Alberto Lievore, Jeannette Altherr and Manel Molina established Lievore Altherr Molina (LAM) in Barcelona in 1991…
January 6th, 2008
In their 16 years together they have worked with many of the worlds leading furniture and product manufacturers, including Arper, Andreu World, Bontempi, Bernhardt, Poltrona Frau, Sellex, Foscarini and many, many more.
Matt Sheargold (Geyer) had the pleasure of meeting Jeanette Altherr (Lievore Altherr Molina) while in Valencia in September 2007. A quick chat on a crowded bus on the way to the Andreu World party proved to be a wonderful way to gain insight into the Livore Altherr Molina journey. Read some of the interview below.
MS: You consistently ’hit the mark’ with your designs and clearly have an incredible understanding of the commercial viability of your designs. How much is knowledge versus instinct?
JA: There is knowledge, there is instinct, but above all we have a real interest for people’s needs. We really try not to get blinded by the design community. There is a danger in being too self-referencial.
MS: Now the three of you are from different backgrounds professionally as well as your heritage. How important are the dynamics between the three of you in your work?
JA: In our group we add up to more than the sum of the three: it is the interaction among the three. We start work with a great deal of exchange of views on the new project. The first sketches are idealised, dream images, pure wishful-ness. Then the subsequent development work is a continuous negotiation: between ergonomics and gesture, between technology and the client’s possibilities…between what is desirable and the principle of reality. Our starting point is that design is communication, not self-fulfillment. We seek to instill harmony, balance, values we believe in: we are out to seduce rather than impress.
MS: As leaders in the world of design your work inspires designers around the world, who or what inspires you?
JA: Some masterworks such as the former designs of those like Eames, Kjaerholm, Bertoia, Noguchi…. in general design that is humanist, optimistic and art-loving. Architecture, both classical and contemporary. Life in all its complexity and richness. And Apple as a company, for the strong entrepreneurial vision: everything speaks the same language: the designs, the technology, the strategies, the graphics, advertising, shops… invisible, pure, friendly technology and elements of desire…
For the entire interview, see the current issue of DQ Magazine – Vol. 28 on shelves mid-January 2008.
LAM Stockists
KE-ZU (stockist for Andreu World and Sellex)
info@kezu.com.au
kezu.com.au
Stylecraft (stockist for Arper and Verselloni)
sydney@stylecraft.com.au
stylecraft.com.au
A searchable and comprehensive guide for specifying leading products and their suppliers
Keep up to date with the latest and greatest from our industry BFF's!
Savage Design’s approach to understanding the relationship between design concepts and user experience, particularly with metalwork, transcends traditional boundaries, blending timeless craftsmanship with digital innovation to create enduring elegance in objects, furnishings, and door furniture.
Suitable for applications ranging from schools and retail outlets to computer rooms and X-ray suites, Palettone comes in two varieties and a choice of more than fifty colours.
Channelling the enchanting ambience of the Caffè Greco in Rome, Budapest’s historic Gerbeaud, and Grossi Florentino in Melbourne, Ross Didier’s new collection evokes the designer’s affinity for café experience, while delivering refined seating for contemporary hospitality interiors.
Leanne Amodeo rounds up our top 5 emerging designers and design studios – each producing projects that prove Australia really does have some of the best design talent in the world.
In tackling the design of his studio space, David Flack went down the proverbial ‘rabbit hole’, constructing a working model of his own inner workings. For his team and clientele, the studio is a deep dive into an immersive world of design – and all of Flack’s own making.
Gaggenau’s rich history spans more than three centuries. During this time, the German-based company has redefined what it means to be a brand. Its new showroom in Melbourne takes this one step further to reinforce how exquisite design can allow a home’s true soul to sing.
Archie Rose Distilling Co. opened in Rosebery in March 2015 as Sydney’s newest distillery and bar, and the first independent distillery to open in Sydney since 1853. The name ARCHIE ROSE is emblazoned on the corrugated exterior in supersized letters and perhaps ironically so given ‘Archie,’ for which the bar is named, is the generic alias nineteenth-century bootleggers adopted for anonymity. Rebecca Gross reports.
The internet never sleeps! Here's the stuff you might have missed
Milanese artisan Henry Timi celebrates natural materials through strikingly reduced geometric forms, creating a stripped-back vision of interior luxury.
DKO’s Interior Design Director on how to create community and specificity in interior design, and how apartment living is being reconceptualised.
Welcome to the year of the Design Effect. This year’s theme aims to showcase the profound ripple effects that exceptional design can have on people, place and planet. Join in shaping this narrative by contributing your perspective before May 3, 2024, and become a part of the Design Effect movement.