Hotel and Starck Essay

Submitted By konfetinka
Words: 1119
Pages: 5

Career
Telefunken alarm clock, ca. 1995

Starck's career started to climb in earnest in 1982 when he designed the interior for the private apartments of the French President François Mitterrand.[1]

In 1986 he joined Domus Academy Department of Design as an associate lecturer.

Starck has worked both independently as an interior designer and as a product designer since 1975. In 2002, he created a number of what are considered relatively inexpensive product designs for the large American retailer Target Stores.

His most recent notable designs include an optical mouse for Microsoft,[2] several yachts including the $300 million A,[3] and even new packaging for a beer company. He was commissioned to design the Virgin Galactic "spaceport" in New Mexico[4] (Foster and Partners are its architects).[5]

He made the exhibit Democratic Ecology with Pramac.[6]

In autumn 2009 Starck appeared in a BBC Two programme Design for Life in which 12 aspiring design students competed to gain a six month placement with Starck's Paris based company.[7]
Design
Aprilia Moto 6.5 designed by Starck
Products

Two of Starck's designs include stylized toothbrushes (1989) and a sleek juicer dubbed the Juicy Salif created for Alessi in 1990. The Juicy Salif has become an affordable and popular cult item. In 2004 he designed the first toothbrush sanitizer for the Yonkers, NY based company VIOlight which won the 2005 Industrial Design Excellence Award.

In 2008 he created wireless speakers for the iPod and iPhone known as the Zikmu Parrot. This collaboration was followed by Parrot Zik wireless headphones in 2012. He has also designed some external hard drive enclosures for hardware manufacturer LaCie.[8]

Starck also has a line of Starck watches with Fossil, Inc.
Furnishings
Minimum Table (Cassina); Louis Ghost and Victoria Ghost chairs (Kartell)
Street lights designed by Starck on the parvise of Metz railway station

Regarding Starck's furniture designs, he is widely known for his designs for the Italian manufacturer Kartell, many of which are made from polycarbonate plastic. These include the transparent Louis Ghost chair, Ero|S| chair, Bubble Club Sofa and Armchair, and La Bohème stool. He has also been involved in the relaunch of the World War II-era Navy Chair in the U.S., designing a classic furniture collection around it.[9]

The Bubble Club chair is featured prominently in the television series Boston Legal. A pair sit on the balcony outside Denny Crane's office, where he and Alan Shore end each episode with a cigar and a glass of Scotch while discussing the events of the episode.

The Louis Ghost chair is also featured in Ugly Betty: two such chairs can be seen front of Wilhelmina's desk in the 2010 episodes.

Starck's furniture has been featured at Pinkberry locations.
Restaurant interiors

Among his interior designs for restaurants, Starck designed the Felix restaurant-bar at The Peninsula Hong Kong, a classic hotel facing the Hong Kong harbour on the Kowloon side. This design, located on the 28th floor, is known for several design features including the men's washroom, which features urinals facing glass, and a spectacular view of the Hong Kong cityscape.[10][11]

An earlier design by Starck, now world famous, was for the Café Costes in Paris (1984).

His design presence is heavily noted in Los Angeles, where his work is evident in numerous trendy restaurants, lounges and nightclubs including Katsuya, XIV by Michael Mina, The Bazaar at SLS Beverly HIlls, and s-bar Hollywood.
Hotel interiors

In 1988, Starck was commissioned by famed nightclub impresario Ian Schrager, former co-owner of Studio 54, to refit the Royalton Hotel on New York's West 44th Street.[12] It was a design moment that has since changed the hotel industry; boutique hotels, where hotel design is an important factor, became the industry buzz.

The Starck-Schrager design hotel partnerships continued in New York at the Paramount hotel,