Beautiful Transition – Carolina Wilcke and Reinier Bosch

Chair SZ 64, neon text "Future" burns bright, but "Bright" stutters: "Beautiful Transition" is a design that aptly captures the essence of these times. The design by Carolina Wilcke (product designer, Studio Carolina Wilcke) and Reinier Bosch (designer, Studio Solarix) has gained extra significance with the COVID-19 crisis by prompting the public to ponder the changes: can this be a beautiful one? "This adds an extra dimension to the question we've been dealing with in our daily practice. We explore how beauty and storytelling through objects and buildings can contribute to the transition of cities. We all want a sustainable and healthy environment for our children, and now we feel that more than ever before."

Solar cells are integrated into the seat and backrest of the chair, providing energy for the neon text. It's an image on the border between art and design that makes you think about how you can interact with objects in a sustainable way. "Martin Visser gave a face to the reconstruction with his furniture like the SZ 64, but in a way, we are also in such a phase now. We have to rethink everything. While Visser made design accessible to a wide audience, we want to make sustainable design attractive to a broad audience through the use of smart materials."

"Beautiful Transition" is part of the exhibition 'The Sofa Bed That Opened Eyes,' at the Centraal Museum in Utrecht. The opening of the exhibition has been postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 crisis.