Design that changes how we see the world: Tombino and ÖÖD

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1:23Jason Lempieri:Hello and welcome to The Entrepreneurs on Monocle Radio, the show all about inspiring people, innovative companies and fresh ideas in global business. Today's programme is about design that changes how we see the world. First, we'll head to Philadelphia to meet a committed urbanist who wants to celebrate the art that is often overlooked and underfoot.

1:45Andreas Tiik:What Tampino does essentially is transcribe some metal cover illustrations from around the world and define functional art in the form of court coasters and trivets, wood magnets and waller, as well as chiclet prints.

1:58Jason Lempieri:And later, we'll hear from the co-founder of an Estonian company that makes mirrored houses to completely immerse visitors in remarkable destinations. Sort of mirror cabin, you can basically install it everywhere in the world. It's really hard to say it doesn't fit here because it just reflects its surroundings. This is The Entrepreneurs with me, Tom Edwards.

2:30Jason Lempieri:You're listening to The Entrepreneurs. Jason Lempieri is an award-winning architect and product designer from Philadelphia. A committed urbanist and city resident, he's the founder of the multidisciplinary design and research studio Rethink Tank, as well as Tombino, a passion project that transforms manhole cover designs from cities around the world into home goods, including coasters, trivets, magnets and prints. I caught up with Jason to discuss overlooked pieces of city identity, functional art, and the stories often hiding right beneath our feet. Jason began by telling me about the start of his journey.

3:08Andreas Tiik:I have a degree from Pratt Institute from the 90s in architecture. And then I also have a graduate degree in industrial design from University Arts, RIP here in Philadelphia. I got that product design degree because when I was younger, I loved products and every product I saw was designed by an architect so I thought oh well then I'll just go into architecture and of course I completely fell in love with the field it's still my number one passion and then eventually I said you know what I'm going to get my industrial design degree so I can do the total work of art that Arne Jakobsen and Alvar Aalto and Frank Lloyd Wright would do.

3:47Jason Lempieri:Well I love that and I know again just to keep things I guess a little more in the sort of abstract and theoretical realm you talk about how you design why you design you've got this belief that form follows meaning just tell me i don't know tell me what you mean by that and how

4:01Andreas Tiik:that actually shapes your practice day-to-day jason yeah so form can obviously take uh well many forms um and the question is for me is always why why does it look the way it does why does it do the thing that it does. So context plays a huge role. So in theory, you can design a light fixture. Anybody can design a light fixture. You put a bulb in anything and everyone says, wow, that's cool. But for me, the question is, why exactly? Where is that fixture going? Who is it for? Can it add anything to it that will make it specific to the user, for example? So that's my form follows meaning approach.

4:41Jason Lempieri:Well, I like that. And I think there's also space, isn't there, Jason, in there for even in really rigorous practice to allow for a little bit of serendipity, just the way the wind blows. And if we talk a little bit about Tombino specifically, this was a, I guess, a kind of pet project of yours. Is that fair? On your travels, you began to shoot Tombino, these manhole covers. At the time, was that just because it caught, you know, there was something about the aesthetics, there was something about that kind of instinct to collect this visual data that appealed to you. Did you have any inkling, even as you set out on that journey, that actually it might turn into something completely different down the track?

5:18Andreas Tiik:As a designer, I love to collect. Collection is, in theory, a form of play. And so, you know, I obviously collect buildings that I spelunk through with my photography. I collect design objects. So that's always been kind of part of my being. I do all this because, one, it is fun, but in truth, I want to celebrate the art that is often overlooked but always underfoot. One could define industrial design as a Venn diagram where technology, culture, and art overlap within a sea of context. Manhole Covers embodied that definition. They are touchstones for technology, health, industrial history, art, craft.

5:59Andreas Tiik:They're examples of our cultural heritage and are uniquely designed wherever you go. Vanholl covers are sustainably made from scrap iron, and with their graphics often reflect cultural context. Essentially, covers are designed to identify, protect, and provide access to underground networks, which are technological marvels in their own right. But, you know, the origin story for Zambino was when I was at Pratt. I was a sophomore in an architecture studio headed by Professor Cromley, and he took us through a tour of Soho, New York City, that is. He was pointing to a cornice and I had stepped forward to take a closer look and I tripped over this beautiful coal shoot cover from Cornell Ironworks.

6:42And I was smitten when I saw it and I brought out my trace and I just started doing a rubbing right there.

6:48Andreas Tiik:My professor chastised me and said, hey, we got to move on. So we did, went to the site where we're going to do our work. And then I came back to finish the job as every good architect does. and ever since then i've been collecting rubbings uh and photographs of manual covers the idea for this particular product line came to me then but the technology to do it wasn't there so i just have this archive of all these uh rubbings that i pull to use to hand draw the

7:18Jason Lempieri:designs well and full disclosure i'm maybe i have one or two of these jason i've got to be i've got to be transparent with our with our audience and they're beautiful objects and it's exactly this interesting meeting right as you said you know whether you're talking about the form which comes first the form the meaning and then there's this the tactility and there's this memory the sense of place but there's all these other components there's the smell which is quite unique because perhaps you can tell us about how you actually make these items but it must be really fun and i don't know a challenge almost as a practitioner across these different disciplines to bring all of those different disciplines to bear into an object which actually it becomes it's very simple in a way the ambition the graphics the depictions are often complex but it's a there's a simplicity to the object maybe is that kind of a lovely expression of all these interesting ideas that are rolling around in your head yeah i would work

8:08Andreas Tiik:with that what tumbeter does essentially is transcribes metal cover illustrations from around the world and define functional art in the form of court coasters and trivets wood magnets and waller as well as g clay prints when i was at pratt institute we read alvin toffler's the third wave where he laid out the concept of the electronic cottage toffler predicted that with computers and printers and other types of things that the renaissance typology of the ground floor showroom with artists in space behind living above would return and you know i was kind of charmed by that idea. And I thought, you know, one day I would like to do that.

8:46And then for this

8:48Andreas Tiik:particular project, right before the thing happened and that being the, uh, the pandemic, my younger son, Nico came to me and said, I want to start a business. And so I told him about this idea. I said, do you want to do that with me? And he said, yes, daddy. Now that he's a sophomore at university, you could care less about what I do, but we worked together to create a prototype of Lisbon, I think it was, as a trivet, which we gave to his mom, my wife, because it was where we spent time on our honeymoon. She liked. And then from there, it just took off. The product line is sustainably made right here in my Philadelphia studio.

9:25Andreas Tiik:I do everything myself, and that was part of my directive. In industrial design, you can license products. You can sell products outright. I also teach design as well. And I realized at some point that while I had done elements of the, say, full path of a product, I never did the whole thing. And I thought, you know what, this could be a really cool vehicle to do everything myself and to see if I can do production, packaging, marketing, sales, line extension, you name it.

9:58Jason Lempieri:And tell me about, I don't know, it's difficult because as you said, there's a fascination clearly with that whole process from A to Z, but is there a favorite bit of the practice in terms of bringing that, I don't know what you call them, the motif, the design from the records and you must have this huge archive then into the physical object. Is there a part of that process that, I don't know, maybe surprised you a little bit actually? Oh, this was the moment in that process that's most exciting. I mean, there must be like a singular moment of reveal, right? Like some of these things where you see whether it's kind of taken or captured or, I don't know the terminology, whether the crispness of the image is exactly right.

10:35Jason Lempieri:That must be it. Maybe is that the moment if there is one?

10:37Andreas Tiik:Yeah. So I use a laser engraver to permanently etch the designs into the substrate. It's interesting in that it's like a digital reflection of my hand rubbing. So when I'm doing the rubbing, I'm basically making this image appear on the paper through a stroke line that's going in the same direction. And the laser engraver does the exact same thing and it builds it. And then when I pull that, say, coaster from the bed, the laser bed, I can feel the tactility and I can see the really fine detail of my drawings. The drawing part, it can take eight hours. Sometimes I have to match typefaces or redraw the typefaces because they're found too specific.

11:18Andreas Tiik:So there's a lot of effort that goes into that. But once I see that coaster build, you know, over times the engraving works, it's really rewarding.

11:27Jason Lempieri:Well, yeah, and I should say to our listeners, if they go to tombino.shop, they're actually, you've got some kind of stop motion, haven't you, freeze frame. You can actually watch in a contracted period of time some of this process in production, which is kind of weirdly hypnotic to look at. What's most popular, Jason, tell me, because I think there's something about the coasters because they're so hand-sized. But as you mentioned, there are bigger pieces, more like art object size. What do people love? They must love the coasters, right?

11:55Andreas Tiik:That is the number one, so yeah. Because each set has four unique ones. So let's say you love Paris, you get four different ones from Paris, and that way people know whose drink is whose at the table. So you don't need those little markers that people put on their drinks, et cetera. They remember that particular design. And I also like to say that by having them out there, it gives you an excuse to talk about where you've been without having to bring it up. Because everyone loves to talk about the time that they got robbed on the subway in Barcelona, because, you know, that happens. And now they can share that story without having to mention the actual city.

12:31Jason Lempieri:you know it's great and there is a real as you said it appeals to that collector instinct i think really profoundly just to go back to where this fits into your kind of overall practice jason because i find that really interesting is there a kind of i don't know do your sort of architecture buddies say well hang on what are you are you an industrial designer and conversely do designers say well hey hang on stay in your lane why aren't you doing you should be designing buildings and concentrating on urbanism projects why are you getting into the micro detail of product design Actually, is every one of these different kind of churches all excited to have you as a participant?

13:06Andreas Tiik:Yeah, architects are trained to do, say, an outhouse to a city. And the American model is to specialize in a particular vein. So just academic work or hospitality or residential. But the European model is that architects do it all. They can do an exhibition design. They can do graphic design. I mean, Rem Kohlhaas is a perfect example that he has a whole branch. of his AMO of his office that just focuses on other things that, you know, essentially that architects are the kind of low, what is it? The 99 % perspiration, 1 % inspiration, but essentially we are coordinators. We are coordinating between the electrical drawings, lighting drawings, HVAC, structural drawings.

13:51Andreas Tiik:We spend so much time communicating and making sure all that stuff is legible to one another. So this is just another vein, frankly, of that. My colleagues do like what I do. I still obviously, I kind of see Tombino as moonlighting on myself. And it's a passion project. And the number one consumer of my products are in the design field.

14:16Jason Lempieri:I was going to ask you a bit about how readily these kinds of ideas and approaches to your practice travel. But I'll turn the question slightly. What about the collecting? because it's funny you mentioned that trip to Soho, New York, and your professor sort of tutting because you're wasting time taking your rubbing. You must have some great tales, Jason, about rocking up in different cities to go and actually find these jombinos. And I don't know, getting into trouble with, I don't know, people who are nosy with the law. What are some of the attendant risks of being a collector of these jombino rubbings?

14:49Andreas Tiik:Yeah, well, let's see, in Barcelona, La Paz de Gracia, I was out at 1 a.m. because that's the preferred time to do this. So I'm less likely to get hit by a car. I'm more likely to get trampled by some drunk Americans. One time I was doing a cover there and I noticed two highly polished shoes as I was doing a rubbing. And I look up and there are two police officers and they're looking at me and they say, what are you doing? And it was in perfect English, of course. and uh and i said oh i'm just taking a rubbing and i looked next to me and i could see that i'm outside um cert's famous jewelry store and i'm like oh yeah right and starts to make a little sense but they were actually charmed by what i was doing and then they asked if they could do it

15:36Jason Lempieri:so that was kind of fun that's less jeopardy than i was thinking in a way although in uh in dresden

15:41Andreas Tiik:i was nearly hit by a porsche i was doing that in the middle of the late afternoon and but you know That's actually like a luxury death.

15:48Jason Lempieri:It's one for the design connoisseurs. If you had to went that way, he went out doing what he loved. So Jason, tell me, look, the Tombino is kind of your side hustle, if you like. But I get the sense it's going very well. And as I said, I can vouch for the products. How do you want to be spending your time? Because obviously you've got your plate super full with Rethink Tank loads of fascinating projects. Do you just kind of take one step at a time and see where your passions, where your inspirations takes you?

16:14Andreas Tiik:Yeah, I have a lot of irons in the fire. So I have the architecture projects that I work on at USA during the day. But honestly, Tombino is creeping more into my life, especially around the holidays when people want to buy gifts because they make perfect gifts. But I also have other projects and I have that laundry punch bag that's still out there. I'm working on other designs that basically are just been brewing for decades. And now that my kids are out of school, I have more time to focus on all these projects that have been built up. and I'm just pushing them out. With regards to Tambino, I'm actually looking to open a brick and mortar store here in Philadelphia.

16:51Andreas Tiik:I have a crazy dream and it's only crazy because the bureaucracy is very hard to cut through of having a vending machine in airports, which I think would be a perfect placement. I may actually land on Mars before PHL airport to allow me to put a vending machine there, but I've designed it, of course, because I can't help myself.

17:12Jason Lempieri:well and it's just funny you mentioned the laundry bag punch bag which is again it speaks to i think your approach which is kind of seriously interested in good design but there's a load of fun there's a bit of irreverence there no small measure of wit do you think jason that there's a broader problem maybe actually that some architects some designers lack a little bit of a sense of humor is that actually a good critical tool to have in the kit to bring a little bit of fun to not be afraid to look you know a bit sideways and maybe have a chuckle is that actually quite liberating quite important to have in the in in the arsenal of sort of design weaponry that you have at your disposal

17:46Andreas Tiik:yeah i'm uh one of the few architects that refuses to wear black how's that um that is the uniform of the architect it works for some people but uh you know design is a large field and it embraces all types so you have the ingo mauer world of his light fixtures which is uh emotional design You could even fit in Philippe Stark in areas of that. I'm drawn toward those more playful pieces than the kind of strict, say, brown theater roms like projects. However, I love those too. And I have quite a few of those. Design is my religion. So I kind of love all aspects of it.

18:27Jason Lempieri:Well, just one final aside. Look, you're in the city of brotherly loves. Big year for Philly, right? There's a host city for the World Cup. As a kind of design flag bearer, I don't know if you actually get to wave one when they kick off the global jamboree, but you must be excited that's coming to town. Is it a good moment for Philly to showcase some of its other offer, not just the cliches that I'm rattling around, but actually to talk about it as a hub of innovation, design, urban renewal a little bit? It's an exciting time, I guess, to have the eyes of the world on the city.

18:56Andreas Tiik:Oh, absolutely. Not only are we hosting the World Cup, which I'm truly excited about, we have the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. We have various other events. We have United States birthday, the 250th anniversary, also happening here. And the city is spursing itself up with a lot of, frankly, with a lot of paint and floral arrangements everywhere. and the city is full of little gems you know as a lot of cities are so we have these kind of tiny museums one of which is the Rosenbach library which houses a bunch of original manuscripts including James Joyce Ulysses and I created a set just for them because they have a Bloomsday event and so I traced actually James Joyce's journey uh his life journey so obviously there's a coaster from Dublin, there's a coaster from Paris, there's a coaster from Trieste, and Zurich, where he died.

19:50Andreas Tiik:And on the back are engravings of texts that he had written about each city. But I'm hoping that people will not only explore the kind of popular elements of the Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, but then come to see our cherished small places like the Rosenbach and the Magic Gardens of Eastern State Penitentiary.