Creative visionary Philippe Starck exudes his signature exuberance as he discusses his progressive design journey. By Rebekah Killigrew.
Parisian-born Philippe Starck is an architect and designer, renowned for his extensive and wide-ranging portfolio of projects, and acclaimed for his inventiveness and passion for democratic design.
Starck’s body of work is prolific and covers an array of design sectors from everyday products (furniture, a citrus-squeezer, electric bikes, an individual wind turbine), to architecture (hotels and restaurants), and naval and spatial engineering (mega yachts, commercial space station).
We caught up with the Frenchman to discover more about his curious personality and unique insight behind his eponymous studio, and how he continually pushes the boundaries of design, making him one of the most respected creators within the industry.
What is your earliest memory of design and architecture?
I was born with a kind of Alzheimer’s, I have no memory. As a child, I was never really interested by design or architecture but I recall that I would dismantle all my toys to create new ones, hybrid ones, then later – as I was not fit for school – I would design torture devices for my teachers.
Where did you study?
I went to the Nissim de Camondo school, which offered both decoration and design courses, and I did both, decoration on the one hand and design on the other. But again, as I am unteachable, I only learn from my experience, sometimes the hard way – I did not really attend [school].
What kind of architect did you aspire to be?
Above all, I have never been an architect, decorator or designer, I am an inventor or an exploratory of our lives. My subject today is no longer architectural, for me it is humanistic, social and therefore political. Everything else is not interesting, as there is too much urgency. The only type of architecture today that should interest us is that people can afford a roof. There are more and more people who are going to find themselves without a roof over their heads. One way of being deeply useful would be to be able to offer to everybody a roof for the price of a car, thanks to prefab and industrialization.
Who are your design/architecture inspirations?
I have no admiration for designers, architects or artists. However, I love scientists. My heroes are Ptolemy, Einstein, Archimedes, etc. because they are amongst the ones who changed the world. Related closer to my creation, I feel very close to engineers; I love the engineer spirit and their elegance of intelligence.
What does Starck represent as an architecture firm?
I assimilate work to torture; I prefer to daydream and I try to propose some options to problems I identify. I am unable to work in an office; therefore, I have a great small team collaborating with me on each project, it is more like a family. To have beautiful children, parents must be in love, and this is the same for project: to make a beautiful project, partners have to be in love, respect each other and I have the chance to be able to work only with people I love.
What has been your biggest design commission to date?
Several years ago, a journalist estimated my career at 10,000 creations, which are all very different from each other and have their own specificities. For example, I am working with Axiom Space who was chosen by NASA on the new international space station which will be launched in 2024. I’m also working with Orbite, on an astronaut training complex, that will be created with ecological materials. I continue to explore new materials for the post plastic eras and I don’t give up on my idea on highly affordable and technological housing.
What does the face of architecture look like to you in 10 years time?
According to me, the future of the house is prefabrication and industrialization.
We have to forget the idea that prefabrication and industrialization make bad houses; it is the opposite. Only the two can increase the quality, be designed by very good designers and become affordable for everyone.
If you hadn’t become an architect what would you be doing?
Beside being a day-dreamer? I would have liked to do a real job that is useful. For example, being a great scientist, but for that I would have had to go to school. I would have liked to be a politician to serve his community directly. I would have liked to be a great composer of music, but for that you need a good memory. Finally, I always lacked something basic to do a job that would have interested me more. Science, politics and music are almost the same thing, they are totally complementary and I could have done all three at the same time.
www.starck.com | IG: @Starck
