interior and furniture designer, born 1959, office in Hamburg

 

“Designers create everyday helpers”, says Christian Werner, and indeed the white elements of his container series Everywhere (for Ligne Roset) seem like servants who know how to adapt to any situation. This storage system contains over thirty elements. It is the best-selling case furniture offered by the French manufacturer, for which We rner has designed over fifty stores as well as the C-shaped Pop easychair, an invitation to relax. Werner wrote his dissertation as a student of Dieter Rams. That was in the wild 1980s, when he still belonged to the circle of “New German Design”. He eventually quit as long-time assistant of Peter Maly in order to move on in his own creatived evelopment. But first he learned from Maly how to go beyond mere furniture design and to also shape not only interiors but with them the image of the respective client, a capability that is not very widespread in the industry. A native of Berlin, We rner is one of the most successful furn i t u re designers of the last few years, attributable to the way he his able to relate his creations to changing lifestyles. This is exactly what was required for the Dono sofa (2004), which became the number one sofa from Rolf Benz. What’s new about it is the enclosing shelf, to which the cushions are clamped on. Sofas today are personal areas for many activities. Therefore one needs a place to set a wine glass, mobile phone or book. The 6900 sofa, for the same manufacturer, follows a different concept. It provides a large area to lie on that is enclosed by a thin, different- coloured shell. The play of proportions, contrasts and re c u rring radii lends it the homogeneousness, almost architectural character of a quiet room for withdrawal and contemplation. Within a year of the 6900, further sofas and easychair models followed: the 310, 370 and 522. Werner was also responsible for designing the successful Swabian manufacturer’s stand at the Cologne Furniture Fair. Over time, Werner's activities have stretched beyond pure furniture design, for instance, with his seven prize-winning carpet designs for the Design Edition from JAB Anstoetz.