Interview with Gerd E. Wilsdorf and Frank Rieser

The work of Gerd E. Wilsdorf, chief designer at Siemens, has been awarded many prizes. The design experts on this year‘s red dot jury were impressed with the stainless steel built-in appliance system designed by Wilsdorf and his Siemens design colleague, Frank Rieser. They have been awarded a “red dot: best of the best” in recognition of their work’s highest design quality. In an interview with red dot, Gerd E. Wilsdorf gives us an insight into his work.

Mr. Wilsdorf, could you please tell us something about yourself. How did you become chief designer at Siemens?
Gerd E. Wilsdorf: I started with an apprenticeship in electrical engineering and then studied to become an engineer in precision mechanics. Then I also studied product design. After finishing my studies, I worked as a design coordinator in the eyewear development department at Rodenstock in Munich and later become a designer at Siemens, where I have been responsible for all Siemens electric appliance products worldwide for more than 20 years.

The Siemens stainless steel built-in appliance unit comprises a fully automatic espresso machine, a compact microwave combination oven, a steam oven and a compact oven. Is the leeway in designing such appliances not rather limited?
Gerd E. Wilsdorf: The design is first and foremost determined by the dimensions of the built-in kitchen it has to fit in; in this case we faced a defined niche height of 450 mm and a width of 600 mm. This is what we have to comply with, because otherwise the entire system of the built-in kitchen would not work. We see our built-in appliances as “functional modules” for the built-in kitchen. They allow customers, or kitchen studios, to lay out their kitchens individually. This is very easy to accomplish with our appliances because they can be placed side by side or combined into a block. The basic formal elements (info zone, handrail, door graphics) are highly consistent. We had consciously adapted the formal look of the builtin espresso machine to that of the other built-in appliances so that they work in any individual combination.

Today the kitchen is becoming ever more important as a home environment. Against this background, on what factors do you place particular emphasis when developing your products?
Gerd E. Wilsdorf: Our built-in appliances support the trend of kitchens as a living space as well as that of kitchens open towards the home environment. Dishwashers are so quiet today, they do not disturb life in the home environment. The same goes for our hoods and chimneys. The built-in ovens and ranges are visually unobtrusive, integrating into the kitchen architecture on the same level. We intend to develop this even further in the future. We don’t want to impose ourselves upon the kitchen, but instead support the overall kitchen architecture.

What overall concept is there behind the products created by the Siemens design team?
Gerd E. Wilsdorf: The design of Siemens electrical appliances is modern but not faddish. The design is derived from basic geometrical forms. Our appliances cannot afford to only float on the surface of the zeitgeist for a short period of time. They have to document their inner values in a formally honest and visually durable manner. This is simply because when a household purchases a range with a cook top, a hood, a dishwasher and a fridge, they are buying producer goods rather than consumer goods.

Against the background of globalisation how do you approach the challenge of developing design solutions for different markets?
Gerd E. Wilsdorf: A Siemens home appliance should be recognised as Siemens also on different continents without denying its origin. The language of form stays the same. The functions, however, adapt themselves to country-specific requirements.