Interviews

How can craftsmanship draw inspiration from industry? Ceramic designer Charlotte Cigan and industrial designer Martin Duchêne of Studio Biskt address this question with works that are equally functional and individual.

By combining an interior design studio with its own workshops Holzrausch can offer holistically planned projects. Unique furniture and luminaire designs are regularly produced for these projects in cooperation with architects and designers – a selection is now available as editions in the Munich showroom. In this interview Tobias Petri and Sven Petzold give the publishers of Stylepark an insight into their work.

He works somewhere between design, sculpture and puppetry, says Simon Schmitz about his work as a luminaire designer. One thing is certain: The Berliner-by-choice is a tinkerer who stages light like a material.

Kim Colin and Sam Hecht from Studio Industrial Facility have reinterpreted the classic bentwood chair with the S 220 collection for Thonet. The result is a material-efficient moulded wood chair with a base made of tubular steel. Sam Hecht explains the idea to us in an interview.

In Hamburg alone, almost 19,000 people live without a home. What structures do big cities offer to help them? And what role does architecture play in this context? Until 12 March 2023, the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe in Hamburg is showing the exhibition "Who's Next? Homelessness, Architecture and the City". Curator Daniel Talesnik explains the concept to us in an interview.

With the One Forty West residential and hotel tower, MA Architekten have added a real eye-catcher to the Frankfurt skyline. Nevertheless, architect Andreas Moser sees the future of metropolises not in extreme flights of fancy, but in a more down-to-earth orientation. The Frankfurt-based building planner talks about value chains, borderline experiences and the overdue reorientation of our urban planning.

In Frankfurt am Main, Groß & Partner and Phoenix Real Estate are currently building the new "Grand Central Frankfurt" quarter in the station district. Part is the "Icoon" high-rise by Mecanoo Architecten, which will offer both socially subsidised housing and condominiums. Prof.ir. Dick Van Gameren, partner at Mecanoo, explains the concept in an interview.

Marjan van Aubel Studio creates solar design that translates complex technology into aesthetic objects that can enrich our everyday lives – like "Sunne", a self-powered solar lamp that captures, stores and generates light indoors. She gives us an insight into her work in the interview.

Can you save the world with fashion? Yes, to a small extent, says Bernd Keller, designer and creative director of the new 1C1Y label. Every time you buy a new piece of clothing – and make a child happy for a year.

Architecture for the community and pioneers in urban mining: Ulrike Schartner and Alexander Hagner, founders of the Viennese architecture firm gaupenraub +/- in an interview.

“Design for Democracy. Atmospheres for a better life” is the slogan the City of Frankfurt/Main and Rhine-Main region have adopted in a bid to become “World Design Capital 2026.” Prof. Matthias Wagner K, Director of Frankfurt’s Museum Angewandte Kunst, is heading the bid. He explains the concept behind it in this interview.

Roberta Silva has been CEO of the traditional Italian company Flos since 2019. In an interview she talked to Stylepark publishers about how she is dealing with the lighting manufacturer's successful past and what her plans for the future look like.

The exhibition "Unknown Unknows" is the centrepiece of the 23rd international exhibition of the Triennale Milano. On display are more than a hundred works, projects and installations that explore the unknown. Curator Ersilia Vaudo, astrophysicist and Chief Diversity Officer of the European Space Agency, explains the concept in an interview.

“Adaptive Architecture – Building Upon the Existing” is the name of the current DAM exhibition being held at the museum’s temporary quarters in Frankfurt’s Ostend district of. It runs until January 15, 2023 and highlights just how topical the issue is.

Antrei Hartikainen realises projects from Fiskars Village in southern Finland which can be product design as well as sculpture or installation. The designer, master carpenter and sculptor translates the transitions between the disciplines into extraordinary works.

Dr Christian Sonnendecker and his team from the Institute for Analytical Chemistry at the University of Leipzig have discovered an enzyme that can degrade PET plastic in just a few hours. He tells us in an interview what it will take for this technology not to remain research.

Benedikt Stonawski and Hauke Unterburg founded ante up – a studio for circular product and furniture design – in 2020. In addition to design, they have since worked as consultants for companies on the topic of eco-design principles, sustainable materials and production methods. We met them for an interview.

Feuerring has added another member to its product family: "Luna Grande". With a diameter of up to 196 centimeters it is the largest model to date and exudes a unique calm. Its creator steel sculptor and designer Andreas Reichlin explains the idea behind it in this interview.

Dr. Thomas Kusitzky is a researcher and consultant for urban sound design. In an interview he tells us why addressing the issue of sound is important for both living in and experiencing an urban area.

Valencia-based Clap Studio creates experiences through interdisciplinary interior design, product design and artistic installations. With their work, Jordi Iranzo and Àngela Montagud strive for attributes such as simplicity, elegance and frolic, creating a stage-ready aesthetic.

Can sustainability be fun? In this context, architect Bjarke Ingels, founder of BIG, coined the term "hedonistic sustainability", where the quality of life is enhanced by the intelligent use of resources. We spoke to BIG partner Kai-Uwe Bergmann about the underlying concept and the practice’s current projects.

What will mobility look like in the future and what role will design play in it? We talked to Peter Eckart and Kai Vöckler, both professors at the Offenbach University of Art and Design, about sustainable transport concepts and their implementation.

Under the motto "Sustainable society – Design for a greater good", we recently awarded the Stylepark HfG Rundgangpreis for the first time. The winning project is "Connect" by Leon Felix Voss, which could optimise the current chain of medicines.

With the Cosmo, product designer Robin Stummvoll has created a guitar that breaks with the design and functional codes of conventional models. We spoke with him about new approaches to guitar making and the connection between design and sound.

Paola Lenti's broad portfolio ranges from furnishings for yachts to interior design for buildings. In addition, the Italian furniture company works together with universities to develop sustainable products. As part of this year's Salone del Mobile, Stylepark publishers visited founder Paola Lenti in Meda.

The Italian family business Magis combines an international design language in its extraordinary range. "Class not mass" is the credo that Alberto Perazza, together with Barbara Minetto, continues in the second generation. We met him for an interview at the Salone del Mobile in Milan. Read part one here.

querkraft Architekten have built an IKEA store at Vienna's Westbahnhof railway station that sets standards: The store has a green façade with 160 trees for a better microclimate, a large, freely accessible roof terrace and no parking spaces. Jakob Dunkl, the architecture firm's managing director, talked to us about the concept behind this new building.

For Arper, the Swiss architect and designer Peter Kunz has designed a purist table that is both elegant and robust. Thanks to its simple construction, it is also possible to use resources sparingly in production and logistics. He explains the concept to us in an interview.

The Bosco Verticale in Milan, which was completed in 2014, allowed Stefano Boeri to implement his vertical forest concept for the first time. Additional projects are now being built all over the world. We spoke to the Italian architect about his experiences and the optimisation processes behind them.

As a creative, Danish designer Kristina Dam is a real all-rounder. She alternates playfully between sculpture, graphic design, product design, and interior design. And the focus of her endeavors is on the aesthetics of function. She explains her concept In conversation with us.

In the past few years more and more architecture firms have been founded as collectives in order to pursue a social agenda with their work. One example of this is Lacol from Barcelona. We spoke with founding member Carles Baiges Camprubí about the Spanish firm's specific approach.

Ligne Roset is one of the biggest and best-known brands in the furniture and design industry. The company took a new step and presented its latest innovations at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris. Stylepark met there two generations of the family business for an interview: father and son Pierre and Antoine Roset.

Patrick Norguet has designed the modular add-on sofa system "Jeff" for Pedrali, which can be flexibly configured via connecting hooks. The French designer combines gentle curves with a rectangular body and also offers many possibilities to individualise the design. He explains the concept to us in an interview.

Our author Thomas Edelmann recently met Konstantin Grcic in Milan on the way to his exhibition "Ceci n'est pas un mur". A conversation about experiments and current question marks in design.

Alicja Kwade is one of today’s most important contemporary artists. In her sculptures, installations, videos, and photographs, she questions the systems that we use to understand the world. Moreover, with her architectural sculptures she creates a new frame of perception. In the interview she gives us insights into her work.