2_0_DiscoverGermany_June 2015_Issue27:Scan Magazine 1
28/5/15
09:51
Page 52
Special Theme
steininger.designers
Design Guide Austria
International design made in Austria’s Mühlviertel Since 1933, the Steininger manufacturing company, located in St. Martin in upper Austria, has successfully combined traditional artisanal craftsmanship, innovative manufacturing techniques and a distinctly cosmopolitan design. The mastermind behind the company, which is now run by the third generation of the family, is the designer and manager Martin Steininger. TEXT & PHOTOS: STEININGER.DESIGNERS GMBH | TRANSLATION: EMMIE COLLINGE
With a childhood spent in his father’s workshop, Martin Steininger picked up carpentry early in his life. But it soon became clear that working finely by hand wasn’t enough, he began studying new production techniques, enhancing materials and seeking out designers and architects. Inspiration came rapidly from the likes of Adolf Loos, Josef Hofmann and Donald Judd amongst others. His own style evolved, and Steininger is now active across the globe, from Hong Kong to New York, with steininger.designers.
52 | Issue 27 | June 2015
Uncompromisingly minimal, Steininger’s designs are often defined by a stylish intensity of artistic expression. His high-end living concepts, which transform any interior, extend from the floor choice to the furniture right through to the lighting, leaving nothing to chance. Everything is painstakingly thought-out to meet the needs and desires of the clients. One of Steininger’s principles is that “even aesthetics are a function”. This results in designs of puritanical modernity and a luxurious simplicity, whose functions, in line
with the principle, are hidden behind appealing aesthetics. Take, for example, the kitchen island unit ROCK, a collaborative design by Steininger and Alberto Minotti comprised of four monolithic blocks. Inspired by Donald Judd’s artwork ‘Minimal Myth’, the kitchen units are made of six millimetre thin natural stone with mitre
Portrait: Martin Steininger, manager Steininger Designers