LIVING

Dear Readers,

“What we call good design is one which achieves integrity that is, unity or wholeness in balanced relation to its environment,” said the American architect George Nelson (1908-1986). The Marshmallow sofa and the Sunflower wall clock (top picture, VitraHaus) are among his best-known creations and can still be found in the homes of design-loving mid-century fans. Nelson’s design attitude is probably based on his deep realisation “that human needs are diverse, often unpredictable and hardly quantifiable, but at the same time complex, subtle and mysterious”. Well, living solutions need to be developed for this demanding target group. Compulsory exercise or freestyle for interior designers and architects? Today, we can still learn from Nelson’s reflections that there is no universal answer to the question of how to live. The attraction of this project type lies rather in the enormous range of most diverse requirements and the equally diverse possibilities to meet them in creative, functional and emotional terms. Whether an architect with a dog in an apartment in Madrid (p. 76), a carcass turned into a family loft in Amsterdam (p. 80), living under a church roof in London (p. 94) or emptiness as a luxury in Lisbon (p. 106) – all are as different as their occupants and the corresponding surroundings and full of inspiring design ideas! Light is indispensable for every type of living, and we will show you many solutions for it in our trade fair report on Euroluce in Milan (p. 32). Interior designer and lighting expert Heiko Gruber has shared his favourite luminaires with us. Sanitation is indispensable for every household. We recommend reading our corresponding product focus (p. 68) from a design point of view and the article “Urine Trap” (p. 136) under ethical aspects. “Stille Örtchen” (p. 48) can be a design or a social topic. In any case, this would make the strenuous years of travelling much easier for the protagonists of “Kluft und Haut” (p. 122) – a great picture story by the Reding brothers!

Best wishes
Petra Stephan, Dipl.-Ing.
Chief Editor
Architect