Interviews

British designer Sophie Earp has designed stools made of ash with a seat in green paracord – the "Woven Collection" – for the graduation of her studies in three-dimensional furniture and product design at Northumbria University. She explains the idea in an interview.

Prof Dr Brigitte Franzen has recently been appointed President of the Hochschule für Gestaltung (HfG) Offenbach. In this interview, she tells us about the qualities she would like to promote at the university of art in the future and what the HafenCampus will change.

Valentina Ciuffi and Joseph Grima are the founders of Alcova Milano, an experimental platform for independent design. For the upcoming Heimtextil in Frankfurt am Main from 14 to 17 January 2025, the duo will be curating the trends for the first time. In this interview, they give us an insight into their concept.

Schmidt Holzinger Innenarchitekten have been developing customised interior solutions for private and business clients since 1998. In an interview with the publishers of Stylepark, they explain what drives them and how they work.

BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group and CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati have conceived the “CapitaSpring” high-rise in Singapore – a vision for the future of urban development which was honoured today with the International High-Rise Award. Brian Yang and Carlo Ratti explain the idea of vertical urbanism to us in an interview.

Prof Lesley Collier is a professor in occupational therapy with a focus on dementia, sensory processing and sensory integration. In this interview, she tells us what influence textiles have on cognitive impairment and how her research can be applied to the design of workspaces.

Architecture practice Cobe was founded by Dan Stubbergaard in Copenhagen in 2006 and is shaping urban designs locally and inspiring people with its international projects. We talk to Stine Lund Hansen, Director of Business Development and Communications, about the team’s philosophy and why people should be at the heart of the design.

In Shanghai, the Salone del Mobile is cooperating with West Bund Art & Design, while the SaloneSatellite Permanent Collection 1998-2024 will be shown in Hong Kong until 21 November 2024. Maria Porro, President of the Salone del Mobile.Milano, tells us what guests can expect in a brief interview.

With RHO, Lennart Zemke and Nikita Marykov work at the interface of architecture, music, performance and creative production. The duo focuses on minimal interventions to develop contemporary architectural solutions for cultural and subcultural environments.

Moritz Walter is an industrial designer and lives in Berlin. His extensive portfolio does not show that he only completed his studies last year. In this interview, he tells us what his idea for the heating system of the future is and why he is fascinated by designing luminaires.

Since 1949, the Wagner company has been showing new perspectives for healthy seating and sustainable interior design. In an interview, Peter and Rainer Wagner tell the publishers of Stylepark what values underlie their decisions and what they are planning for the upcoming Orgatec.

How does Wilkhahn teach seating to walk? And what are the benefits of dynamic sitting for people's health, such as the efficient furnishing of an office or home office? Carsten Gehner, Head of Product Pre-Development, in an interview.

Oscar Parkinson recently completed his degree in Product and Furniture Design at Kingston University in London and already has some exciting prototypes to show for it. In this interview he gives us an insight into his practice.

The former flak bunker on Feldstrasse in Hamburg was recently given a five-storey extension by phase10 Ingenieur- und Planungsgesellschaft mbH. Managing Director and Project Manager Ronny Erfurt tells us in an interview what was involved.

The film E.1027 – Eileen Gray and the House by the Sea will be released in cinemas at the end of October. Director Beatrice Minger and co-director Christoph Schaub tell us how they aim to make the architect and designer's perspective experienceable through docufiction.

Designer Dominik Tesseraux has had a significant influence on the development of bathroom specialist Bette. In this interview, he tells us what is fundamental to this and what the team is currently working on.

Wilhelm Opatz is an interior designer and runs a graphic design studio in Frankfurt am Main. He recently published a new volume in his ‘Architekturführer Frankfurt’ series, this time presenting selected buildings from the years 2000 to 2009. He tells us in an interview what his concept is and why he appreciates side paths.

Manfred Wolf and Jean-Marc da Costa have been leading the lighting manufacturer serien.lighting for four decades. The publishers of Stylepark met the designers at their factory in Rodgau and talked about the company's history as well as their plans for the future.

Laufen recently started up the world's first electric tunnel kiln in Gmunden. The new technology enables climate-neutral ceramic production – a revolution in the industry. Managing Director Christian Schaefer tells us in an interview what the next steps are.

The works of Olaf Holzapfel offer a new perspective on artisanship: whether it’s the collaborative work "Wand" in the German Federal Environment Agency or "Der Mantel" in Haus Konstruktiv, Zurich. Holzapfel tells us in the following interview why there's a need for architecture we can identify with.

Heiko Kühnen is the plant and development manager of the Gläserne Manufaktur (Transparent Factory) run by Object Carpet in Krefeld. In the following interview he tells us how his firm’s “DUO” technology will have a lasting impact on the production of high-quality floor coverings and design carpets.

Architect Björn Liese started out as a one-man office with an unusual project – the conversion of a Hamburg bunker into a residential building. In this interview, he tells us what he has learnt in the process for future construction.

Artificial Intelligence and New Work – two current topics that global design and architecture firm Gensler is constantly researching. We gain insight into their work in an interview with Lukasz Platkowski, Principal and Managing Director for Gensler in Berlin, and Philip Tidd, Principal and Managing Director for Gensler in Munich.

In our series "Spotlight on Women Architects", we are introducing the work of female architects to you at regular intervals. And now it’s the turn of Sofia Ceylan, Dr. Katharina Neubauer and Annabelle von Reutern, who have teamed up under the name TOMAS.

For his master’s thesis on “Compostable Devices” Eric Geissler researched alternative materials for small electric appliances. Accordingly, his casing for a hairdryer was made of compostable fungus mycelium. In the interview, he tells us about the benefits of the material.

Architectural structures, empty spaces, abstract fragments: The photographs by Satijn Panyigay show a state between presence and absence, full of calm and tension, melancholy and hope. In our interview, she tells us what she’s looking for.

Sonia Bąk-Tokarska and Michał Tokarski founded Studio Tok four years ago. In addition to their surname, "Tok" also stands for ways of thinking, and thought processes in the Polish language. In this interview, they talk about the role that painting played in their childhood and what a lamp has to do with a sumo wrestler.

Daniel Rybakken's approach has been honoured early on with many awards. We spoke to the designer about how chairs are like human bodies, the relationship between art and design and what his father taught him about cars.

Prof Sebastian Oschatz led the "Flx Tech+ Waste/4" course at the HfG Offenbach together with Prof Janina Schmidt and Carina Moser in the summer semester 2024. In this short interview, he describes how the project uses digital and interaction design to benefit agriculture.

Studio Loes became known beyond Berlin for "Element", a modular timber building. Their love of wood is apparent in many of their designs. In the following interview Gonzalo Lizama tells us how the three founding members got together and what characterizes their work.

Prof. Ferdinand Ludwig is an architect and holds the Chair of Green Technologies in Landscape Architecture at Technische Universität München (TUM); he is also a partner at OLA Office for Living Architecture. In this interview, he talks to us about the uses of Baubotanik in the city of tomorrow.

The Populus Hotel in Denver is due to open soon and offers a clear contrast to the skyline of Colorado's capital: a conversation with Juliane Wolf, Design Principal and Partner at Studio Gang, about trees as inspiration, hotels to revitalise the city centre and windows that can be lived in.

Petra Blaisse has just published a comprehensive book called "Art Applied", looking back on 33 years of practice since she founded her studio "Inside Outside" in 1991. We had a quite personal conversation about her view of design – or, as she prefers, "applied work".

In the form of “Bellhop Glass” for Flos, Barber Osgerby have expanded the “Bellhop" Collection to include pendular luminaires and table lamps made of hand-blown opaline glass and aluminum. Edward Barber explains the idea to us.

Industrial designer Marc Gerber lives in Bern and designs products for which he likes to think outside the box. He talks to us about what he aims to change with his designs, the ways of working he learnt from Konstantin Grcic, and what he is currently chiseling away at.