dieter sieger

dieter sieger. 'sieger design' has developed into one of the largest and most successful design offices in germany........................................................

......................... shop .................. competitions .............. education ................ interviews ................... snapshots ................... history .......... contemporary

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dieter sieger

was born in 1938 in muenster, germany.
he studied architecture at the werkkunstschule in dortmund.
already during his architectural studies, he worked on his own
architectural projects.
in 1965, he established his office and built private homes for
german and foreign clients. from 1970 to 1980 he devoted his
time to shipbuilding and designs of various yacht interiors.
since the early eighties, he has concentrated on the design of
sanitary objects.
from 1997 to 2002 dieter sieger has been the head of 'sieger design',
the architecture and design office near muenster.
'sieger design' has developed into one of the largest and most
successful design offices in germany, shifting away from isolated
product design toward closely networked design projects :
from the initial idea to the marketing strategy,
from the design to product development right up to and including
packaging, from the catalogue to the POS display
- sieger design does it all.
in 2003 dieter sieger retires from the management of 'sieger design'.
today, the family firm is largely in the hands of the founder's sons,
christian and michael sieger.
recently dieter sieger opened a private gallery with exhibits of
ettore sottsass.
http://www.siegerdesign.com

his work is part of many manufacturer's collections,
among others,
arzberg - http://www.skv-arzberg.com
alape - http://www.alape.com
dornbracht - http://www.dornbracht.com
duravit - http://www.duravit.com
hoesch - http://www.hoesch.de
ritzenhoff - http://www.ritzenhoff.de
skantherm - http://www.skantherm.de

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we met dieter sieger in cologne on january 19, 2004.
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what is the best moment of the day?
evening, I plan and design late in the evening,
because it's the moment because its peaceful,
I listen to music, smoke and draw.

what kind of music do you listen to at the moment?
mozart, bach, and jazz.

do you listen to the radio?
only in the car.

what books do you have on your bedside table?
at the moment two books.
the catalogues of two exhibitions I saw in bonn
'culture of the aztecs' and 'chinese porcelain'.
to be honest I have very little time to read books.
I read non-fiction more than fiction.

do you read design magazines?
in our office we subscribe to more than 40 magazines on different topics.
I prefer reading fashion magazines.
I get more inspiration from vogue, elle etc than from design magazines.

where do you get news from?
frankfurter allgemeine, new york times,...

do you notice how women are dressing?
do you have any preferences?
yes, I really like fashion.
in my next life I want to become a fashion designer.
my wife's friends are jealous, because I really enjoy go shopping with her.
I can stay for hours in fashion boutiques and look at the latest collection.
we have a second home in italy, venice, and I enjoy italian fashion
very much. I like the classic elegant style.
I also like the german designer rena lange very much
- my favorite in woman's fashion.

what kind of clothes do you avoid wearing?
all black. I cannot stand the 'designer look' black.
I really try to avoid to wearing all black.

do you have any pets?
we've had a dog for 16 years.
now we travel too much.

when you were a child, did you want to become a designer?
yes, I wanted to become an architect or a graphic designer.
I never thought I would become a designer after having been
involved in shipbuilding.

where do you work on your designs and projects?
mostly at home.
in the past we lived in the same building as our office:
a castle in the countryside.
now, me and my wife, we live in a 18th century manor house
in muenster.

who would you like to design something for?
I would love to design jewelery or watches.

do you discuss your work with architects and designers?
in germany there is not much talk among colleagues.
I am a close friend of ettore sottsass, and
I know philippe starck, alessandro mendini, massimo iosa ghini very well...
yes, we talk about design ... and business when we meet.
they want to know what's the secret behind my huge commercial success
(laughs).

describe your style, like a good friend of yours would describe it.
my personal style is based on geometry.
I'm convinced that only design forms which are developed from archetypes
can survive. personally I cannot understand the quality of 'strange' forms
of latest design trends.
people are growing in size, but our needs are the same.
we need a bed, a chair,...

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please describe an evolution in your work,
from your first projects to the present day.
I am an architect and have built many buildings.
from 1970 - 80, I designed ship interiors for the rich in
the world. then I happened to meet a few company owners,
dornbracht and others, this was the beginning of a new era.
me and my wife decided to 'settle', not to travel that much anymore
and to concentrate on product and communication design.
since 1980 I've been doing many, many designs.
my two sons work with me and we decided to offer the whole
range of services, product design, packaging, marketing...
today 'sieger design' is a full-service agency which operates
internationally. my sons are responsible now for the office.

do you develop only things you would like to use personally?
is there a criteria regarding what leaves your office and what
doesn't?
well, sieger design has a lot of responsibility and has to face economic
facts which influence the final form. I like the majority of objects we
have done, but of course I don't use everything we design personally.
I no longer take part in the daily business of 'sieger design'.
my new activity is related only to what I really enjoy doing.
I'm working on a new line called 'dieter sieger home collection'
- things I could never realize, because they are too costly to make,
like lacquer furniture and silver tableware.

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is there any designer and/or architect, you appreciate a lot?
le corbusier,
I remember crying when I saw some of his buildings.

and those still active, are there any particular ones you appreciate?
richard meyer, ettore sottsass.

any advice for the young ?
practical experience, doing apprenticeships.
I was a construction worker for 3 years before I studied
architecture. in our field there are too many people with
little or no pratical experience, necessary for a designer.
also to travel a lot, that's what I've done, with little money,
to see beautiful things, and to go into the world's
most beautiful hotels just to drink a coffee.
and of course art, yes, art has enriched us all.

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what are you afraid of regarding the future ?
I think that we are using our resources in abundance,
we will face an energy crisis, we definitely need nuclear power.
we cannot grow only with natural resources.

the asian market is growing faster and they are superior to us,
especially in their working mentality.
we are suffering the illness of well being, in germany we became
a holiday society. even in our office there are always discussions
about long working hours.