Philippe Starck

Philippe Starck is a French industrial architect and designer known for his wide range of designs, including interior design, architecture, household objects, furniture, boats and other vehicles.

Starck was born on 18 January 1949 in Paris. He is the son of Andre Starck, who was an aeronautics engineer. He says that his father often inspired him because he was an engineer, who made invention a "duty". His family was originally from and lived in the Alsace region, before his grandfather moved to Paris. He studied at the École Camondo in Paris.

While working for Adidas, Starck set up his first industrial design company, Starck Product, which he later renamed Ubik after Philip K. Dick's novel, and began working with manufacturers in Italy (Driade), Alessi, Kartell, and internationally, including Drimmer in Austria, Vitra in Switzerland and Disform in Spain.

In 1983, then-French President François Mitterrand, on the recommendation of his Minister of Culture, Jack Lang, chose Starck to refurbish the president's private apartments at the Élysée. The following year he designed the Café Costes.

Starck's output expanded to include furniture, decoration, architecture, street furniture, industry (wind turbines, photo booths), bathroom fittings, kitchens, floor, and wall coverings, lighting, domestic appliances, office equipment such as staplers, utensils, tableware, clothing, accessories, toys, glassware, graphic design and publishing, food, and vehicles for land, sea, air and space.

Text courtesy of Wikipedia, 2023