A deep love of the bathroom 

Interview with
Andreas Dimitriadis, platinumdesign

Mr Dimitriadis, you come from a family that is active in the sanitary industry. How did that affect your view of bathroom design?
Funnily enough, as a 17-year-old I planned my first bathroom in its entirety – from the room layout, through selection of the sanitary objects to the wall and flooring design with tiles – and even advised the customers. I was even able to be present at its implementation on the building site. Seeing how a project of this nature grows and becomes a whole was an unforgettable experience.

As a child what did you want to be when you grew up?
An interior designer actually – no doubt influenced by my mother who was always very interested in furniture design and architecture. However, at the age of 13 a visit to the College of Design filled me with enthusiasm for the best job in the world.

You have already designed several bathroom series for the Swiss bathroom specialist Laufen. What makes this partnership successful?
Trust, passion, curiosity, the quality standards and a great deal of experience on both sides. And it must be said: a deep love of the bathroom.  

This year Laufen brought onto the market the bathroom series Palace and Living Square that were designed by you. What is special about these two series?
True beauty often lies in simplicity. With gentle contours, lightness and elegance, Palace creates a pleasant feeling of familiarity, security and closeness and enhances the bathroom without dominating it. Palace appeals to users on an emotional and functional level because its gentle fluid surfaces, ample storage space and easy cleaning make it a model of user-friendliness. Many architects will love the Living Square washbasin because it is made of an authentic, recyclable material, displays a clear, linear design language and is modular – it empathises with the modern, purist movement in architecture. The shallow bowl creates a fresh impression and a unique experience of water.

Ceramic is not an easy material for a designer. What is the fascination of this material for you?
I love ceramic and its sculptural qualities. Ceramic is never angular or unsympathetic; it has this human touch, being not ultra-precise and not unbearably perfect. It is organic by nature and thus empathises with the human body, almost having a therapeutic effect on the skin: because it stays young and agelessly beautiful – just as we wish for our own skin.

You have also designed furniture and fittings for Laufen, so virtually complete bathrooms. What challenges does this present you with as a designer?
I see opportunities rather than challenges here: people seek harmony and perfection. Laufen, which develops and produces ceramic products and faucets on one site, recognises this and lets me tell beautiful, coherent stories – my favourite trademark when dealing with bathrooms, as the design standard and product quality take first priority here.

As well as Laufen you also work for manufacturers in completely different areas, such as Siemens Gigaset, Navigon and the Swiss manufacturer of premium quality sewing machines. Does this lead to synergy effects or overlapping ideas?
All customers of platinumdesign are premium brand manufacturers and I am very proud of this. We undoubtedly gather a great deal of experience through our close cooperation and impressions are unconsciously carried over, so it is a real win-win situation.

Where do most of the ideas for your design drafts come to you?
Obviously in the model studio. In the idea phase our work is very much focused on models and we see the computer rather as a medium for implementation. We like to pick things up in our hands and consider them from the consumer’s point of view. This approach means that we are very accurate and it also impresses our customers. 

Do you discuss your ideas with your staff or within the family?
We always work as a team in which I direct the process and provide key impulses. I am a very emotional person and we design consumer products for people so the opinions of others are very important to me.

Form follows function?
That is only part of the truth, but definitely a fundamental part. Our task is to create unique, attractive product personalities that not only meet the expectations of the consumer, but also continue to inspire him. Emotions therefore play an equally important role.

How would a good friend describe your design style?
I don’t know if we can talk about my personal design style as we are always in the collaboration of a brand and are seeking to create an economically successful brand product. All platinumdesign product designs, however, probably combine integrative, timeless design (design from one source) and a love of detail.

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