CLASSICON - Key Persons
Christian Haas was born in 1974 in Erlangen, Germany. He founded his own studio in the year 2000, just one year after his graduating with a degree in industrial design. Since then, he has been designing products in various disciplines, from furniture to lamps, porcelain and glass. In his design approach, Christian Haas combines simplicity and elegance. His sense for aesthetics is characterised by a harmony of sobriety, usefulness, emotionality, durability and uniqueness. With his studio, the industrial designer works for international brands such as Rosenthal, Arita2016 and Tecta, as well as for selected design galleries. Over the course of the years, Christian Haas' work has been honoured with several awards, such as the Red Dot Design Award and the Elle Decoration International Design Award. His most remarkable work includes the Ropes edition of lamps, which is part of the permanent collection of the Vitra Design Museum. The comprehensive furniture series for the Japanese manufacturer Karimoku New Standard and some of the most successful series of dishes, among others for Villeroy & Boch, can be added to his success. Christian Haas lives and works in Porto, Portugal.
I try to reduce my works in their design statement without taking away their sensuality. A certain seriousness and subtleness additionally juxtapose the fast-paced and short-lived.
Christoph Böninger studied industrial design in Munich and Los Angeles. As his dissertation project, he designed the world's first laptop computer, which is on display at the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich. Following his first years of practical experience in Munich, Böninger moved to New York to develop designs for Siemens in the US. Until 2006, he held various management positions at Siemens in design management and as General Manager. Simultaneously, he was always preoccupied with furniture design. In 2010, he founded Auerberg, an independent author's label for designers and architects. Christoph Böninger is also Chairman of the iF Design Foundation.
Herbert H. Schultes studied engineering and design in Munich. Together with Norbert Schlagheck, he founded the design office Schlagheck Schultes Design in 1967. As a partner of the office, he worked on the corporate design of renowned companies such as Agfa, Marker, Atomic and Braun, and on projects for clients including Siemens, Bulthaup and ClassiCon. From 1985 to 2000, Schultes was Chief Designer of Siemens AG and later the Managing Director of Siemens Design and Messe GmbH. The acclaimed designer was also involved in the establishment of the industrial design study course at the University of Applied Sciences in Munich and taught industrial design at the Kölner Werkschulen.
As a member of various institutions, Schultes had a decisive influence on the importance of German design. For this achievement, he was honoured with the Federal Award for Design Promoters and the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. Many of his products, including those created by design teams under his leadership, are on show at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design.
Owner Oliver Holy has had a lasting impact on the family-run company with his passion for design, architecture and art for almost 20 years now. Since mid-2020, he and CEO Larissa Sarjeant have been jointly managing ClassiCon.
Job Titles:
- Professor Van Der Waalsweg 2