Our In Focus feature this month is on the Berlin based Beta Tank design studio who are currently working on a project called ‘Scaffolding Brut’.
They will be showing off there works at the London Design Festival at the Victoria and Albert Museum between 17th and 25th of September 2011.
Beta Tank has been fascinated by scaffolding for a few years. Although these structures are found on almost every street, their aesthetic form comes from a system of safety requirements and repetitive engineering configurations, rather than any artistic endeavor.
The fact that such a visual construction universally exists untouched by design is an extremely interesting phenomenon that is inspirational.Beta Tank is primarily interested in the following questions, “If scaffolding systems are so impressive without design specifications, how utterly magnificent could they become if the need for beauty was attributed to construction?” And, “Given the fact that they cover large sections of any given city, rather than getting in the way, could scaffolding assist accessibility and mobility?
“Beta Tank is working on his second book Scaffolding Brut, which looks at scaffolding from all over the world and discusses its effect on cities, also providing possible futures for scaffolding, aesthetically and even on an engineering level.Scaffolding Brut will be a visual and animated investigation of the phenomenon of scaffolding, discussing the beauty of the fact that it is yet undesigned and exploring the possibilities of using the scaffolding system as an artistic medium, which one could use to design, with the hope of improving the aesthetics of urban life taken for granted.
These studio prototypes are two different types of porcelain scaffolding couplers; one rotates completely to create any angle, the other creates a 90 degree angle. Hand-made from glazed porcelain, each set includes a shortened pole and comes with either a gold or a platinum leaf nut and bolt. The Scaffolding Couplers Set are part of an edition of 50, each one numbered and signed by Beta Tank.
To find out more visit www.londondesignfestival.com/events/scaffolding-brut-eyal-burstein or www.betatank.net
