and they invited several designers to use their iconic material-aluminum pattern surface to make a unique work, and we designed a totem. Then we plan to hold a museum exhibition in Hamburg next year, curated by Maria Cristina Didero, but I can't say more yet. We have many parallel construction projects. We have been building townhouses in Brooklyn, Williamsburg, and New York. We are building several private houses in Greece. We are building a cafe for an Argentine coffee brand that is opening a new store in New York. We are building Green Dot as their headquarters. . We are also rebranding and designing the clothing showroom of the 90s fashion brand nili lotan. We are opening a store for them in Palm Beach, Florida. There, we are designing this space, but it will also be a gallery space. We will also place a lot of our own objects. Some works from the carwan gallery will be placed there. So it will be a store, but almost designed like a gallery space. Doric Column, 2020 | Moving Objects | Kvaldrat Exhibition

DB: Do you often use your own objects in your construction projects?

OoCI: Not true, almost never. This may be almost the first time we have a space full of our own works and custom design works. This is not our intention. We completely separate buildings and objects, but if people want to mix them, we can too. Sketches of Doric columns of objects of common interest

The Design Award is an annual awards program designed to recognize outstanding performance on a global scale. The Design Award was launched in 2017, curated by DesignBound, and sponsored by the City of Milan. It aims to recognize the extraordinary achievements and the little sparks of beauty and joy that have occurred in the past 12 months.

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