Philippe Starck
“Design is a dreadful form of expression.”
— Philippe Starck
Philippe Starck is a french designer and architect who was born into a family of aeronautical engineer on January 18, 1949 in Paris, France.His interest into design came since his childhood as he was always interested in knowing how and where people live.
Starck is known for more than one variety of fields i.e., from products to industrial to interior and architectural design. He also worked as an architect.
Most likely influenced by his father, Starck studied at the École Nissim de Camondo, Paris, and in 1968 set up his first company, which produced inflatable objects. Always interested in design as a total concept, in the 1970s he made a reputation for himself by creating interiors for famous clients.
Starck first gained international attention when he was commissioned to refurbish the private apartments in the Élysée Palace (1983–84) in Paris for French President François Mitterrand. He went on to design restaurant interiors. Starck was also responsible for the interior design of the Royal-ton and Paramount hotels (1988 and 1990) in New York City, work that subsequently inspired hotels throughout the world to seek his services.
Often displaying the same organic, fluid lines of his interiors, the varied products he designed on commission included boats for Bénéteau, mineral-water bottles for Glacier, kitchen appliances — notably the Juicy Salif juicer — for Alessi, toothbrushes for Fluocaril, luggage for Samsonite, “Urban Fittings” for Decaux, office furniture for Vitra, televisions for Thomson Multimedia, watches for Fossil, eyeglasses for Alain Mikli, and the Optical Mouse for Microsoft. Rejecting design simply for the sake of beauty or as a symbol of wealth. The designer himself was often featured in ads for his products, since his flamboyant, lighthearted personality embodied the message of his work.
Starck also worked as an architect, with many commissions in Japan. Although not as well known as his interiors and product design, his buildings also displayed the fluid lines and playful details for which his industrial designs were known.
His best-known works are the Asahi Beer Hall (1990) in Tokyo, an austere, block like granite building topped with a bulbous orange shape resembling a flame, and the Unhex Nani-Nani office building (1989), also in Tokyo, which has been described as a biomorphic shed. This striking and unusual building is a must-see for anyone in the Asakusa area. Its flashy style is clearly in contrast with the anonymous gray buildings which are the norm in Tokyo, which only makes it more of a landmark. It is to the city’s credit that such an unusual structure could have been built.
