OMICRON INTERIORS
*Collaboration
- Project and realization: Studio Anna Heringer + Martin Rauch
- Architectural planning, project management: Stefano Mori
The project
In general, the attention of interior design seems to be focused mostly on the functional and aesthetical issues: plenty of products and materials are selected without inquiring much about the ethical and ecological issues behind their production.
How can the know-how, from places and cultures distant from ours, be combined in a harmonious and beautiful way with the local one? How can the profit generated from the project support first of all the craftsmen, who make it and not marketing or sales industries?
Through this project we decided to take up such challenge: 5 rooms, each with a different theme – Afghanistan, Ecuador, Mexico, Ghana, and Tanzania – are designed with the aim of engaging both craftsmen from Vorarlberg and the ones from developing communities (12 social organization have been involved). Combining them together in a unique design, we aimed to achieve ethical, sustainable yet beautiful results.
Each room contains as well a specific mud wall artwork. The mud, besides strengthening the individual character of the space from an aesthetical point of view, contributes also to a better indoor air quality. All materials and surfaces were chosen to make sure that a healthy indoor climate is guaranteed.
The Facts
- Total area: 113 sqm
- Materials/techniques: earth plasters, clay-casein finishing, bamboo mats, handmade wood furniture, various fair trade textiles
- Construction: January 2015 – October 2015
- Site: Klaus, Vorarlberg, Austria
- Client: Omicron Electronics
- Team Studio Anna Heringer: Stefano Mori, Stefanie Dens
- Local collaborators: Susanne Menzel, Berle Manfred Raumausstattung, Gerold Ulrich, Bruno Matt.
- Some of the Fairtrade companies and NGOs which were involved: Guldusi, Little Flower, PET Lamp, Carvieira Handicrafts, Lebensarbeit Kreativwerkstatt hilfsdienstleistungen, Frank Appiah Kubi (Ghana), Dipshikha, Dipshikha Handicrafts, El Camino de los Altos, Agnes Kunze Society, Eine Weltgruppe Schlins|Röns, GLOBO Fair Trade Partner GmbH.
- Photo credits: Stefano Mori
- Text credits: Studio Anna Heringer