From conceptualization to materialization

To me it is shocking to read again the “manifesto” of Lynn since six months ago I visited one of his exhibitions at the Vitra factory in Weil am Rhein. The exhibition consisted of a couple of chairs lamps and two walls to display his designs, I felt a disconnection between what he proposes in theory and what I saw at the exhibition, I did like some the objects at the exhibition but somehow I couldn’t relate him as the author of Animate Form which I had already read.I thought he was another architect following the same trend of computer modeling without a solid theory. Perhaps being at a building designed by the architect transmits a stronger sense of his ideas. Lynn’s main idea is to have dynamic designs that would react to external forces. To me the chairs he designed for Vitra where quite static and traditional I would have felt more convinced if he had proposed a set of chairs made out of a material that adapted to each body type or position therefore corresponding to each external generating force; however the chairs to me just seem taken out of a Barbarella movie, nothing revolutionary. I’m not trying to diminish the architect’s work and as a matter of fact I did like the pink chair, the other did look a little kitchesque, I hope that was his intention or maybe it was the fur. But the underlying theory is the crucial matter of his work; the result might not be as powerful, at least in industrial design.