102
GERARD SANMARTÍ
I’m Gerard Sanmartí, Co-founder & Partner of Lagranja Design. We are
a multidisciplinary design firm in Barcelona working with 20 designers for
20 years now. We blend creativity, production skills, business sense and visual
marketing into effective design projects. We basically are between interior
design and product design.
GROËL'S MAGAZINE
How was the experience of designing a lever handle?
GERARD SANMARTÍ
We have always loved lever handles as they are an essential element in our interior
design projects. It’s a very detailed and unique product that is sometimes invisible
for many people, but for a designer it’s a very delicate piece - like jewelry. Designing
a lever handle was a completely new experience for us. We have designed so
many things during these past 20 years in the industry, from chairs to lighting,
but never a lever. Therefore, this experience has been very enriching and we
have learnt all the features to be considered when designing a lever handle.
We had to pay attention to so many aspects: the curves, the polishes, and the
finishes in order to make the proportion to be ergonomic.
GROËL'S MAGAZINE
What’s an important thing to consider when designing?
GERARD SANMARTÍ
It’s crucial to firstly take into consideration that the creation must be functional but
beautiful. Functionality is not always beautiful, but what’s beautiful is always
functional. That is why we firmly believe that beauty has the power to enhance
anyone’s lifestyle. The second most important aspect is that it has to merge in
every type of project and style: from modern private housing, to classic hotels,
or even nightclubs. This is what we were trying to do here, something that fits
many different contexts.
GROËL'S MAGAZINE
What challenges did you face when designing the lever
handle, and what did you learn from this collaboration?
GERARD SANMARTÍ
In the market there are many levers, so introducing one with new ideas is difficult.
When starting this project so new and different to us, we had the feeling of
“everything has been invented, how can I make something new?”. For example,
a usual product design for us is a chair; there are many of them, and every single
one is different. On the one hand, a chair is composed by several structures,
