2004 Lucky Strike Designer Award

Phillippe Starck

This year, the Lucky Strike Designer Award goes to Philippe Starck, the designer of the legendary lemon press "Juicy Salif," for his lifetime achievement. The award was presented on November 4th in Berlin, Germany. It is among the most coveted and at 50,000 euros, among the most lavish designer prizes in the world.

According to the award jury, "Philippe Starck is probably the most remarkable, original, and exciting designer of the last twenty years and certainly of the coming decades as well."

For 25 years, Starck has been shaping the lifestyle of many people with his design of furniture, kitchen and bath accessories, and with his widely respected interior design. Well known manufacturers stand in line for him: Alessi, Kartell, Fossil, Duravit, Cassina, and Seven Eleven. His most recently accomplishments include the design of a Microsoft mouse and Puma athletic shoes. In addition, Starck is esteemed for his architectural accomplishments. One of his next projects is the design of condominiums in Hamburg. These plush facilities are already in London, Sydney, and Miami. Construction will begin in Hamburg in the spring of 2005.

Philippe Starck - the brand

Philippe Starck uses forms and images symbolically and thus creates a recognition value that the brand manifests worldwide. Into his products, Starck breathes a life of their own: The lemon press is reminiscent of a spider, from the front an armchair has typically round shapes and in the back has only a plain stool leg. And the naming of his works is also part of his design: Table and chair are called "Miss Trip and Miss Trap," a transparent chair with Baroque shapes is called "Louis Ghost," a motor scooter "Lama," and a radio "Lalala."

Excellence of Design

In the 1980's, Philippe Starck developed a hotel concept for Ian Sanderson in New York that finds an echo worldwide and today is considered the top idea for designer hotels. The Paramount and the Sanderson Hotels both are considered key architectural works of Starck. The hotels offer an urban platform which provide the guest space for his self expression and for stylish withdrawal from the excitement of the metropolis. Hotels designed by Starck can be found the world over: London, San Francisco, Tokyo, Hong Kong.