Nicola Leonardi - How did the collaboration between Duravit and Philippe Starck come about? Whose idea was it and who made the first move? And what was Starck’s initial reaction to designing sanitary ware?
Franz Kook, Duravit President - We first made a list of several well know designers to sound out. When we contacted Philippe Starck he was immediately enthusiastic about the idea of designing bathroom elements. He even gave us permission to involve other partners in order to create an overall bathroom project.
N.L. - Was Starck allowed complete freedom or did you set a framework for his design project? If so, did Starck respect these constraints?
F.K. - We of course had an initial briefing with Starck. That didn’t prevent him from submitting his own ideas, however. That started a long, complicated discussion during which the project was nearly abandoned on several occasions. Strong nerves on both sides kept us going and led us to the success we have since had. That was Starck 1, launched on the market in 1994.
N.L. - How did Philippe Starck go about the projects? Did he work on his own or was he in contact with the company?
F.K. - He submitted drawings that included a series of options which we then examined together. Consideration was given to things like technical feasibility. We also prepared visual models to assess every detail in 3-D.
N.L. - How did the Duravit-Starck collaboration develop, from the initial idea to the end result?
F.K. - During the project, Starck involved a range of people who worked on important details. While the designer carried through his original idea right to the final version, many details were changed as the project developed.
This is the way in which his design idea, together with our understanding of the market and production know-how, were able to come up with a finely tuned, quality-class product.
N.L. - The Starck 1 range takes its cue from archetypal forms....
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