At the beginning of the human condition, there is fire. The ability to harness its elemental power brought with it an unparalleled succession of innovations, from the preparation of food to ceramics and metallurgy to the emerging technologies of the present day. As much as fire seems to have been displaced from our everyday lives today, and as much as it may be mediated by modern household appliances, it remains fundamental to our way of life. While we may no longer witness its direct flames, beneath the surface of production for nearly any of the objects we use, there simmers an industrial fire, fueling their creation and functionality.
Considerations such as these formed the basis of the dialogue initiated by the VIENNA DESIGN WEEK between German designer Johanna Seelemann and Viennese general tinkerer and stove builder Andrei Florin Varga. Their joint project A+++ refers to the highest level of the EU energy efficiency scale for household appliances. It questions the common perception in industrialized societies that open fire is inefficient and unsustainable. And points out that our consumption cannot only be measured by the energy efficiency class of a device; but needs to incorporate their embodied energy, including the converted fires involved in their sourcing, production and global displacement.
To this, Seelemann and Varga contrast the rediscovery of a versatile domestic technology, that was once used for cooking, illumination, food preservation, hot water production, clothes drying, protection from predators and insects. The pair's work translates essential knowledge about how to use fire into today, through a stove for cooking with direct fire, a video work about the ways of creating a spark, and a scheme which collected the diverse technologies for material transformation through fire.
With the kind support of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Vienna.
Considerations such as these formed the basis of the dialogue initiated by the VIENNA DESIGN WEEK between German designer Johanna Seelemann and Viennese general tinkerer and stove builder Andrei Florin Varga. Their joint project A+++ refers to the highest level of the EU energy efficiency scale for household appliances. It questions the common perception in industrialized societies that open fire is inefficient and unsustainable. And points out that our consumption cannot only be measured by the energy efficiency class of a device; but needs to incorporate their embodied energy, including the converted fires involved in their sourcing, production and global displacement.
To this, Seelemann and Varga contrast the rediscovery of a versatile domestic technology, that was once used for cooking, illumination, food preservation, hot water production, clothes drying, protection from predators and insects. The pair's work translates essential knowledge about how to use fire into today, through a stove for cooking with direct fire, a video work about the ways of creating a spark, and a scheme which collected the diverse technologies for material transformation through fire.
With the kind support of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Vienna.
Design, ConceptJohanna Seelemann, 2023
Production StoveAndrei Florin Varga, Pyrarium
Production Video and PosterStudio Johanna Seelemann
Picture CreditsStudio Johanna Seelemann
Studio TeamKato Herbots, Marc Goldbach, Kiki Astner
Exhibitions