Friends: Hans Thyge Raunkjaer
As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Ottavo stainless steel tap collection, designed by Hans Thyge Raunkjaer in 2004, we visited his studio and home in Aarhus, Denmark. He shared the inspiration behind Ottavo: drawing from Denmark’s serene landscapes and a commitment to quality materials. Pictures by Luca A. Caizzi.
Interview by Cecilia Gaetarelli
Hans Thyge & Co. was founded around the 1990s, and before that you worked for several years in Milan. After more than 30 years in the sector, what’s it like to be a designer?
HTR: In a certain sense, I enjoy it even more now. A design project is a complex mix of elements, decisions, and compromises. Experience certainly helps in better managing all these aspects. When I start a project now, it’s more immediate to get to the essence of the design, understand the client, work with the team, and push it towards solutions during the most complex moments. For me, a designer’s skill lies in managing the various elements involved and the inevitable compromises without losing sight of the initial idea. Design is like other artistic disciplines; the more you do it, the better you become.
At Hans Thyge & Co., you handle 360° design, from interior element design to branding. How do these aspects communicate with each other?
HTR: I come from a theater background, and there I learned that a fundamental aspect of design is the story and the content of the message we want to convey within a scene, a character, or an object. In today’s world, designing furniture elements like chairs, sofas, or taps means, above all, speaking to the consumer and communicating a precise message. That’s why, when we work with small brands, we like to manage the entire project. This approach creates a much closer relationship with the client and the design itself, making it more enjoyable. I like to think of our studio as a symphony orchestra; each instrument coexists in a common harmony achieved through a balance of humble listening and decisive action. Achieving and maintaining this harmony, which lies more behind the scenes of a project, is a fundamental aspect.
The values you describe as driving your practice reveal an intimacy with the project, a personal commitment to it. You use words like “legacy”, “memory”, “something that makes us proud”. How would you describe your relationship with the design process and the final project?
HTR: Every object I design has a temporal dimension that precedes it and connects it to all the people who contributed to its creation. Design is based on a set of relationships, social aspects that are essential to achieve a good project. In the studio, we have a flat dynamic in the sense that a project or product doesn’t belong to anyone but to everyone and is nourished by the discussions and conversations we have, our experiences and the knowledge that each of us contributes. I can define my approach to design as holistic: a beautiful object, both ethically and aesthetically, is born when all the parts that created it are sound.
The word “storytelling” is often used to define your design approach. What does it mean to visually tell a story through an object?
HTR: Storytelling, for me, is something very abstract. It’s the baggage of stories and images that each of the minds and hands that designed it carry and, sometimes unconsciously, introduce into the project. An object conveys many things without words; in this aspect, design has a political value that lies in opening the eyes of the consumer to understanding and perceiving all the shapes and surfaces that surround them through a variety of languages. Storytelling, for me, is both in the stories that led to the creation of an object and in the object’s openness and invitation to be used and to create new narratives.
How did you meet Quadro, and how did the collaboration begin?
HTR: During my years in Milan, I had a friend who curated design exhibitions, and one year the theme was “bathroom objects”. From there came the idea of designing a unique tap. Then, in 1994-95, I met Elena and Enrico’s father, and we began working together to create Ono. Today, the company has grown significantly, but an aspect I appreciate about Quadro, and which I share, is its connection to history and the concept of memory. In its evolution, the company never loses its connection to its origins. It’s wonderful to witness and be part of this transformation.
Your first project for Quadro, and also your first tap project, was Ono. What was the curiosity behind a project of this type when you started?
HTR: The starting point for Ono was simplicity. I wanted to work on a minimal tap that acted like a fountain, a clean and essential form. Water connects to archetypes, and the tap, along with other objects, makes up the fundamental grammar of design. In this sense, Ono wanted to represent the purest feeling of the product. To evoke the concept of a fountain, the movement of the water had to be very clear; the tube maintains the same diameter from the spout to the curve, which helps to give the sense of the water flow and makes it simple to follow its path.
Then the collaboration with Quadro continued, and today you have developed three product lines together, each with its own personality. What research aspects guided these projects? Are they connected?
HTR: Each of the three products, Ono, Volcano, and Ottavo, all start from the same research goal: where the water comes from and where we bring it. Quadro’s work is based on essence and conceptual simplicity, and I wanted to follow this sense of authenticity in all three projects.
Do you have a favorite?
HTR: Conceptually, Ono; however, at the product level, Ottavo for the kitchen.
Water is an essential element of life, a symbol of freedom and pure energy. What sensations do you want to activate in people who use the designs you created for Quadro?
HTR: This experiential dimension of the object connects to touch and material. Quadro made a very interesting choice, outlining a clear attitude towards the physical aspect of the product, choosing to work only with stainless steel. Water is a very complex element at a physical level because it corrodes very easily, and stainless steel has the ability to resist over time. At the same time, it’s a material that has a precise temporal aspect; it collects the memory of use and becomes more beautiful over time. It’s an honest material that doesn’t hide, and in this, it manages to give even more prestige to the object, enhancing its history.
One of the fundamental values you and Quadro share is sustainability, and working with water requires a strong responsibility towards the urgencies of the contemporary world. How is this aspect balanced in the functional and aesthetic choices of the project?
HTR: Designing a tap, compared to other furnishing elements, is very complex. Due to its functional characteristics, it’s difficult to vary, and the choices are constrained by technical needs; every detail must be designed to fit perfectly, like pieces of a puzzle. It’s precisely in these types of projects that it’s even more necessary to work holistically to obtain an object that is beautiful, functional, and sustainable.
