Internationally acclaimed and prolific designer Frank Tjepkema was born in 1970. He grew up in Geneva, Brussels and New York. In 1989 he moved to the Netherlands and went on to study at the internationally acclaimed Design Academy in Eindhoven, from which he graduated with a Cum laude degree in 1996. His graduation project was based on artificial nature and it was noticed by Droog, a Dutch conceptual design company. His concept was selected for the Droog Design Collection, giving him accreditation as a designer and leading to many more notable projects.
Frank started his career off by working for Philips Design, but in 2001 he started his own company together with Janneke Hooymans, called Tjep.
He has won many important commissions and his work has led him to design in many different areas, most notably interior design, product design and architecture. He has taught and lectured at various different design academies throughout the world from the Netherlands to Japan. Frank was also head of department for the Rietveld Academy (2001/2004).
One could argue that Frank Tjepkema’s international upbringing set him on a path in which his experience of the world and exposure to different cultures lead him towards seeing the world in many different ways with open minded perspective. His designs appeal to many different cultures and his work can be found in the world’s most influential galleries.
After researching the work of Frank Tjepkema on the internet, more specifically his own website tjep.com, I think that his design philosophy is for the most part to design cleverly whilst always trying to create very appealing designs and to amaze people. Frank says, “Ultimately we are designing to add a little quality, energy and amazement to the world.” 1. Ingenious, functional and quirky would be three ways in which I would begin to describe his style. His designs are functional in many different ways, his objective is to always meet the design brief, but to do so in a very clever way which makes the viewer think. When viewing his work you sometimes have to dig a little deeper before you see the true genius of his idea. He also has a real sense of humour. His ‘do break’ vase is a perfect example of this. This vase is constructed of porcelain and indestructible rubber. Rubber on the inside and porcelain on the outside. The vase only becomes a vase when it is broken. The idea is that you can throw it in frustration and it won’t break, it will only become a new object! In this way you can remember the day you threw it!
I like that Frank takes design seriously enough to come up with clever solutions, but I also like the fact that he has a playful take on things. Although his designs are modern, he often incorporates elements of the past, or of tradition, into his designs. An example of this is the interior that Tjep. did for Fabbrica, the renowned Rotterdam restaurant. He used the warehouse space to his advantage, leaving all the original structure but using modern materials and textures as well as clever elements of design to enhance what was already there. I like the fact that he mixes old and new in a visually appealing way.
In this picture the original wall is behind this pane of textured glass. One can still see the wall but it is made more beautiful by the textured glass.
Another design initiative which needs to be mentioned is one in which Tjepkema gets to be involved with agriculture and indeed, the future. Many of the ideas that Tjep. has had lead one to the conclusion that they are very concerned with the future of the planet, particularly with energy saving, a very topical concern in the world today.
In 2008 Tjep. initiated its own investigation into developments within the agricultural sector. “What we came across were radical ideas with regards to self-sufficiency, capable of getting us quite a bit closer to the concept of a sustainable society.”2The question that they asked themselves was, “how can we, as designers, contribute to the fundamental developments that are taking place in Dutch agricultural research?”2 . The move was to allow them to collaborate with engineers from the University of Agriculture in Wageningen and the Innovation Network in Utrecht on two projects, the Agro Park and the Greenhouse Village. Both of these conceptual plans are about creating synergy between production processes in agriculture and energy consumption/waste disposal. The results of their extensive work are three concepts for agricultural farms. All three of these break the conventional mould of what we perceive farming to be and how we perceive it to look. However, in keeping with Tjepkema’s design style, elements of the traditional, such as the famous Dutch windmill, are not lost.
The first is the concept of the farm for 1 person: Oogst 1 Solo
The second is the farm for 100 people: Oogst 100 Community
The third is the farm for 1000 people: Oogst 1000 Wonderland
Frank has been influenced by the world around him, by the many different cultures he has been exposed to. He has been influenced by human nature and emotion. His designs are numerous and plentiful. The ‘do break vase’, the ‘heartbreak pendant’, the ‘lucky building’, the ‘shock proof vases’, the ‘signature vases’, the ‘writers garden office’ – all these designs appeal to our emotions as well as to our individuality. Frank likes to design for the individual as well as for the collective. He is influenced by what is already available to work with, by this I mean that he uses existing structure and transforms it. He is also largely influenced by the growing problems the world faces, this is evident in his Oogst initiatives.
His design contributions are plentiful and there are many I can mention. Aside from those mentioned above as well as the Oogst concept farms, there are a number of designs I feel deserve special mention.
- The Amstel train station in Amsterdam: Tjep. was commissioned to create an area for this station by the Dutch Railways. Once again, they used what was already there, two very large murals by painter Peter Alma, done in the cubist style. “This installation is a landscape of furniture, in which the furniture pieces are arranged rather like buildings in the sense that they vary in height and shape to form a neighbourhood. The playful composition of forms, based on a rigid (rather cubist) framework, was developed with a balance between privacy and openness in mind, inviting people to experience different levels of intimacy or interaction.”[3]
- The Airco Tree for the British Airways executive lounge. The brief was to give meaning to the air-conditioning unit in the lounge. Tjepkema found inspiration from the trunk of a tree. Using the tree as the central meeting place, such as on a village square. The other significance to using a tree is that just as trees provide us with oxygen, so too does this air-conditioning unit. Very clever indeed!
- Marriage for Maxima. When Dutch royals Maxima and Alexander married in 2002, Tjep. decorated Amsterdam. They used elements from traditional marriages as well as flags in different configurations. Below is a picture of the street lights, the traditional wedding dress is clearly the inspiration here.
- Praq Amersfoort, a unique restaurant concept that welcomes both parents and children. The idea behind this idea was that parents do not want to spend the evening with Donald Duck when they go out, but that their children also need some entertainment. Tjep. cleverly designed the interior to be a playful world for children as well as comfortable and enjoyable for their parents.
Note how this table doubles as a bus for children to play in.
The legs of this table are cleverly made up of crockery.
- The Bling Bling pendant. Conceptual brilliance! The pendant is designed to resemble a cross but if you have a closer look at it, it is made up using many different modern logos. Symbolism of modern religion = branding! Nominated for the Rotterdam Design prize in 2003 and winner of the Dutch Design Awards in 2004 in the category of fashion design. The piece is now part of the permanent collection in the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.
- The Tulip Vase: I know that this is a very small contribution, but if you’ve ever bought tulips you will know that they flop over very easily, this vase keeps them upright, ingenious!
One could go on and on with an endless list of design contributions for Frank Tjepkema and it is really worth having a look on his website, www.tjep.com, for a complete list of his designs.
As far as materials go, I think Frank prefers to use modern materials such as plastic and glass. That said, as I have mentioned before, often new materials enhance older existing materials. Frank is not limited by materials and uses anything and everything in his designs, whatever suits the concept.
Frank Tjepkema is a conceptual, clever, innovative designer. His use of old and new, as well as the way his designs make you think, are important elements that I would like to use in my jewellery designs. I am also particularly impressed by his ability to design anything and everything, from buildings to smaller pieces of jewellery, I feel he has his finger on the pulse of what is current and what people like. I would love to be able to have such a wide view of the world and to be able to design cleverly. I am also very happy to see that he has involved himself in the current energy crisis, something which I too, am passionate about. I would like to be able to bring awareness to this problem through my designs.
References
Specific reference 1,2,3
