Global Future Design Awards 2019
First Award
Category: Lifestyle & Accessories
Firm: spAce
Designer: Juan Carlos Baumgartner
Country: Mexico
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Urban Jewelry by Baumgartner is a project that combines design, urbanism and 3D printing. Beginning with a pastime and inspired in tracing the geography of the colonia Pedregal to make use of the potential of a 3D printer, it was the first step in making a pair of bracelets as a kind of prototype.
The design, a product of 3D printing, triggers interest because you have in your hands a piece with its place of origin. Thus was URBAN JEWELRY by BAUMGARTNER born, a personal, intimate project that integrates design, technology and the memories that evoke “your urban space”.
This original collection of jewelry, The city at Hand, is made up of pieces such as bracelets and charms in which the urban layout of colonial icons of Mexico City are crafted: Pedregal de San Ángel, Polanco, Roma, La Condesa, among others.
The idea emerged because Baumgartner has two daughters and he wanted to give them a gift containing a map of the urban layout of their colonia in which they can locate where he lives now and where they live so they know they are very close, and it occurred to him to make some bracelets that had this layout. Having a 3D printer in the office he decided to make the bracelets with 3D printing. Then some friends showed interest in the bracelets and they ended up making a line with several colonias.
The creation process begins taking a zone of the city with an iconic colonia and selecting the part of the colonia you like best. From there you work on your 3D model and when you have a model defined you print a prototype on the office printer. If you consider that the prototype functions it is sent for printing in the US in different materials which can be plastic, gold, silver, steel, etc.
3D printing will change the world as we know it. Previously manufacturing was a significant component of the creation of objects rather than the idea or creativity of the object.
Now production is very simple; you send the object for printing and there it is, without needing molds or complicated processes. This will allow many people to create objects of high quality when before it would have been practically impossible for them to do so.
Juan Carlos Baumgartner forayed into the design of which he called “urban jewelry” and has created bracelets that, thanks to the aesthetics, the symbolism and the variety of materials used such as flexible plastic, silver, copper and stainless steel, make his collection a unique and different vision of the city.
