In conversation with: Christian Sieger, CEO at sieger design

The name ‘sieger design’ is no marketing idea – behind it today are Michael and Christian Sieger, linked by both professional and family ties. The brothers complement each other perfectly, with each one playing their own individual role as they drive the brand forward on a well-designed track of excellence and innovation. While Christian Sieger’s role in the company is focused on marketing, he shares his brother’s exacting design standards and understanding, having been integral to the process that has seen sieger design creating icons for the sanitary area and continually challenging and reshaping the industry with pioneering designs.

Image credit: sieger design

Since the beginning of the 1980s, the studio has innovated numerous product types – from the first designer bathroom fittings and holistic bathroom series to large overhead rain-shower spray systems and scenario-controlled showers. We kicked off the conversation by asking about this focus on the bathroom.

Pauline Brettell: The sieger history is rooted in bathroom design. While you have expanded the design remit, is bathroom design still at the core of the studio?

Christian Sieger: Yes, it is! We have been constantly active for Dornbracht, Alape and Duravit for more than 35 years now. Furthermore, bathroom architecture has become very important for us. For example, we create solutions for small size premium spas, for semi-public toilet facilities or hotel bathrooms. For me, the bathroom is on of the rooms that defines my day, so to sharpen the focus on bathroom design makes perfect sense.

PB: Picking up on the concept of bathroom architecture, last year at HIX, the conversation was about the Re-Charge Spa concept/design – has this moved forward over the course of a year?

CS: The Re-Charge Spa concept was about developing a multifunctional space with a high level of design and quality in a very compact space – we have detailed the room slightly further and are in touch with hotels from Portugal to realise some sample Re-Charge spa suits.

PB: The SSPS® (Small Size Premium Spa) project is another clear response and solution to the intense focus on wellness in hospitality – can you tell us a bit more about that.

CS: The SSPS suite is all about bringing together numerous treatment possibilities in the smallest of space giving guests the option of relaxing directly in the room, in a private personalised spa. Hotels are having to be innovative moving forward on wellness offerings and the SSPS® is an exciting solution!

Image credit: sieger design

PB: How does your work with Dornbracht tie into concepts like Re-charge and SSPS?

CS: For almost 20 years we have dedicated a lot of attention to the water experience – especially in the shower! From innovating a rain sky with natural drops beyond a horizontal shower to create new experiences to installations like the massage nozzles WaterFan or WaterCurve, wellness and promoting health has been a special focus of our work. These are all concepts that have been developed into products to enhance the overall wellness and health concepts within designs.

PB: The CYO fitting design for Dornbracht has won several design awards. Could you tell us a bit about the inspiration and process behind this design?

CS: It roots back to a design from 1969, a time with highly sophisticated design objects. Michael came up with a reminiscent to this design in a very up-to-date interpretation, with a contemporary level of precision and perfection and a new sculptural quality. With its iconographic C spout, CYO brings an archetypal formal language into here and now. And the product concept includes new possibilities for individualisation, for example with a selection of finishes and a multifaceted inlay concept for the handle elements. They make CYO a bold product to create and influence bathroom architecture, meaning that architecture may be developed around the tap, dedicated to the design DNA of CYO.

PB: What are the most fundamental changes to bathroom design – in your opinion – that we are seeing in hospitality and in the home?

CS: In hospitality, guests enjoy more functions and treatments in the privacy of their room, a spacious shower – ideally combined with a steam shower. With this they can find relaxation directly in their rooms at any time of the day.

In the private bathroom, we see more natural materials and less tiles, more water options in the shower for men and women, more daylight, more access to nature, all in a more recharging atmosphere.

PB: How collaborative are your projects in the studio – and are there cross pollination of ideas across the disciplines?

CS: It always depends on the project, but surely, between my brother Michael, who’s the designer, and me as the marketing director, there are constant discussions going on – as well as across the teams: industrial design, architecture, communication. In our studio, about 35 employees pool together expertise from a variety of disciplines. And our partners thus benefit from this creativity and consultancy.

PB: What is your favourite part of the process?

CS: For Michael – the creative mind – coming up with new ideas with ambitious goals for new products is most challenging and demanding. For me, it’s the official launch of a new concept or a new collection at an event or fair, being able to present the products personally and seeing the reactions of customers and press.

HD: From bees to the big five the sieger brand appears to be driven by a clear set of values. Do you have a personal passion project?

CS: On the one side, our tabletop brand is a special passion for me, bringing family and friends together, getting connected by a shared meal or just enjoying these special moments together. It’s our aim to enrich people’s daily lives or what we like to call ‘the good life’. On the other side, as part of our Dornbracht collaboration, we create awareness for bathrooms and its important role for enhanced quality of life globally. We have been driving major trends in the industry and our partnership makes me see various cultures around the world.

PB: And finally, any exciting new projects on the horizon you can share with us?

CS: Oh yes – it is all about eating and dining and the crucial process of preparing good food. Making sure, people will interact with their kitchen in a more natural way.

Main image credit: sieger designs