Bjarke Ingel's architecture studio BIG has decorated a set of porcelain tableware with outlines of city skylines from around the world (+ slideshow).
BIG collaborated with Danish designers Kilo to add patterns to the TAC tableware set – created in the 1960s and based on a design by architect Walter Gropius and his Boston firm The Architects Collaborative.
"Throughout time people have decorated porcelain with motives from nature and landscapes," said a statement from BIG. "Architects have planned and designed our cities for centuries and are well known for creating elegant and functional products."
Twelve city skylines including Copenhagen, London, Berlin, Paris and New York circle the white BIG Cities tableware pieces.
Each incorporates iconic buildings like the Brandenburg Gate, Big Ben or the Eiffel Tower, which are exaggerated to make them easier to distinguish.
The architectural profiles are outlined in a shade of blue typically associated with porcelain decoration. These lines form a circle around the surfaces of the tableware.
Dinner and service plates are each available in six different designs. The other items in the set, including cups, jugs, bowls and teapots, all feature a different skyline.
The tableware is produced by German porcelain brand Rosenthal.
Here's some information about the collection:
Big Cities tableware set
BIG + KILO in collaboration with the high-quality porcelain manufacturer Rosenthal have launched BIG Cities, a tableware design for the TAC set in which tradition and evolution are merged to form a new and global design.
TAC was developed at the end of the 1960s – based on a design by architect and designer Walter Gropius and his Boston-based firm The Architects Collaborative (TAC). Built upon basic geometrical forms, it owes its style to Bauhaus. The BIG Cities design is emerged from marrying this classic style with the silhouette of various world cities including Copenhagen, London, Berlin, Paris and New York on a surface of white porcelain.
Throughout time people have decorated porcelain with motives from nature and landscapes. Architects have planned and designed our cities for centuries and are well known for creating elegant and functional products. BIG and Kilo merge the wide span from the large scale city skyline with the intimate scale of product design in a line of heritage blue porcelain color. The characteristics of each city’s silhouette are subtly elaborated in the form of famous architectural landmarks such as the Brandenburg Gate, Big Ben or the Eiffel Tower - bringing observation and conversation to the table.
While the dinner and charger plates are available in six different design variants each, the other pieces of the set are each adorned with a different skyline – twelve in total.
Kilo, founded by industrial designer Lars Larsen, and BIG, founded by architect Bjarke Ingels, are long time collaborators as partners in the design trio KiBiSi with Skibsted Ideation. Together they have collaborated with Audi, Aiaiai, Biomega, Louis Poulsen, Hay, Muuto, Versus, &Tradition, Menu a.o.