DORNBRACHT - Butterfly Trading

Two-hole basin bridge mixer // Batteria arcata per lavabo //
Batería puente para lavabo
“TARA IS SOMETHING
LIKE A DOMESTICATED
WATER TAP.”
An interview with MICHAEL SIEGER of SIEGER DESIGN
“They simply want to convince,” said Andreas Dornbracht, speaking of
Sieger Design. “The Tara range is an interesting example. This narrow
pipe outlet was actually a symbol for standard production. We thought it
would be better to produce it in heavy brass as a cast outlet. But the
Siegers are not the sort of designers who immediately say ‘OK then, we
will do it differently’. Instead, they convinced us that filigree is the decisive
new interpretation of the pipe outlet”.
Thus Tara became a clear and cleanly-drawn product that equally unites timeless
modernity and traditional lines in a Bauhaus style. And, although Tara first
appeared on the market in 1992, it is already a classic in fittings design. In an
interview, Michael Sieger from Sieger Design reported how the Tara design
came about.
What were the underlying ideas in Tara’s design?
The design came from my father, Dieter Sieger. It was a matter of re-interpreting,
for our times, the crossed-handle fitting that is almost an archetype
in the domestic area. It is something like a domesticated water tap. At
Dornbracht, there is a model, Madison, which takes on an historical form,
Tara was to be a modern interpretation, which possessed recognisable traits
but which was every inch a result of contemporary thinking.
Tara has sold successfully for almost fifteen years. How often does a designer
succeed in having such a long-lived product?
Happily, it’s happened to us quite often. For Dornbracht, for example, there
was the Domani in 1985, which we have just updated. The professional
coffee machine for WMF is also a good example. It is connected with our
approach, which is to create archetypes.
In the late 1980s, colourful, striking shapes were dominant. Tara, on the
other hand, is puristic and clear. Was the contrast pure chance or calculated?
It wasn’t chance. Tara was one of the first harbingers of minimalism, which
today has again reached its peak. Tara was a bit ahead of its time and
needed four or five years to make a breakthrough.
For you, must a luxury product always be designed for function or should it
be first and foremost decorative?
I’m going to leave Tara briefly. Based on the purchase price and the necessary
installation, the new Dornbracht RainSky is very much a luxury product,
yet at the same time, it’s almost impossible to think of a more functionallydesigned
product. To achieve a minimally designed luxury object is almost
impossible in certain market segments. With clocks, luxury is associated with
daintiness and decoration, and it’s very hard to confront this idea. Dornbracht
was previously primarily a manufacturer of heavy brass fittings and therefore
initially considered our design unsuitable. With Tara, a new understanding of
DORNBRACHT the SPIRITof WATER Tara
luxury manifested itself, which was supported by a changed intellectual
attitude.
Your father designed Tara in 1991. Today your designs characterise the company
of Sieger Design. What has changed in the design since then?
It was a smooth transfer at Sieger Design. Along with Dornbracht, we have
always tried to be trendsetters. The 1990s were a decade of design for us, when
we dealt with expressive forms. Today, we are more involved in the function
and are considering how people will use water in the future. Pure shaping of
form is retreating more and more behind this type of consideration.
Tara’s wide range of variations has contributed to its success. A brand new
example of this is Tara .Logic. What are the features of this?
This is a new type of single-lever mixer. The proportions and details are more
filigree, slimmer and drawn upwards. Basically, it’s a mixture of elegance and
intelligence. But one thing is for certain: Tara is an original and, at the end of
the day, we will only develop it very, very cautiously and with particular care.
“Semplicemente vogliono convincere” afferma Andreas Dornbracht
parlando di Sieger Design, “la serie Tara è un esempio interessante. Questa
sottile bocca di erogazione è diventata in effetti la caratteristica di una
produzione standard. Abbiamo pensato che fosse meglio utilizzare l’ottone
massiccio piuttosto che una fusione; ma i Sieger non sono designer che si
lasciano convincere tanto facilmente. Piuttosto sono stati loro a convincere
noi che proprio la filigrana è un elemento decisivo per reinterpretare questo
componente.”
Così Tara è diventata un prodotto dal disegno sobrio e pulito, che unisce
una modernità senza tempo a un classico tratto in stile Bauhaus, e anche se
la linea è sul mercato dal 1992, a tutt’oggi è senz’altro la più classica delle
rubinetterie. Nel corso dell’intervista Michael Sieger di Sieger Design
racconta come è nata Tara.
Qual è stata l’idea di partenza che ha portato a Tara?
Il primo disegno è stato opera di mio padre, Dieter Sieger. Si trattava di
reinterpretare il classico rubinetto con manopole a crociera, divenuto
archetipo dello spazio abitativo domestico, per riportarlo al passo coi tempi.
Tra le serie Dornbracht, le forme più classiche sono prerogativa dei modelli
Madison. Tara doveva portare un’interpretazione moderna, dai riferimenti
perfettamente riconoscibili e capace di esprimere il presente assoluto.
Tara è presente sul mercato da quindici anni e continua a riscuotere grandi
successi. Quante volte capita a un designer di progettare un prodotto così
longevo?
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