Petra Blaisse – textile wall made from brush bristles | Anna Gravelle

Petra Blaisse – textile wall made from brush bristles

03Jan13

For the wall in the espresso bar at Mercedes Benz HQ in Berlin Petra Blaisse returned to an idea that had proved too expensive for her work on the Dutch embassy in Berlin—lowly brush bristles. She was captivated by the material’s tactility and how clearly it improves a room’s acoustics. The white hairs are threaded into a gold-colored foil backing and arranged in a rounded pattern along the wall, giving the stark room the illusion of spaciousness. “The wall is not a wall anymore,” Blaisse says. “It’s just some kind of watery veil-like substance.” The synthetic hairs also obliquely reference the nearby collection of cars: a German manufacturer supplied Inside Outside with industrial brushes commonly used in the auto industry. “We tried to make it so refined that it wouldn’t remind anyone of technical things like car washes,” Blaisse says. “It looks very chic, but of course, it’s just a brush.” http://www.metropolismag.com