Interviews

The Metaverse provides a digital platform that is freely designed with the help of architecture, art, and design. In the following interview George Bileca, CEO of Voxel Architects – the first architecture practice in the Metaverse – outlines the benefits and tells us where the limits are.

Emma Olbers is a designer and sustainability strategist. As part of the upcoming Stockholm Furniture Fair, she is presenting the exhibition "Now or never 1kg CO2e" from 7 to 11 February 2023 on the invisible climate impact of our furniture. She explains the concept of the show in an interview.

Bas Smets – one of the most distinguished landscape architects of our day – tells us in this interview why though he is not optimistic when it comes to climate change, but we should not give up hope.

In her book “Schwarzer Rolli, Hornbrille” (Black Turtleneck, Round Glasses) Karin Hartmann highlights various aspects of the architecture profession and examines when, where and why women are at a disadvantage owing to systemic discrimination. In conversation, the author reveals why these questions must be asked and what gets lost because of this lack of perspectives.

Professor emeritus Dr. Uta Brandes is a design expert, theorist and author as well as the founder and chairwoman of iGDN – the international Gender Design Network e.V. As a pioneer, she has brought the topic of gender and design out of its academic niche. In an interview, she tells us what she feels is still lacking today.

The creative mind behind the project "An Improbable Future" wants to remain anoynm. We only do know this much: Mx is an industrial designer from New York whose work explores what the industrial and transport design of the future might look like if it is based on existing designs created by artificial intelligence.

We take it for granted that roads and cycle paths are built to get us from A to B as quickly as possible. But does this necessarily have to be the case? And what happens if we no longer make saving time the uppermost priority in transport planning? New approaches are what journalist Thalia Verkade is pursuing in her book Movement, which she wrote together with the “bicycle professor” Marco te Brömmelstroet.

Mona Makebrandt and Thomaz da Silva Lopes Vieira are the founders of ClipHut – a company offering a flexible wooden construction system that can be easily assembled and dismantled. With just a few elements it can be used to make houses, furniture, room dividers or trade fair stands. Thomaz da Silva Lopes Vieira explains the concept in this interview.

In September 2022 Bettina Bär took over as head of the Heimtextilien segment of Heimtextil. In this interview she tell us what appeals to her about her new task and what we can expect from the upcoming international trade fair for home and contract textiles in Frankfurt/Main.

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.