The best designers of the red dot design award 2007 in interview: Christian Walch

In this year’s red dot award: product design, the window and façade system “walchwindow04”, designed by Christian Walch, has won the red dot: best of the best. We talked to Christian Walch, designer and founder of the Walch GmbH.

What inspired you to create this particular product and what was the intention behind it?

The basis for the development of the new window and cladding system is the experience this sector and the know how of solutions required in design, the technical demands (for example noise control and heat protection) and the usability of modern window systems. When developing the product it was the intention to combine the solutions to all requirements in one modern product of unobtrusive and timeless design.

What does being awarded with the “red dot: best of the best” mean to you?

To get such a significant acknowledgment and award is a nice reward after several years of working on the walchfenster04.

What particular challenges do you think designers have to face these days?

To reconcile complex technical requirements with a modern design is the biggest challenge when developing a new product. Not only long-time technical experience is necessary but also a natural feeling for aesthetics. To create a product that meets all demands requires the combination of all these needs – at the same time keeping in mind that function and objective must not be lost sight of.

As a designer, what would you still like to accomplish in the future?

In future, I would like to place more attention to the freedom, which is necessary to develop basic commodities in all product ranges. From architectural and furniture design to very simple things such as for example sauna sandals with massage function.

What do you think is the economic significance of design?

Design is a mirror of society and cultural development. By this advancement, design will gain growing significance and, consequently, economic importance will increase. However, part of the development of our society also includes a sensitive use of natural resources so that newly developed products are not only technically mature and long lasting but also incorporate timeless design.

Visionary perspectives

The integration of windows into architecture is often restricted by the usual construction methods. Against this backdrop, the design of the walchwindow04 has reconsidered the construction of windows and façades to make them meet the demands of contemporary architecture. The systematic design approach has led to an architectural element with many interesting features: The walchwindow04 is a window and façade system with opening panes that are covered entirely by glass on the outside. When closed, it is not easy to see from the outside whether the glass is a fixed window element in the façade or an opening window. The new and slender construction facilitates opening panes for an architectural grid up to 2.5 square metres, while the fixed window frames can be integrated invisibly into the wall. The opening elements of this system are available as reversible windows, top-hung projective windows or side-hung windows. Also highly functional is an optional fitting that enables the windows to be reversed by 165 degrees, making it possible to clean both sides of large windowpanes from the inside. Through its simple construction the walchwindow04 is, in comparison to other all-glass façade systems, highly costeffective – particularly in building projects that call for post-and-rail constructions. Its design combines stability, easy maintenance with a long-life cycle, and fulfils the highest requirements in thermal insulation. It opens up new design possibilities – new perspectives for the architecture of the future.