Fragment Gaggenau Installation, Wigmore Street

The installation represents the craftsmanship that Gaggenau has pursued since its founding as a hammer mill and nail forge, in 1683. It is an abstract interpretation of the story of the brand: ‘It began with a spark.’

Taking advantage of the constraints presented by the medium of paper, the polygon forms can be interpreted as fragments of Gaggenau appliances, emerging at the centre like sparks from a furnace and forming a conceptual representation of an appliance towards the more ordered edges. The paper gives the piece tactility and texture, much like the handcrafted nature of working with metals. The 3D appearance of the installation provides great complexity and intrigue; the grid-like system of hanging elements suspends the paper elements to form an ethereal mirage of fragments in space and time and includes several forged nails across varying focal points of the window.

The colours reflect the history of the Gaggenau brand, with the black signifying the roots of the brand at the edge of the Black Forest in Germany, and the orange representing the roaring fires of the furnaces used to craft the appliances.

The installation took over 400 hours to build, making close to 4,500 pieces of distinct paper size forms which have been suspended on a 8 by 40 grid of 3 meter translucent wires.

The collaboration was facilitated via the London Festival of Architecture and paper supplied by G F Smith.

More about the installation can be seen here at Gaggenau and London Festival of Architecture.