Full circle: highlighting Hungarian design at 360 Design Budapest

Aki tagadja a múltat, az nem talál jövőt.

This Hungarian proverb tells of the importance of using our past experiences to write our future, but balancing these two endless worlds – the traditions and culture of one, with the technology and innovation of the other – is often key to creating timeless design.

At the annual 360 Design Budapest event, Hungary’s most important cultural showcase of emerging and existing homegrown talent, the interconnectedness of both time and art inspired three key themes of storytelling (history and tradition), education (youthful talent and sustainability) and digitalisation (technology and innovation). Here are some of the standout designers, manufacturers and their products from the week:

Some of the best, most striking projects and pieces to emerge from 360 Design Budapest, were from the Emerging Designers section. The continuous flow of fresh blood with talented, creative voices always helps to enrich and enliven an industry striving for perpetual movement and improvement.

For example, Zsuzsanna Deák’s Re-Built Glass sliding doors really stood out during the product showcase. The neat, yet artistic room dividers are the result of over a year of material and production research and experimentation from the design graduate. Formed from silicate material using contaminated architectural glass and glass sludge, obscured translucent panels combined with colourful textured ones to create the Mondrian-inspired architectural feature.

Tamás Nagy, meanwhile, shines a light on the younger generations’ reliance on technology. Previously a school teacher and university lecturer, Nagy’s annoyance by disturbing screen time is understandable, yet the millennial designer’s Bedside Lamp mercifully includes a wireless charging pad, which can be detached from the light, and automatically changing light intensity to gently wake its well-rested user.

The design LAB is an incubation programme launched by the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency, to allow local designers and studios to partner up with Hungarian producers and manufacturers, and apply for grants to fund the resulting products’ larger-scale production. Thus increasing both the country’s manufacturing capabilities and creative presence on an international scene. Forms design, for example, were fortunate enough to work on two projects within the design LAB programme, buddying up with manufacturers Sixay – on the office furniture collection UPP! – and Árkossy – creating the JEAN clothes rack, with both using natural and recyclable materials.

Other successful partnerships presented at 360 Budapest 2022 included IO design studio and Kárpitos with their modular seating collection, Dedas. Due to the individual curvature of its cushions, Dedas can be extended to any length to suit various public spaces, without losing impact. Position Collective’s colourful Cel lamps uphold traditional Hungarian manufacturing and craftsmanship, working with Üvegmanufaktúra, one of the last remaining glass houses in the country, and RAWfiction designer Apol Temesi joined forces with Meshlin Composites to develop fully recyclable acoustic panels, made from recycled textile industry residue and formed into custom-pressed three-dimensional arrangements.

Not part of a design LAB partnership meanwhile, ERROR N’ MORE ceramics studio shares its individual nature with its products. The unique beauty and unpredictability of ceramics production and the firing process is harnessed in the tableware collection for SPAGO by Wolfgang Puck restaurant. Rebelling against uniformity, their motto teaches that mistakes are not just lessons to learn from, but result in items to treasure.

While 360 Design Budapest highlights the best of its homegrown talent, the showcase also presents its open, welcoming creative scene and markets, where overseas designers can grow. Lithuanian designer Emilė Kaškauskaitė, for example, presented her 34ND1 tables, made by upcycling hard to recycle toughened glass from car windows. Saving the material from its destiny on the scrapheap, Kaškauskaitė creates curved-top tables with a history, each with its own alphanumerical code to learn more about the car it once was.

Other imported designers of note and their works include the Tropos table lamp from Dechem Studio out of the Czech Republic. Fusing product and sculpture, the lamp emits a soft  and gentle light to accompany the evening, emerging through its smoky interior and coloured gradient.

Poland’s Malwina Konopacka, meanwhile, revealed her ceramic home accessories line, Forms. The spring-shaped Nana collects light and shadow across its many curves, while bagel-like Aniela is a multi-use tabletop product. A beautiful addition to a dressing or side table, Aniela is used to lovingly keep items of importance such as jewellery, or burn incense.

© Architonic

Head to the Architonic Magazine for more insights on the latest products, trends and practices in architecture and design.