Dirk Biotto

»Folks, look what’s happening under your feet!« – A conversation with the industrial designer Dirk Biotto about the role of the carpet in the room and the challenge of designing something rooted to the soil in the true sense of the word.

FLURSTÜCK. Its roll in the room.
Carpets are underestimated. We have got in our mind outdated pictures of heavy, big carpets which, above all, do one thing: cover the floor, hide the floor. To me a carpet is a piece of furniture. It is a subtle design element. A good carpet fits well into the room atmosphere. It functions unobtrusively or – for instance by the colour – as an eye catcher. No doubt, carpets can create added value, because they make us fully aware of the floor and, thus, make the room bigger …

FLURSTÜCK. A challenge.
We are conditioned to other things – our range of view starts on a certain room level only, the things below this level becoming blurred. We see couch landscapes, shelving systems, glossy fitted kitchens. We gain a lot when our eyes do not start or end there, but look below that level. A good carpet can widen our perspective, complete the picture. »Folks, look what’s happening under your feet!«, watch closely what’s lying at your feet …

FLURSTÜCK. The design.
When I am designing, I am thinking of interaction and of the balance of benefit and esthetics which, in my opinion of design, an object must have. I want to reach a balance. At the same time, design may change everyday’s life. Why do I do something in a certain way? We got used to too many automatisms. Also, to have a carpet below the table and letting it stay there …