Every new design by Ross
Lovegrove can be seen as an
expression of love for the materials
that make up the universe and their
laws. A love that grows and assumes
many different concrete forms, in a
luxuriant wood inhabited by all
manner of organisms, from flowers to
ancient trees. The design developed
by Lovegrove (a truly prophetic name)
is situated in what he calls “new
nature”. It is focused on a different
creative approach to the science
of materials and their structural
composition. The goal, though,
always seems to be lightness. “This
evolutionary position – founded upon
the concept of growth, perforation and
liberation of the solid surface, on liquid
structural membranes and ultimately
on the forms created by intrinsic
and extrinsic forces – is, I believe,
leading us towards a new freedom
of expression in architectural
and industrial design.”
As an evolutionist biologist on loan to
design, Lovegrove has for some time
been exploring the potential of
composite materials based on carbon
fibre.
This polymer is a form of
graphite (a pure carbon state) whose
atoms are arranged in aromatic
hexagonal rings to form a sort of “wire
netting”. When combined with epoxy
resins and other thermosetting
materials, carbon fibre resembles
a skin. By stratifying multi-skins,
each of which can have different
characteristics, and placing the strata
according to the lines of stress to be
supported by the end product,
a composite material is obtained.
Its remarkable characteristics,
exceptional resistance and lightness
make it ideal for the most varied
applications. It is also used
extensively in the car and motorcycle
industries. In Lovegrove’s work,
carbon fibre opens up visionary
opportunities, as in his design for the
Cranbrook Pavilion and its vertical
evolution, the Carbon Fiber
Skyscraper, to foster the study
of alternative means of transport,
such as the Kyoto concept car and the
Biolove bicycle. But carbon fibre
is also used in the manufacture
of objects, such as the Gingko table,
or the latest suitcases designed
for Globe-Trotter. All of which in some
degree “enrich the polysensorial
nature of our existence”.
Generations of travellers have been
accompanied by luggage made by
Globe-Trotter, the firm established in
Saxony in 1897 by David Nelkin and
based in London since 1901.
Its exclusively handmade suitcases
have long been true icons of British
style. The early models were made
with fibreboard, an ash frame and
details in leather. The new line
designed by Ross Lovegrove,
presented on the occasion of the
company’s 110th birthday, abandons
the original Vulcan fibre, a Globe-
Trotter exclusive, in favour of carbon
fibre. Appropriately, this too happens
to have been invented in Britain,
in the 1960s. As a result, however,
the suitcases have ceased to be
exclusively Made in England, because
Ross Lovegrove has brought in the
services of the Japanese Toray
Corporation, a world leader in the
field of composite materials and the
biggest producer of carbon fibre.
Toray assisted him and the firm in
the advanced development of the
matrix weaves that made the
characteristics and advantages of the
suitcase possible.
Extremely light (the standard model
weighs just 1.41 kg), the
onehundred&ten sums up what
Lovegrove calls “Craftech”, a creative
combination of craftsmanship and
technology.
The Japanese are dab
hands at it, and the luggage
manufacturing techniques used are
very close to those of motorcycle
engineering. Not by chance, the
workshop that helped the designer
develop the prototypes collaborates
on a regular basis with Kawasaki.
After two years’ work, the
onehundred&ten series made its
debut in Tokyo in November 2007,
with three models: Attach Case,
Air Cabin Case and Trolley Case.
The latter is characterised by an
intelligent handle system that
surrounds the case on the outside,
leaving the insisde free from tiresome
extender mechanism humps.
Also, the wheel movement
is particularly soft and silent.
Finally, if translated into Italian, the
name onehundred&ten is not only
a reminder of the British company’s
anniversary, but also an implicit
indication of special distinction.
Organic Essentialism
A familiarity with nature guides Ross Lovegrove’s visions of design and architecture. Could carbon fibre be the key to his future freedom of expression? Text by Maria Cristina Tommasini. Photos by John Ross, Pierre Jusselme, Lovegrove Studio.
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- 03 January 2008