PHILIPPE STARCK: SUBVERSIVE, ETHICAL, VISIONARY,
POLITICAL, HUMOROUS, POETIC.
PHILIPPE
STARCK: SUBVERSIVE, ETHICAL, VISIONARY, POLITICAL, HUMOROUS, POETIC
“Subversive,
ethical, visionary, political, humorous, poetic... this is how I see my duty as
a designer.” Philippe Starck
A
career rich with 10,000 creations - completed or yet to come - global fame and
tireless protean inventiveness should never overshadow the essential, Philippe
Starck has a mission, a vision: that creation, whatever form it takes, must
improve the lives of as many people as possible. Starck vehemently believes
this poetic and political, rebellious and benevolent, pragmatic and subversive
duty should be shared by everyone. He sums it up with the humour that’s set him
apart from the very beginning: “No one has to be a genius, but everyone has to
participate.” In the eyes of this accomplished citizen of the world,
sharing his ethical and humanist vision of a more equal planet is a duty, if
not a moral imperative, that results in unconventional projects, bearing
fertile surprises. It’s easy to guess his course of action: an object must be
useful before being beautiful. His prophetic awareness of
ecological implications, his deep understanding of contemporary mutations, his
enthusiasm for imagining new lifestyles, his determination to change the world,
his commitment to sustainable de-growth, his love of ideas, his concern with
defending the intelligence of usefulness – and the usefulness of intelligence –
have taken him from iconic creation to iconic creation... From everyday
products like furniture and lemon squeezers to revolutionary mega-yachts,
intensely vibrant, stimulating and phantasmagorical hotels and the miraculous
technologies of individual wind turbines and the electric car, he never stops
pushing the limits and criteria of contemporary design. It’s as a true
visionary that he puts this art of innovation to the service of a design and
democratic ecology, actiondriven and respectful to both human and nature’s
heritage, whether it’s with the Elise recycling bin or the Zartan, the first
entirely recycled roto-moulded chair. The affordable and adjustable P.A.T.H.
houses – high-tech pre-fab habitations – recently attested to the durability of
an approach that he initiated in 1994 with the prefab house on sale in the 3
Suisses catalogue. Heralding the phenomena of convergence and
dematerialisation, Philippe Starck aims straight for the heart, highlighting
the essential, extracting the structural minimum of every object, in order to
offer creations and propositions closest to Man and Nature, best adapted to the
future. Just look at the mega-yacht A, symbol of minimalist elegance, or the Zik
earphones for Parrot. He dreams of solutions so vital that he was the first
French man to be invited to the TED conferences (Technology, Entertainment
& Design) alongside renowned participants including Bill Clinton and
Richard Branson. Inventor, creator, architect, designer, artistic
director, Philippe Starck is certainly all of the above, but more than anything
he is an honest man directly descended from the Renaissance artists.
http://www.starck.com/en/about
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click below link from blog.
https://mymagicalattic.blogspot.com.tr/2014/01/mama-shelter-hotel-istanbul-design-by.html
PARFUM PEU DE SOIE STARCK
PARFUM PEU DE SOIE STARCK
A
POLITICAL AND POETIC DESIGN
“Whether
it’s a toothbrush, an airplane or a chair, it’s always the same philosophy: to
think about what the user will gain.” Philippe Starck. What is humanity
lacking? Certainly not more objects… Because he is acutely aware of this and
because he places the individual at the centre of his work, thinking solely of
the user’s benefits, Philippe Starck likes saying he wasn’t born to make tables
and lamps, but that the first stroke of his pencil is his only tool – weapon
even – to express and introduce original alternatives into our daily routines.
“The necessity of all jobs should be questioned,” the designer explains,
“Design surely hopes to improve life, but it can’t save lives. The only thing
design can do is earn the right to survive, at least move in more humanist
directions.” Design exists for Philippe Starck solely through its militant and
political status, in other words through its capacity to be useful, to help,
even modestly, people’s lives. His designs aim to serve more than the object;
they aim to offer the best possible service while using the minimum of
materials. This is powerfully demonstrated with the first ever
Ideas Box, deployed in January 2014 in the Great Lakes region of Burundi. The
Ideas Box, a portable multi-media library created by Philippe Starck for
Libraries without Borders, offers populations exposed to humanitarian crises access
to the Internet, books, various teaching aids, not to mention theatre and film.
It thus contributes to giving individuals and communities the possibility to
reconstruct what they have lost because “when all else has been lost, all we
have left is the ability to dream”. Since then the principal of the Ideas Box
has been successfully rolled out in more than 11 countries.
http://www.starck.com/en/about
DRIADE TOY CHAIR
DEMOCRATIC DESIGN AND DAILY OBJECTS
From
the beginning his designs were never intended for the elite, but for society as
a whole. He longs for democratic design, and proffers an illuminating
definition: “Improving the quality while striving to make it accessible to the
greatest number of people, at affordable prices.” He believes that
sincere, modern elegance comes from the multiplication of an object, as opposed
to the ideology of limited editions, where premeditation on rarity leads to a
selection through money rather than necessity.
This approach,
aiming to provide the largest number of people with the best quality, has been
deployed by Philippe Starck in all domains: from tableware to issues concerning
the body and hygiene.
http://www.starck.com/en/about
DRIADE TOY CHAIR
ALESSI JUICY SALIF
ALESSI JUICY SALIF
AN ETHICAL APPROACH TO SPACE
“If
there is no vision, humane, social or loving, a project doesn’t have the
legitimacy to exist.” Philippe Starck
The
emergence of a new space, restaurant, bar or hotel is always an occasion for
Philippe Starck to consider the meaning of creation in depth: the sense of a
space within its environment, the sense and sentiment of a place for the tribes
who inhabit it, the sense of a project, regardless of its size, within human
evolution. Creation cannot be vain or gratuitous. It involves an increasing awareness
of its implication for Mankind and his environment and a responsibility for the
future. “Deserving to exist is part of the notion of work […]. Everyone should
bring something – if it’s not a mountain, then a rock, a stone or a grain of
sand,” summarises Philippe Starck. This modest approach is marked by the
ambition of a dreamer who firmly believes in the possibility of finding
solutions to contemporary issues. And yet Philippe Starck refuses to impose his
solutions. They unfold like stories available to those who want to listen: “My
job is like that of a film director. I tell stories and offer the public the
most complete spiritual notion possible of the spaces they visit. Public spaces
are above all about emotions and experiences.” Because at the heart of all
Starck’s projects lies the commitment to humanity and through the creation of
spaces the will to generate powerful emotions, ensuring that on entering these
buildings, everyone discovers what they are looking for and more; “a place to
go because it’s too cold outside, because they’re hungry, because they’re
thirsty, because they want to have fun.”
http://www.starck.com/en/about
THE ALHONDIGA PROJECT
THE
ALHONDIGA PROJECT
One of
Bilbao’s architectural icons is emerging again in the heart of town. It is
Alhóndiga (1909), the old wine warehouse designed by Ricardo Bastida, which has
morphed into AlhóndigaBilbao –a place swarming with activity for all and sundry
that is expected to become a new leisure and cultural hub.
AlhóndigaBilbao
is bringing its curtain up with the hope of hosting activities in its
43,000-square-metre surface area that encourage the love of knowledge, awaken
cultural sensitivity, lead to positive experiences in the different stages of
life, and contribute to the consolidation of strong values.
Culture,
knowledge, and fun are coming together in an innovative, multidisciplinary
space that will be brimming with life –a meeting point to share, learn, and
above all, enjoy with family and friends.
CONCEPT
AlhóndigaBilbao
is a leisure, cultural, and wellness centre oriented towards personal
growth.
The
Latin quotation derived from one of Juvenal’s Satires captures the spirit and
concept of the centre. The idea is that AlhóndigaBilbao is a place where
visitors can accomplish the goal of Antiquity of striking balance between the
body and the mind.
Since
Philippe Starck first took charge of the rehabilitation project, every task was
aimed at the creation of a multidisciplinary space open to all citizens and
oriented towards personal growth and the development of human relationships.
This is the most interesting thing about AlhóndigaBilbao, for its purpose will
make it an ever-changing place.
EXTERIOR ARCHITECTURE AND LIVING
SPACES
Although
he considers himself no more an architect than designer, in the early 1980s
Philippe Starck designed several buildings in Japan, with forms previously
unseen. The first was in Tokyo, completed in 1989, and is striking in its
originality. Nani Nani was an impressive anthropomorphic building covered with
living material which evolves with time. The structure was born from the
powerful conviction that creation must invest in an environment without
destabilising it while maintaining the greatest respect for its context. Like
all of his work Starck’s architecture is virulently and explicitly both ethical
and humanist.
A year
later he confirmed his status as leader of avant-gardist architecture with the
Asahi Beer Hall in Tokyo and then an ensemble of offices in Osaka, known as the
Baron Vert, in 1992. A pioneer of impressionist reasoning bursting with
relentless enthusiasm, he made buildings that even when dedicated to work
reclaimed life in all its continuous exuberance. In France he was commissioned
to design the control tower at Bordeaux’s airport (1997) and the extension of
the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris (1998). Jean Paul
Gaultier entrusted the designer’s imagination to transform his boutiques in
Paris, London and New York.
With
the Yoo building project, initiated in London in 2001 along with building
magnate John Hitchcox, Philippe Starck ignored “signature” housing conventions,
by offering apartments with modern configurations, in line with the
expectations of tribe members. The perfect culmination of a lifetime of
research and vision, Yoo today has more than 50 projects spread over 27
countries – from Asia and Australia to America, Europe and the Middle East –
with new constructions recently announced for Ecuador and Mexico.
In Rio
de Janeiro, 2007, Philippe Starck conceived the interior architecture and
decoration of the Faena Hotel, as well as the exterior and interior
architecture of the Fasano, an eightstory on the seafront. This hotel is a
discreet, humble and sincere tribute to the Brazilian designers of the 1950s
and 1960s, who’d been so innovative in their approach to the environment.
Through his elegant use of wood, glass and marble, Starck succeeds in
recreating the sophisticated and relaxed spirit of the city within this magical
venue while offering a spectacular panorama over the sea.
Philippe
Starck also shows genuine commitment to public spaces where he hopes to
establish a humane community determined to strive for change. “I’m carried
along by a major theme: the adventure of our human species, governed mainly by
intelligence.” It’s time to remember that living together also means living in
harmony. This thought was made reality in 2012 in Bilbao when he completed
Alhondiga, a cultural centre spreading over nearly 30,000m2: “This project
incorporates the crystallisation of life”, the designer explains. “We preserved
the 1909 façade along with all walls, nearly 10 meters thick. And it is
precisely within these walls that the history of the building unravels. Very
few other spaces in the world offer so many activities in one place: you can
work here, eat, drink, see an exhibition, do sports or read. I like this idea
of communion, the intermingling of activities, while remaining very practical.
It provides surprisingly magical moments that are even more astonishing because
it’s such a unique experience. Passers-by can see it all happening through the
windows. I’m devoted to putting life on show.”
2010
was a key date in the world of sea adventurers, as this die-hard boat lover -
“I can’t live without the sea” – unveiled his project in Port Adriano in
Majorca. There he offered an entirely new conception of urbanism, blurring the
boundaries between port and the boats, the sea and the land. Through the
creation of an underground parking lot, the site’s beauty remains intact while
access to the spaces is facilitated. He stuck firmly to his beliefs about
invisibility and dematerialisation, “The architecture is almost invisible,” he
explains, “You only notice it when you look a second time.” And because he’s
placed man and nature at the centre of the project, thus fully respecting
environmental standards, the reduction of CO2 emissions has been made a
priority. Through this project, with his crystal clear view on our society, he
perpetuates a responsible approach to creation: “We are the prisoners of a
“throw-away” society. The only way to escape is to create sustainable design,”
he affirmed on this occasion.
On the
site of an old structure at the entrance to the Saint Ouen flea market on the
outskirts of Paris, a large building in brick, concrete panels and zinc was
constructed in 2012. With the external architecture of the restaurant Ma
Cocotte, Philippe Starck pays tribute to the typical buildings of the
neighbourhood and its inhabitants, a kingdom of market traders whose
authenticity and effervescence has long fascinated him. It’s a lifestyle he has
endeavoured to reproduce with this comfortable and welcoming place.
This honest architectural vision, cultivated within the rules of art, favouring
life in all its forms will organically continue to develop elsewhere over the
next few years. Le Nuage, which saw the light of day in 2014 in Montpellier,
has established itself as a poetic destination, a vertical village, conducive
to the socialising of all tribes, complete with cultural, sporting and relaxing
activities. Enveloped with a transparent membrane in polymer known as ETFE,
this is the first inflatable private building to be made in Europe.
With the P.A.T.H. (Prefabricated Accessible Technological Homes) project,
available since October 2014, Philippe Starck offers a new take on individual,
hi-tech pre-fabricated houses destined for as many people as possible.
On the
other side of the ocean the Matarazzo Hospital in Sao Paolo is one of the
city’s few historical monuments to have been preserved. Eclectic, bustling and
full of determined energy in 2016 it will be endowed with a new cultural and
polymorphous life. It will be home to a hotel, exhibition halls, theatres and
cinemas, metamorphosing into an indispensable epicentre of creativity.
The
architectural ensemble has been restored with the utmost respect for its
historic heritage. It will be surrounded by a park with covered stalls selling
the work of local craftsmen and artisans. This project shows Philippe Starck’s
profound belief in the power of rehabilitation of space by culture and his
sustained will to create venues that improve “living together”.
The
Château des Carmes Haut-Brion domaine goes back to the 16th century: while its
prestige is clearly timeless, its new owners, the Pichet Group, wanted to
project it into the future. Thus 2016 will see the inauguration of its new
winery designed by Phillippe Starck to resemble a raw blade, minimalist and
elegant, perfectly integrated into its surroundings, naturally embodying “the
evocation, intuition and reflection” of a great vineyard.
This
ethical approach, for everyone, from the architecture of buildings, public
spaces and the multifunctional modular urban furniture (for JC Decaux),
realised in absolute symbiosis with its human and topographical context, to his
numerous interior projects for restaurants and hotels, is expressed in a truly
global manner.
http://www.starck.com/en/about
THE ALHONDIGA PROJECT
GIRO BY S+ARCKBIKE HELMET
AXOR STARCK V
AXOR STARCK V
KARTEL MISS LESS
KARTEL MISS LESS
DRIADE LOU READ
DRIADE LOU READ
PALAZZINA GRASSI
PALAZZINA
GRASSI
The
timeless game of seduction and poetry that Venice has always suggested to
people’s imagination, the enthusiasm and passion of a young and visionary
entrepreneur, Philippe Starck’s deep-rooted love for the lagoon and an artist,
based in Murano, capable to interpret and transpose such energy, helped by the
shared closeness of these three people to Venice, are the driving forces behind
Palazzina Grassi.
Turin-born
entrepreneur Emanuele Garosci, who created the innovative Hotel Nhow in Milan’s
new Zona Tortona design district, came to Venice for a short period of time in
2008. It was not his first stay, but, on this occasion, he breathed its air, he
experienced this city and discovered its most hidden treasures, falling in love
with it. He then decided to create in this city an unprecedented hospitality
project and chose Philippe Starck as the only designer capable to create this
new dimension he dreamt to set in the lagoon landscape. He chose him and
succeeded in being chosen…
The
entrepreneur’s vision and wish are to offer the more sensitive and curious
visitors a place capable to send them, inside and outside the hotel, on a
journey of what Venice has been and can be for the more sensitive eyes and
spirits, making each guest feel “temporarily Venetian”. He already has a great
legacy at his disposal: the city’s colour palette, an atmospheric building rich
in history, and a concept of hospitality and conciergerie able to offer
experiences that are different each time.
The
subversive French creator, who, when designing hotels, works like a movie
director trying to create mental spaces in people’s brain, had been in love
with Venice for decades since he has chosen a tiny island in the Venice laguna
as one of his homes. Starck had already designed and created several hotels
around the world which all became classics, but in Italy he had yet to be
seduced by any hospitality project and a visionary entrepreneur.
However,
he was fascinated by Palazzina Grassi, also due to the passion he feels for
this city. His idea was to “mount” in this aristocratic building, which had
been inhabited by the nobility and later had been a warehouse for merchants and
even a spa, a true jewel, a summary of the city’s materials, emotions and
architectures. In the 2,800 square metres of Palazzina Grassi, all was
conceived to set off tradition and history, but also to play with new
intellectual and emotional dimensions.
The
atmosphere is that of a lived-in home, full of life and charm, where the
extraordinary nature of the spaces and furnishings combines with a selection of
the most refined luxury antiques, including valuable books, antique glasses and
luxury vintage objects.
In order
to collaborate to the creation of the Palazzina Grassi project, Starck also
called Aristide Najean, a French painter and sculptor who, five years before,
had chosen Murano to live and work. The artist took part in the project with
enthusiasm, adding, with his glass masterpieces, important elements that convey
splendour and phantasmagoria.
‘’
Venice is not only at the centre of the world, of Europe and, above all, of
Western civilisation, but it also represents the sum and the absolute synthesis
of all Western and Eastern intelligences, cultures, refineries and the most
sophisticated luxuries.
Palazzina
Grassi conveys in a single place – through an innovative concept, but,
above all, through details, materials, mental games and cultural references –
the spirit and essence of Venice, which has never been and will never be
equalled.
Palazzina
Grassi is a jewel set along the Canal Grande, made exquisite by Murano
crystals, mahogany and precious woods brought by all the ships that along the
years have arrived in Venice and which come to life here.
The
mix, conscious and unconscious, of all these elements turn Palazzina Grassi
into an unspoken poem, which allows visitors to find themselves immediately and
deeply immersed in the special history, culture and vibrations of such a unique
city. ‘’
Philippe
Starck
PALAZZINA GRASSI
CASSINA PASSION
CASSINA PASSION
AXOR STARCK ORGANIC MIXER
AXOR STARCK ORGANIC MIXER
MAMA SHELTER BORDEAUX
MAMA SHELTER LYON
HOTELS
Ever
since his first creations, Philippe Starck hasn’t stopped revolutionising the
codes of the hotel world. From the 1980s onwards he made his mark on the hotel
industry and those years saw a flamboyant revolution. Along with Ian Schrager,
Starck offered a new approach and new codes to hotel conception starting with
the Royalton in New York. The experience continued with the Delano in Miami in
1995, followed by the Mondrian in Los Angeles and then London saw the arrival
of Saint Martin’s Lane in 1999 and the Sanderson in 2000 while New York
welcomed the Hudson in 1999 and the Clift in San Francisco in 2001. While
most of his hotels have taken other paths (Royalton, Mondrian, Delano, Sanderson
and St Martins), Phillipe Starck has none the less made his mark on hotel
design with these original creations. Every project is a destination that
generates emotions and experiences. The hotels are no longer venues of fleeting
impersonal passage but living spaces distilled with friendly, fun signs and
fertile surprises. Under the impetus of Philippe Starck they’re transformed
into theatres where everyone acts out their own destiny. In 2005 the Faena
Hotel in Buenos Aires, having opened the previous year, was named best hotel of
the year by the magazine Wallpaper* and complimented by Conde Naste Traveller
for its atmosphere and design.
The
2000’s gave rise to another revolution in the hotel industry. The SLS Beverly
Hills (2007) was Starck’s first real hotel resort in North America. It has the
unique concept of a double entrance, where one is for the exclusive use of the
clientele and the other for the general public, opening into what is known as
the Bazaar. “People know that when they stop by there’ll always be something to
discover, someone to meet, it’s like a constantly bubbling of energy. It has
something of the village square about it.” Starck resumes. This collaboration
with the hotel chain belonging to the visionary entrepreneur Sam Nazarian
continues today: new SLS hotels have opened with the same success in South
Beach Miami (2012), with other versions on the horizon in New York, Miami
Brickell (2016) as well as Philadelphia and Seattle (2017). “The SLS South
Beach Miami doesn’t have a particular style; we worked hard to achieve that.
It’s a sophisticated cocktail of poetry, surrealism, fertile surprises,
tenderness, unexpected sculptures in the Japanese restaurant, elegance in a
Milanese bar, Jose Andres’ unusual blend of Spanish and Chinese cooking and my
grandmother’s dining room. Wherever you look you’ll be surprised and you can
imagine your own dream, your own life. Wherever you go you can feel the
humanity of Sam and my craziness,” explains Philippe Starck, artistic director
of the entire hotel chain. Since the opening of the SLS Beverly Hills, more
than 60 accolades from Conde Naste Traveller, Wallpaper*, the New York Times,
the Los Angeles Times have been showered upon the SLS hotels.
Starck is revolutionary in his refusal of an exclusive approach. From the 1990s
onwards Starck committed himself to another revolution, that of the
democratisation of quality, designer hotels. The Paramount in New York offering
rooms for $100 came first and it has since become a classic of the genre. This
human-centric approach has led Philippe Starck to develop projects that
contribute essentially to the process of democracy of the hotel industry. “The
only desirable revolution is a social and economic revolution: offer the best
quality to people for whom money is not the point. It is without a doubt the
most interesting future and creative territory to develop,” summarises the
designer. In 2008 he applied this generous, humanist idea to Paris
in the design of the Mama Shelter. This hotel bears witness to the new social
values of an open minded cultural tribe founded on rigour, honesty, humour,
intelligence and sharing. On its origins, he explains, “We wanted to bring a
democratic dream to fruition... give the best to the most people possible while
drawing from the newest ideas and the energy of the young.” Born from a
philosophical and political desire this establishment in its neglected urban
yet buzzing landscape, accompanies the most inventive, most determined aspects
of the future. Its pertinence and audacity of vision sees the Mama Shelter
regularly featured in the most prestigious international publications (50 Best
Hotels in Europe by the Sydney Morning Herald, Die 100 Besten Hotels in Europa
by Geosaison Award, 8 Best Hotels in France by Frommer). Starck’s dreams are
devoted to sowing their seeds far and wide: after Paris, the Mama Shelter took
root in Marseille in 2012 quickly followed by Lyon and Bordeaux in 2013.
Conscious that the hotelier business must reflect the movements and flux of the
world and its ideas, in 2008 he started reinterpreting the codes of Parisian
luxury hotels with vigour and fantasy, adding a dash of poetic and surreal
folly to the oldest five-star hotel in the French capital, Le Meurice. He added
new notes to his score in 2016 with the introduction of yet more mystery and
humanity to the palace spaces. He applied his artistic direction once again in
2010 to the Royal Monceau, where he wrote a fantastical and previously unseen
script where every room is imbued with the cultural energy of an imaginary
occupant. Philippe Starck broke with custom and thrust the heritage of a luxury
hotel embodying Parisian heritage into another timeless, whimsical dimension.
“For me, the Royal Monceau was an opportunity to explore the nature of French
identity and to reinvent it. To rediscover this rebellious and subversive
spirit that manages simultaneously to be very elegant, detached and noble.” The
Royal Monceau has become the refuge of the honest man, interested in the
cultivation of mind and body as witnessed by the installation of the Spa My
Blend by Clarins (2011). In 2011 La Co(o)rniche (2011),
Starck proposed a “a cabin on the water”, a “venue as strong, as beautiful, as
poetic, as surreal and as powerful as nature itself.” Suspended between sky and
sea, between sand and pine trees, this hotel and restaurant preserves the
authenticity of a basque house while overlooking the Bay of Arcachon, paying
tribute to the sparkling and generous people who live there. And
then in July 2015, the Café Ha(a)ïtza opened its doors in Pyla-sur-Mer.
But this was less a step and more a prologue to the 2016 opening of the eponymous
hotel with its open spaces, central bars and tables d’hôtes. This emblematic
venue in the Bay of Arcachon, a landscape so dear to Philippe Starck, will
rediscover its life and panache of former times in summer 2016
http://www.starck.com/en/about
LORENZO LE MAGNIFIC
LORENZO LE MAGNIFIC
GOOD GOODS 41
VITRA WW STOOL
VITRA WW STOOL
KARTEL LOUIS GHOST
STARCK GLASSES
A
DEMOCRATIC ECOLOGY
“In
order to save our planet, change our societies and make them more inclusive, we
need initiatives, major actions.” Philippe Starck.
Long
before environmental concerns became mainstream, a pressing urgency had told a
prudent visionary that they would lie at the heart of our present, and be
essential to our future. His concern for developing durable creations imagined
independently of any notion of a perishable world, and that they be above all
useful and perform their essential function, has inscribed his work right from
the beginning, in a responsible, ethical approach. His objects, his solutions,
Philippe Starck wants to share them with the most people possible by offering
hi-tech, ecological objects at affordable prices, without hesitating to make
beautiful things or encourage responsible consumption. A visionary and
enthusiastic citizen, Philippe Starck is committed to the future of mankind via
a democratic ecology that will help his contemporaries live in harmony with
their natural surroundings, all while being a part of “the big picture”. He
aims to go beyond survival by offering future generations the possibility of
writing their future on a fresh page, so that they can invent another story and
a new romanticism. This is the vision: to change the perspective of his
creative actions, to go further and to share them with the greatest number of
people. “Increasingly aware, we can all take the destiny of the human species
in hand instead of drifting into the mechanisms of a market.” It consists of giving
up the insane cycle of fashion for sustainable, durable objects. As a visionary
Philippe Starck captures the mutations of a contemporary world by bringing
about concrete answers through a bionist approach, among others, inspired by
the organic and a will to initiate a sustainable degrowth, always looking for
the most in the least. Even if there’s no proposition to provide a
definitive solution to the issues of our times, the designer hasn’t stopped
offering new models, other means of consuming and travelling, convinced that it
is the inventors who draw the path to a better world.
Recognising the urgency to develop a democratic ecology, his civic battle has
become increasingly radical today. It’s a personal commitment and an invitation
to join him. In 2006 he invented an individual wind turbine for the Italian
industrial group, Pramac, which is
attractive
and invisible, easily accessible and usable at an affordable price. It also
responds to the new criteria of mobility imposed by our nomadic destiny. Beyond
its technical characteristics, it completely changes our approach to consuming
and generating energy. In 2015 with Speetbox by Starck, the first
collection of high performance heated furniture, Starck pursues an approach
that lies at the heart of ancient preoccupations: rethinking our ways of
consuming and generating energy as a key issues. An airtight wood burner can be
added to by a system known as “box” with a variety of functions: storage boxes
adapted to the storage of firewood, and boxes that accumulate heat allowing for
a gradual diffusion of warmth over a 24h plus period. Thanks to an original
smartphone app, the wood burner is controllable and programmable outside the
home, high technology allowing for the personalised control of all heating
parameters. Speetbox by Starck makes ecology and technology accessible to all,
and offers the possibility of an economic, high performance and adapted heating
solution.
http://www.starck.com/en/about
KARTEL LOUIS GHOST
KARTEL LOULOU GHOST
KARTEL VICTORIA GHOST
KARTEL VICTORIA GHOST
KARTEL LOULOU GHOST
A COMMITTED, POLITICAL, VISIONARY DESIGN
“I’ve
tried to steer the craft of design towards a political and social action,
complicit and yet denouncing, to generate action and reaction.” Philippe Starck
Philippe
Starck has always sought to convey a political, subversive message. He works by
associating humour and poetry with spectacular undertakings. And he likes
nothing more than knowing these surprises will provoke love or rejection. “An
object that is instantly accepted doesn’t have the right to exist,” he likes to
repeat.
PLASTIC:
DEMATERIALISATION AND INVISIBILITY
“In the long term design will join one of
the most fundamental lines of our evolution, which is dematerialisation.”
Philippe Starck. By deciding early on to use plastic in his furniture creation
Philippe Starck demonstrated a profound comprehension of dematerialisation and
invisibility. Less material for greater intelligence, this is how the designer
imagines objects. “When waiting for certain objects to disappear, they have to
be rendered bearable by a choice of view coming from an attempt at invisibility
through transparency.” So he developed plastic furniture – from the WW Stool
(1990 Vitra) to the Masters (Kartell) and Pipes chairs (Driade) – whose
culmination would be the icon chairs Marie and Louis Ghost (Kartell 2002) a
veritable treaty of modernity announcing this inevitable dematerialisation. The
Marie, a pure ‘mathematical’ chair was created by the designer to have the
least possible style, the least possible weight, the least possible material
and the least possible presence. But it’s with the Louis Ghost that this
approach to dematerialisation found its greatest success with more than one
million examples sold. And Philippe Starck is convinced the chair is the result
of this new approach but also a legacy and collective Western thinking as well
as the bridge he has built between dematerialisation and democratisation. “The
Louis Ghost was made by our collective subconscious; it’s just the natural
result of our past, our present and our future. Thanks to its technology it
equally allows for good design and good technology at the right price. It’s the
continuity of democratic design.” With the Masters chair of 2009, Philippe
Starck continues his reflections on the notions of dematerialisation and
inheritance. He takes apart, cleans and dissects design icons in order to
identify and extract their structural lines that, to use the words of the
creator, “add together to create a new product, a new project, reflecting our
new society.” With the Masters, Starck offers his reading of the generic lines
of three great designers from the history of design (Eames, Jacobsen and
Saarinen). In 2016 with the GENERIC.A and the GENERIC.C (Kartell) chairs he
liberates the outside lines, going to the heart of every detail, to the
interior generic lines. “An interesting approach intellectually, but one that’s
also about Economy and Ecology because it’s primarily a work on the
intelligence of matter, on the intelligence of structure” offered by Starck
through the GENERIC collection. The production of plastic furniture takes
on a new dimension with the establishment of the TOG – All Creators TOGether in
2014. The Italo-Brazilian brand strives mainly to express a political mind-set,
affirming a philosophy that proposes to “reconcile two opposing worlds: that of
industrial high technology, that of mass production with that of the craftsman,
reflecting original, unique and human excellence.” Through TOG Starck attempts
to resolve the paradox generated by our society in crisis, aspiring to products
strengthened by a vital hope for cultural and material life, functional and
available at affordable prices. http://www.starck.com/en/about
DRIADE LOU THINK
MAGIS LE CHIEN SAVANT
POAA
DRIADE NEOZ SOFA
STARCK CARPET
GUN LAMP 2015
STARCK CARPET
LACO(O)RNICHE HOTEL
LACO(O)RNICHE HOTEL
TOG LIGHT ROCK
TOG LIGHT ROCK
MAGIC HOLE
MAGIC HOLE
KARTEL UNCLE JIM
FIRST 35/41 S5 VOILIER L COQUE
BOATS
The
marine environment is another source of inspiration. Starck loves the sea,
boats and has a profound, natural knowledge of the ocean, defining himself as
an amphibian, "webbed feet and a back covered in scales". He
collaborated with Bénéteau for the sailing boat First (1988) where he
reinterpreted the timeless codes of the sea, then he went on to create the Virtuelle
(1997), a racing boat with minimalist forms, in perfect harmony with the
sea. He has also created several mega-yachts. The Wedge II (2002),
innovative in its purified appearance contrasting with the conventions (and did
he have fun) of this type of boat and whose elegance was rewarded the prize of
best boat of the year. Then in 2008 he designed the A (119 meters long), a
discreet and ecological vessel, inspired by the rhythm of the waves and the
shape of a fish, it has an immense and revolutionary bow: “I designed one of
the first hulls that doesn’t make any waves, even at 25 knots,” reminisces
Philippe Starck. With its Tenders, the aesthetic and philosophical innovation
that the mega yacht A was given companions of equal elegance, with a
‘Limousine’ version offering an interior worthy of a super-yacht itself and an
‘open’ version with its sumptuous circular cockpit. Two major prizes were
awarded to the yacht A: “Most Innovative Yacht in Yachts France” at the Cannes
Maritime Fair 2009 and “Most Innovative Exterior Yacht Design of the Year 2008”
at the Asia Boating Awards Ceremony in 2008. His collaboration with Hobie Cat
(2009) came out of a longing that was very personal, "I was given the
honour and joy to possess and steer every model of the Hobie Cat. This addiction
was a religion. The religion of minimalism." Fun, elementary and destined
for all, his re-writing of this mythical boat brings together the democratic
vocation he gives all of his products and his dream of mobility, in every
possible
way.
The Venus (2012) more than 70m-long yacht, born from a philosophy of
dematerialisation is the fruit of a regular and nourished dialogue with its
backer, one of the century’s geniuses. “For four years we analysed every single
detail and brought together innovations to develop a concentration of the
highest level of intelligence and quality,” explains Starck, “We reinvented
marine technology through our work, it was philosophy in action.”
http://www.starck.com/en/about
TOFINOU 12
KARTELL AIRWAY
THE
FUTURE
“Offer
our children another history, a new romanticism.” Philippe Starck
A
polymorphic designer, a nomad perpetually travelling the world with his wife
and muse Jasmine, always present where he is least expected (just like in life,
“that’s what happens when we do other projects”, joked John Lennon), always
looking for natural elegance and a hero of democratic obligation, Philippe
Starck will never give up his hopes, desires, visions and duties and shows
himself to be an honest man directly descended from Renaissance artists.
From
high technology for the individual to necessary mobility, from food, housing,
energy production and even clothing, there is no aspect of our daily lives in
all its implications that has escaped his visionary, poetic and subversive
approach. Nothing human is foreign to him. Everything concerns Philippe Starck.
From a precocious consciousness of our perilous lifestyles he has drawn even
more energy and a will to share his vision: that which is inscribed in the “big
picture” of the history of our evolution.
COMMITMENT
Because
we are witnessing so many changes - some positive, others catastrophic - it’s
vital for Philippe Starck to try and find answers. And it’s by orientating
design towards the future, politics and responsibility that the creator is
attempting to lay a foundation stone for the new world. Aware that time on
earth implies a responsibility, he promotes the “courage to exist”, to invent
and reinvent, to play a role in contemporary evolution and mutation. Because,
“Whatever we do, the extent to which we take account of it, we will soon be
obliged to move towards de-growth, because it’s in man’s DNA to progress. The
subject of the forthcoming years will be to find a model for positive de-growth
that will save us.” While design might not be able to answer every question, it
can none the less add a vigilant contribution. This has always been Philippe
Starck’s combat, from democratic design to democratic ecology; he wishes above
all to create accessible, ecological objects for the largest possible audience.
So decades after his early battles for his creations to be made available to
all, the present has proved him to be right: from the environment that needs to
be defended to the necessity of leaving this planet, we’re all involved in this
story, our story. Refusing the state of things isn’t good enough; we have to
react to change things, to reinvent. Starck is offering to lead a revolution,
nothing more, nothing less: a revolution in our life styles so that precisely
this life can continue. To be necessary, indispensable, this fight for
democratic ecological is inherently joyful, vibrant, questioning our practices
to encourage us to change and finally achieve a moral market.
Philippe
Starck has repeatedly demonstrated that whatever its size or purpose, the
honest object – in the introduction we evoked the honest approach of the man
and designer Starck – does what it can do to the best of its means, most
efficiently, most usefully and most respectfully, with a minimum of materials.
The most intelligent part of human production is, after all, found in the idea
of reducing materials and moving towards lightness and invisibility all while
augmenting competence. For Starck the future is a question of materials, “Man
needs nothing material, only the capacity to love, intelligence, humour and
ethics.”
The
generosity of his activity, which he refuses to restrict to a single field or a
single elite, shows us that behind this famous designer with all his accolades,
is a man aspiring to the best for all his fellow men.
http://www.starck.com/en/about
RECOGNITION
A major
figure on the world’s cultural stage, exhibited in the biggest museums (the
Pompidou Centre, the Guggenheim and MoMA in New York and the MoMA in Kyoto...),
at the avantgarde of contemporary environmental concerns and responsibility,
the subject of numerous books, omnipresent in the media, professor at the Domus
Academy in Milan and at the Ecole Nationale des Arts Décoratifs in Paris,
Philippe Starck is respected for the originality, rigour and quality of his
work. Today his name and personality almost belong to the general public, with
a waxwork statue in the Grevin Museum in Paris. For everyone Philippe Starck
embodies the desire for a better life, here and now of course, but also for
tomorrow.
Ever
since his consecration as Officier des Arts et des Lettres in 1985 (promoted to
Commandeur in 1998) Philippe Starck has been honoured with more than 100 prizes
and decorations: the Médaille de Chevalier de l’Ordre National de la
Légion d’Honneur, in 2000 attests once more to the recognition of his
country. His influence extends beyond France’s frontiers: witness the
President’s Award from the British association D&AD and the Harvard
Excellence in Design Award given to him by the prestigious American university
in 1997. His career – and the movement free of constraints it has
led to – was consecrated in 2008 when he accepted the job of Artistic Director
for the French Presidency of the European Union and then in 2009 when he
accepted the post of Ambassador of Creativity and Innovation. He is
constantly being contacted to share his experience and his vision as much by
international conferences as by businesses that see themselves in his work of a
1000 facets, inspired by his pioneering approach. His expertise shines way
beyond the world of design. He has quite simply defined new paradigms for our
very existence.
THE
TRANSMISSION
“Life
is only worth what it allows you to learn and by the opportunities it offers to
transmit” Philippe Starck
His
concern for democracy, whether it is ecological or design, is combined with a
pedagogical desire to put intelligence and ideas first, wherever they are
sexiest. So in June 2009 he presented La Nuit des Idées (The Night of Ideas) on
Canal +, during which he presented the famous TED Conference to demonstrate the
sheer brainpower that contributes to our living well and well-being. Starck
likes quoting Boileau’s famous maxim, “Whatever we understand well we express
clearly, and words flow with ease”. In the documentary “Futur by Starck”, shown
in June 2013 on Arte, the designed introduced the men and women inventing the
world of tomorrow. In front of the camera Philippe Starck talks to the
astronaut Jean-François Clervoy and the economist Jeremy Rifkin as well as
scientists and researchers from around the world in a discussion on our
collective future and its ethical, ecological and economic stakes.
The
truth is Philippe Starck never wants to stop communicating ideas. Fascinated by
science and constantly exploring, he has launched himself into the creative
project of the first laboratory of fundamental research on pure creativity.
Scientists from multiple backgrounds, who are working on creation itself and
not its application, are working to understand how creativity works, and from
there how it can be transmitted, taught to those who don’t think of themselves
as creators, who won’t let themselves create, or who don’t know how to set the
right conditions. “I think that every individual holds within them a creative
potential, which can be developed if he is shown how,” resumes Philippe Starck.
It’s in this same spirit that he plans to build the biggest ever brain by
federating 220 million unemployed people and turning them into thinkers. “I
would like to create the biggest think tank so we can have a tool that is
capable of responding to the most important priorities and issues of our
society.”
In 2012
for the first time Philippe Starck accepted to do a book of interviews, in
order to better share his existence. With Impression d’Ailleurs, this creative
mind, always one step ahead of his time, reveals himself to be modest,
emotional and brilliantly intuitive. As with all his projects, his ambition for
truthfulness led him to this dialogue with Gilles Vanderpooten, who’d initiated
the project.
After
three decades of creation, looking to the other side of the stars and the
horizon, Starck is now turning towards the future more than ever, the destiny
that brings us all together. By stimulating vocations and electrifying
spirits, his gestures are guided by love, an unsinkable passion for his
neighbour and the resolution to build happy tomorrows. While Rimbaud wrote,
“Dawns are heart-breaking” Starck will never give up on making sure that they
continue to amaze us.
Through
his commitment he hopes to help his emotional tribe place itself in a
fundamental perspective: that of the progress of our humanity mutating in the
heart of the universe. By humbly setting an example, he has shown us that we
all have a responsibility to merit our existence and honour the link that
unites us by showing inventiveness, courage, intelligence and responsibility
http://www.starck.com/en/about
A
CHILDHOOD OF ART
“My
father was an aeronautical engineer. For me, that made invention a duty”.
Philippe
Starck
Philippe
Starck was born in 1949. From a childhood spent beneath the drawing tables of
his airplane building, aeronautic engineer father, he retained a primary
lesson: everything should be organised elegantly and rigorously, in human
relationships as much as in the concluding vision that presides over every
creative gesture. He’s convinced it’s this philosophy that allows for creativity
beneficial to all and he works with unrelenting enthusiasm on even the tiniest
detail. Years later has he really left that first improvised
office? According to him, not entirely. “Ultimately it was child’s play,
imaginative games, but thanks to various skills, especially engineering,
something happened. I’m a kid who dreams and I’ve got that simultaneous
light-heartedness and gravity of children. I fully accept the rebellion, the
subversion and the humour.” Laughingly he completes this admission: “There is
no work in my life! There’s only playing, curiosity, generosity and
vision.” He was a listless student at the Ecole Nissim de Camondo in
Paris, but in 1969 Starck designed an inflatable structure, based on the idea
of materiality, reflecting his early interest in living spaces. This
revelation bought his first success at the Salon de l’Enfance. Not long
afterwards, Pierre Cardin, seduced by the iconoclastic design, offered him the
job of artistic director at his publishing house. In 1976, after
the creation of several emblematic objects including a floating lamp and a
portable neon sign, this intrepid dreamer designed an audacious decor for the
night club, La Main Bleue - in Montreuil – demonstrating that no venue is less
respectable than another just because of its eccentricity. He went on to
complete the legendary Parisian nightclub Les Bains Douches and the Starck Club
in Dallas. At the same time he founded his first industrial design
company, Starck Product, which he later renamed Ubik after the famous Philip K.
Dick novel. Here he initiated his collaborations with the biggest design
manufacturers in Italy - Driade, Alessi, Kartell - and the world – Drimmer in
Austria, Vitra in Switzerland and Disform in Spain, to mention but a few.
In 1983 Philippe Starck was discovered by the general public when, on the
advice of Culture Minister Jack Lang, President François Mitterrand chose his
project to decorate the private residence at the Elysée Palace. It symbolised
an institutional recognition of design. The following year his international
fame was confirmed thanks to the success of the Café Costes, a new venue that
was both functional and elegant, that contained all the essence of Starck
architecture while converging with the birth and blossoming of a community. His
reinvention of the codes of the Parisian cafe made it the cafe par excellence.
http://www.starck.com/en/about
You may read entire information about Philippe Starck to click above link.
You may read entire information about Philippe Starck to click above link.
