Raw-Edges for AGC Asahi Glass

With the likes of Moroso, Louis Vuitton and Cappellini in their archive of collaborations, this year design studio Raw-Edges added AGC Asahi Glass to the list. The London-based duo —that is, Yael Mer and Shay Alkalay—was the creative force behind Touch, an exhibition that took place during the 2017 edition of the Milan Design Week. Their concept? The Feel of Glass: a focus on the now quotidian habit of touching glass to see where it can take us.

“Whether in our homes, our cars, on high-rise buildings in our city, we are surrounded by countless types of glass”, they said. “And with the advance of smartphones, we spend increasing amounts of time touching glass screens on our devices. Through the development of technologies such as anti-fingerprint coatings and glass strengthening, we have been able to adapt this material, which is traditionally not meant to be touched, to meet our evolving needs.”

With this in mind, Raw-Edges presented several large structures grounded on the collateral aspects of glass production, from special coatings to alternative methods of expression through the material —made possible by the Japanese company’s technological developments. For example, a crowd favourite was the Glass Spinner, an installation that displayed drawings on spinning glass, made with special markers.

“[We hope] they will inspire a new approach toward glass, and open the door to exciting possibilities for this versatile material in our everyday lives,” the duo added.