In a collaboration with Axor and ECAL students developed new ideas for a “fountain faucet”. The results were presented at the 2015 Salone del Mobile in Milan. What was it about the project that appealed to you?

Gonet: I am no faucet expert. But it was good to work on various projects connected with this new type of faucet. One particularly interesting thing in this context was the meetings with Philippe Grohe. He really does have a vision, a very clear idea about which of the designs fit in with the new approach and which of them don’t. That surprised me on a number of occasions.

In what respect?

Gonet: He explains everything lovingly and with masses of enthusiasm where water is concerned – I found that absolutely fascinating. For instance, there was one suggestion by a student that didn’t really impress anybody to begin with. But Grohe saw much more in the project and he was able to explain why – starting with the way that the water moved through the faucet. His commitment and his abilities immediately made the entire project with Axor and the ECAL much more interesting as far as I was concerned. He can picture how water moves! And he can say: “That’s too tall” or “That angle’s wrong” and this was the only reason why we were able to come up with the necessary prototypes in the extremely short timeframe of two weeks.

What was the greatest challenge for you in producing the prototypes?

Gonet: The fact that there were two worlds colliding here: The craftsman’s world where it can happen that an item is two millimeters too short, and the world of industrial parts, the base units for this fountain spout, which are made of metal and which do, of course, need to be manufactured to a very precise standard. We really were tested to the limits of our craftsmanship and we can’t take our design much further without the appropriate tools. To give you one example: The faucet with mirror. Things like that were extremely difficult to manufacture.

Do you have a favorite amongst the prototypes?

Gonet: Well, I do think that the faucet with the stacked glasses is very good. OK, so the actual design isn’t incredibly exciting but I do find the idea pretty cool. I can imagine that people would enjoy using something like that. Generally, I do find this new type of faucet developed jointly by Axor and Philippe Starck very interesting simply because you can watch the water, the way that it moves, and its dynamics. As a general rule it flows invisibly, through a metal pipe.

Have you ever before worked on orchestrating water?

Gonet: For the most part, we don’t work on our own projects, instead we implement other people’s ideas. My operation is only small we don’t have much time for designing. We once produced an aquarium for a French designer – a table which showed off plants and fishes. It’s often the case that glass acts as a receptacle for wonderful things. Whether we are talking about wine or water or light – glass frequently represents a window on things that radiate a certain beauty, a certain magic. It connects us with these lovely elements.

Do you have a favorite place where water plays an important part?

Gonet: We have just come back from Iceland where water is present in all shapes and forms. As waterfalls and geysers, in liquid or frozen states. And on this particular island it does rain, frequently. It’s absolutely beautiful.

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