Sense of Beauty - Agape

gwiazda/celebrityW ciągu 15 lat Studio Robert Majkut Design opracowałoponad 200 projektów w Polsce, Austrii, Chinach, Rosjii Słowenii. Portfolio studia to m in. projekty kin,ekskluzywnych butików oraz instytucji finanasowych.Over the past 15 year, the Robert Majkut Design Studio hascompleted over 200 projects in Poland, Austria, China, Russia,and Slovenia. The studio’s portfolio features designs for cinemas,exclusive boutiques, and financial institutions, among others.subject ourselves to different influences.What inspires me more andmore is not the work of designers,but particular solutions. I greatlyadmire Marcel Wenders, but he alsodesigns a lot of things that I don’tlike. I admire Starck, but it’s moreof a renewed respect. There was atime when I was impressed by howprolific he was, how fresh his ideaswere, and then I just grew sick ofhim. His designs were everywhere.And then last year at the Fair in Milan,I saw his work and fell in loveagain. What I admire most is howcontinuous his style is, even thoughhe designs such different things.Some consider it a fault; after all,there are different schools of design.I do have a problem with KarimRashid, who designs astoundingamounts of objects that flood theworld just because they’re stampedwith his name.As a designer, you’re more internationalthan Polish. You have offices inLondon, Beijing, and Hong Kong. Iam amazed by my experiences withthe Chinese. What I’ve seen looksextraordinary from the Europeanperspective. Their enormous administrativeand social discipline,something that we consider reprehensible,has stimulated an unbelievableamount of development ininfrastructure, which is somethingthat they all take advantage of.Obviously, the relationship betweenthe citizen and state is ratherdifficult: there’s no room for complaintsor protests. But the scalethat they’re working at determinesthe type of solutions they choose.Their trains run 350 km/h, and aglass of water placed on a tablewon’t even vibrate.What is it about your design that theChinese have taken such a likingto? One thing that they’re currentlyvery focused on is creating highquality. My studio’s work in China isa manifestation of that desire. Whywas I chosen to work with them?Don’t they have designers in China?There are 20,000 design studiosregistered in Beijing alone. But theChinese are looking for somethingthat is hard to define. The way I seeit, China is a country of astoundingcontrasts, but it’s also a nation that’strying to strike a balance betweenthe traditional and the modern.Chinese tradition has always reliedon a mantra-like repetition of thefamiliar. This applies to such fieldsas architecture and calligraphy, andinvolves passing knowledge on fromgeneration to generation. Permanenceis considered a virtue. Chinais an incredibly patient nation interms of character. They also haveeffective ways of protecting theirmarket. I can’t run an independentdesign business there – they’d nevergive me a license to do that. I haveto work with a Chinese partner. Thisenables them to cooperate with foreigndesigners, but to do so accordingto their own rules. Creativity is theonly element missing in their civilization.They have everything else.How did you get commissioned to designa cinema in Beijing? At first,I was somewhat skeptical of thewhole project, in true Europeanstyle. It sounded a bit like someAsian fairy tale. The design wascommissioned by Kebo Wu, theco-owner of Orange Sky GardenHarvest Entertainment in HongKong, one of the world’s largestfilm companies. He liked thephotos of Multikino at Warsaw’sZłote Tarasy he saw in someSpanish magazine. The cinema isonly one thousand square meterslarge (Złote Tarasy, by comparison,is over six times the size),but it’s an ultra-luxury theater.An exclusive club with screensfor 10 to 20 people. Kebo Wu likedthe uncommon color palette,which combines black, orange,and hot pink.You’ve pretty much become an experton cinema interiors. The firstone was in Poznań. Then therewere others: in Rybnik, Szczecin,Wrocław, Elbląg, Warsaw, andBeijing. We’re currently workingon a cinema in Slovenia. It hasin fact become something of aspecialization. But the entirestudio has been caught up in acompletely different project forthe past few months.A project you dreamed up? The conceptcame to me in a dream. Ittook me weeks to recreate theshape, which didn’t resemble aclassical instrument at all, andwas in fact more like an enormouswhale breaching out ofthe water. The Whaletone is aprofessional instrument for individualists.It houses one ofthe world’s best digital stagepianos by Roland, featuring theSuperNATURAL Piano sound engine,which guarantees a highquality sound identical to thatof a classical piano. A four channelamplifier powers speakershidden inside the instrument,which only become visible whenthe automated lid is lifted. It’sa phenomenal view, resemblingthe opening of a missile silo. Wepresented it at this year’s DesignFair in Milan, at the Nhow Hotelon via Tortona. The piano waswell received by casual visitorsto the fair and design expertsalike. We were deeply touchedby the reaction to our project.We've been garnering reviews inthe international press ever since,from Italy, to Russia, to NewZealand. Orders from clients havebeen coming in as well. We'realso talking to a few people interestedin renting the Whaletonefor concerts. It looks like we're infor an exciting time.So you’re a piano manufacturer?I never would have thought thiswould happen. I’m fulfilling mydreams. Following a vision thatis born inside you gives youa unique feeling of certainty thatyou’re going down the right road.Every Whaletone piano is unique.As a custom built instrument, itcan meet very personal demands.And since it is hand made, it canbe modified for any equipment,acoustic parameters, or additionalelectronic elements. Thepiano can be made in any color.I’m going to tie a pink one up ina bow and send it to Lady Gaga.We’re also working on an idea forElton John and Alicia Keys. I wouldlike her to play “Empire Stateof Mind” on a Whaletone.14 sense of beauty lato/summer 2011 magazyn Dr Irena Eris15