Zumtobel Group Annual Report 2010/2011

“Light and lightness are basic qualities in the building of open and transparent environments that people can use freely.” This is how the Japanese architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, who designed the annual report of Zumtobel, describe their understanding of the impact of light on architecture. The image part consists of a collection of 40 postcards, which open a window on their work: each card conveys a different atmosphere, while, at the same time, creating a relationship with the other images. The written part of the report is designed as a glue-top pad made of fine lightweight offset paper and features a classic, austere layout with a reduced, clear typography and exclusively black-and-white photography. Both parts are provided in a white box in the style of a “white cube”, which, with its thin walls, is at once light and highly sturdy – and thus also reflects the idea of the transparency of light and architecture. The box can be closed with an integrated magnet. Statement by the jury »This annual report demonstrates clearly that form and content can produce a whole that is more than the sum of its parts. With extremely high demands on design as well as on the production and materials, it combines the maxims of the designers with those of the client in an excellent manner.«