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Introducing a new front in his battle against elitist design, Philippe Starck has partnered with German sanitaryware manufacturer, Duravit, to create the Sensowash shower toilet.
“When you are lucky enough to have a good idea, you have a duty to share it,” Starck said at the official unveiling of the product. “I hate the idea of elitism, of making a limited edition, of making one piece of furniture and selling it for one million dollars to one person. That’s too easy. It’s a lot more difficult to try to produce something at $1 for one million people.”
The Sensowash Starck was introduced in Shanghai, China, on May 26, becoming the first-ever Duravit product to be launched outside of Germany. As a standard feature in Asian cleaning rituals, it made sense to develop the product in China, Franz Kook, CEO, Duravit, explained.
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“We first launched the development itself in Europe. However, this wasn’t too successful and we realised that we had to launch it where there is a market and a feeling for the product… For me, this project is a very special example of the exchange between cultures and of how cultures can benefit and reinforce one another.”
Starck’s new design is characterised by discretion. The shower toilet seat boasts an unusually flat and slimline design. Technical components have been miniaturised so that the entire ‘shower’ technology fits between the ceramic body and the seat.
A stainless steel spray wand extends out from the seat when the bidet function is activated. Water temperature, water volume and spray wand position can all be individually adjusted, via a hand-held remote, and there are three different types of wash to choose from. The spray and nozzle are cleaned automatically after each use and both have anti-microbial properties.
The aim of the designer is “to serve”, Starck maintained. “You have to be humble; you have to forget your ego. And you have to go into the small things of daily life. That’s why I was very happy when I made my first toothbrush. I was very very happy when I made my first toilet brush. I was very very happy when I created my first organic food company – because I was thinking about humbling things,” he said.
“Today, I am very proud of this. Because what is more humble than to spend a lot of energy, a lot of creativity and a lot of time just thinking about the next toilet seat,” he asked.
In his characteristically colourful style, Starck referred to his new invention as a drug. “We have not created a good product, we have created a new type of drug. Because when you have tried this type of shower toilet seat, you cannot continue to live without it.”
Starck also reiterated the need to create products that are both timeless and useful, lambasting a ‘Kleenex society’ that buys, consumes and discards at an alarming rate.
“Timelessness is very important because we come out of this stupid society called the Kleenex society. Buy, put it in the garbage. Buy, garbage. Buy, garbage.
“But the Kleenex society, born in the fifties, died one year ago with the big financial crisis.”
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