Urbis Designday 2010 Showroom/Designer pairings announced

Urbis Designday 2010, powered by the Audi A5 Sportback, is back for its 5th year on Saturday 20th March with a fantastic new lineup of showrooms and designers and a new creative brief that will ensure visitors can expect the most inspiring Designday yet.

The format for 2010 includes creative practitioners such as multimedia creators, architects, furniture designers, landscape and fashion designers, all working in partnership with 13 of Auckland’s leading showrooms. In all, around 42 creative individuals; designers or artists will play a part in this year’s Designday.

Another first this year is the introduction of a design brief – ‘Off the Grid’ – where creative pairings have been challenged to go the extra mile to interpret this theme.

In addition to this is the HP Future Designer, where AUT’s top design graduates from Graphic, Fashion and Spatial design faculties will work with HP in a series of installations at the Simon James showroom.

The 2010 showrooms and designer pairings were announced yesterday morning at The Steel Works in Mt Eden, Auckland, with each participant receiving a bottle of Veuve Clicquot champagne.

This year’s collaborators are:

• Cite / DUB module & World
• design denmark / Penny Vernon
• Häfele / Patrick Reynolds
• Poggenpohl / OH.NO.SUMO
• Matisse / Brendon Reid & Automation Associates
• Matisse Contract Interiors / Brogen Averill & Automation Associates
• Inovo / Alexandra Owen
• Kohler / Zambesi
• Essenze / NZ Design Collective (Chris Metcalfe & Te Rongo Kirkwood, plus David Trubridge)
• Cavit & Co / Xanthe White Design
• Studio Italia / Dulux & newimproved
• AUT / HP Future Designers at Simon James
• RTA Studio / Audi & Urbis at Ironbank.

Representatives from the showrooms and creative practitioners have already started planning and some of the exciting ideas Designday guests can expect to see include; Häfele NZ Ltd and Patrick Reynolds creating an interpretation of the nine muses that have inspired Artists and Poets throughout time; the teams from Studio Italia and Dulux & newimproved will be basing their installation on Michelangelo’s David taking a colourful tiki tour around New Zealand exploring classical Italian art and design and the diverse colours of our country.

Cite and DUB module will be travelling to the core of the design furniture concept by creating a futuristic white office space that will come alive with sound and projected images; and the representatives from Cavit & Co and Xanthe White are creating two installations around the idea of ‘time stands still’ with one of them being a 1950s New York apartment setting overtaken by nature.

All Designday guests must register online to attend and for a $20 fee will receive passes for free transport and access to all participating showrooms. Guests are then taken on a leisurely tour of the 13 showrooms from 10am till 5pm on Designday Saturday, 20th March. There are refreshments at almost every stop and shuttles to take everyone around.

Urbis Designday is endorsed by the Auckland City Council and The Hon John Banks QSO Mayor of Auckland City said that “excellent architecture and design will be a key part of a greater Auckland. Urbis Designday is an opportunity to showcase some of the key people and businesses who are already contributing to world class design within our city.”

Urbis Editor Nicole Stock said “From what we’ve heard so far this year’s installations sound extraordinary. Everyone involved is going the extra mile to give Urbis Designday guests something to remember and they will definitely finish the day inspired.”

Registration for Urbis Designday is essential. For more information or to purchase passes please visit: www.urbismagazine.com/designday

Guests who register for Designday before 01 March will go into the draw to win a fabulous VIP Audi experience for four people, complete with a champagne breakfast on the day and exclusive Designday tour accompanied by a personal chauffeur.

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Urbis Designday:

Saturday 20th March 2010

10am – 5pm at various venues

Passes are $20 each

For more information, contact:

PR Representative, Paul Blomfield: 021 970 871, paul@paulblomfield.com or

Alisha Chhima, Event Manager AGM Publishing: 021 585 080, Alisha.chhima@agm.co.nz