competition - the results 2004 

Conclusions of the panel on the first internationally presented wemhöner award 2004:

When entering into a dialogue of this kind with the fresh creativity of young students and people starting their careers, the industry gets a superb chance to test the limits of what is feasible. New technologies, after all, have always led to new product designs at the point where, after an initial phase of awkward handling, the design reached solutions in the realm of meaning and total approach which met the limitations of technical possibilities. - And today? - Today, design goes beyond finding the beautiful form and is much more than simply the result of the technical production method. Design is more and more what gives a product the competitive edge, the ultimate personal product quality. Design, after all, will always be a way of interpreting the world in which we live and of experiencing it with all our senses, of defining our own point of view, even of reinventing ourselves.

In this sense, the entries submitted are a "powerful service" of the coming generation of designers, which will in turn instigate a no less "committed return" of the technology R & D teams, and some "intensive leg work" on the part of the industrial users. The ball is now in the other court ...

Robert de le Roi Head of the Kusch+Co Sitzmöbelwerke GmbH & CO. KG department of product development, Hallenberg

ad personam
Robert de le Roi, born in 1961 in Gettorf, has been the head of the department of product development at the manufacturer of seating furniture Kusch+Co in Hallenberg since 1999. Following a training as furniture maker and subsequent studies in industrial design with graduation, he became assistant of Professor Hans Ell in Kassel. Apart from this, Robert de le Roi has worked as industrial designer for companies like Castelli and Sony and was awarded the Du Pont Design Award several times.

short statement
New technologies have led to new product designs in the past, giving creative designers and producers a chance to test the limits of what is feasible, to find meaningful solutions in the implementation of comprehensive answers. The 3D-lamination technology is one of the fields where innovative ideas may compete, which presents a challenge - rare today - for the wemhöner award 2004.