BIf you look at the individual pieces of furniture on the homepage, you wonder why the shopping cart is missing in the top right corner that is otherwise intended for this purpose – on an otherwise clearly structured page, which under the beautiful name “Urban Assemblage” contains furnishings such as tables, chairs, shelves, offers sofa and sideboard. Ten different objects can be seen: a lamp that looks three-layered and filigree at the same time, a table that appears functional thanks to its iron rods, a cupboard that could become an eye-catcher in the living room or office with its orange, blue and lilac-colored cubes.
But then, the second look: Why is a U-bike lock on the table leg irritating? Why is the table frame similar to those bicycle racks that are set up throughout the city of Cologne, but are completely impractical to handle and are still affectionately referred to as “hairpins”? And what is the purpose of the lemon on the colored cube cabinet? A third look reveals: With humor and irony, product designer Tim Kerp has transformed significant buildings and cultural assets in his hometown into furniture. Virtually, of course – there is nothing to buy here. But Kölschglas (flower vase), 4711-Haus (sideboard), TV tower “Colonius” (lamp), Mülheimer Bridge (bench), Herkuleshochhaus (cupboard), Müngersdorfer Stadion (couch): everything is there. The dome tips as a supporting element in the coffee table.
More art than design
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A retelling
Architecturally ugly, but livable
Are you an incorrigible local patriot, Mr. Kerp? The 42-year-old designer laughs and says: “No, but he was born in Cologne. And so I value the city as very livable and know how architecturally ugly it is in many places. I wanted to narrate Cologne in buildings and significant objects with a high recognition factor.” It is only natural that he used the medium of furniture he was familiar with for his assemblage, which he created over the past three years – as well as his expertise in 3D visualization. Kerp’s project is a gimmick. He wants his objects to be understood as media art, not as furniture design.
“For me, the design of the objects is like painting, without time pressure and price pressure, without the usual questions when designing, whether the ideas meet the spirit of the times or follow the current interior trends. A real side thing,” says the freelancer, who mainly designs street furniture, develops visualizations for trade fair construction and designs packaging in his airy studio in the Poller harbor area on the right bank of the Rhine. Up here, under the roof with lots of sunlight, in the company of three other creative people, he works completely freely with the aim of “giving the viewer a new perspective on the urban environment”.
He presented the first five Cologne concept pieces of furniture at the Passagen design festival, which takes place annually parallel to the Cologne furniture fair. Now it’s ten. The original “Cologne Assemblage” became the “Urban Assemblage” because with each additional object, the questions about design, architecture and culture became more complex – and of course also applicable to other cities. “I’ve played through Cologne in the meantime, I’m done with that. I would have to delve into other cities to understand their culture. As a native of Cologne, I know how my hometown works. It would be different in Hamburg or Essen.” Even if other cities were attractive challenges: For the father of two little girls, such projects are currently difficult to realise.
The presence at the Kölner Passagen had a far-reaching effect on the product designer’s career: the initiator of the design festival, Sabine Voggenreiter, curated another six Cologne designers around him to form the “Generation Köln” group. Their first show was at Dutch Design Week 2017 in Eindhoven. Since then it has gone on and on. “The naming was obvious because there is an interesting scene in Cologne that stands out self-confidently. This is not the case in other cities,” says Voggenreiter.
Beautiful collaborations and collections have emerged with this group, for example with the Werkraum Bregenzerwald, where the designers produced furniture from silver fir wood in collaboration with craftsmen based in the region. With the Alsatian glass culture center CIAV Meisenthal, glass objects have been created that seem almost poetic, such as Kerps Blossom lanterns. These real orders, such as his seating furniture for the island pond terrace in the Clara Zetkin Park in Leipzig, enable the designer to push his virtual gimmicks: for example, to decorate his colorful cube cabinet – the replica of the Hercules skyscraper – with a lemon. For people who don’t live in Cologne: The tiled residential building was awarded the “Sour Lemon” in 2005 for unsightly architecture. With irony, it can also be presented nicely.
