Award-Winning European Design For Awnings & Solar Shades

Professor Kramer, you have made significant contributions 
towards the designs of Markilux retractable awnings and exterior solar shades.  An example is the Markilux 6000 with its modular system, geared
 fully to individualization.  Markilux is now expanding this
 design philosophy across products.  What can we expect from the new design concept?

As you correctly remarked, we have further developed 
the design concept.  The Markilux 6000 design style range is being 
extended by the addition of the 930 Swing, 
a new open awning; and the 990, the successor
 model to the smallest Markilux cassette awning.   The design of both new models is 
very restrained, compact and reduced, but elegant
 and innovative at the same time.  And, of course,
 of the highest quality.  Both models match modern architectural trends perfectly.  The markilux 5010 
will also be launched on to the market in the new
 design idiom.  It will be the successor to a classic, the 5005.

How would you describe its common design features and what is the concept behind it?

I think the most common feature of the new Markilux design idiom is its modern, 
timeless nature which gives it an unmistakable and 
recognizable character. The Markilux design artistic form uses simple and comprehensible elements that are 
easily recognized – just like the Apple iPod, for example.
  As far as the basic design concept is concerned, the individualization 
aspect plays a large role. The concept
 as such offers an excellent solution that will suit 
allmost all requirements: from an open to a closed system; 
from minimalist and simple to extravagant and
technically complex.  In a certain way, the models
 build on each other with regard to technical comfort.
 The basic model is, as it were, the Markilux 930 
swing, followed by the 990, 6000 und 5010 full cassette 
awnings.

Apart from the 930 Swing, a further open awning
 system is to be launched on to the market, the 
Markilux 1000.   It will be available with a matching Markilux 
system coverboard bearing the same hallmarks.
 What was the basic idea for this design?

The basic idea for this design was to show the awning
 with coverboard to its best advantage. The
 Markilux 1000 presents the beauty of cover and 
technology in its purest form. Ideally, the protective coverboard
 should therefore be invisible; plexiglas and
 aluminum components were used for this reason.
 This design concept is aimed at all those who value minimalism.

Cover and technology in their purest form, minimalism - that sounds somewhat like retro design 
– return to concepts and styles of times gone by.
  What significance does “retro” have for the design 
of today and tomorrow?

Retro design is a topic of much discussion and controversy 
in the design scene. This extends from “it‘s
 always been around” to “good design must always 
be new”. As far as the content of “retro” design is concerned, it‘s a
matter of using existing, sometimes forgotten elements and re-interpreting them in a modern way .
Ideally, this creates something new. Something the
 user can more easily identify with because he is already familiar with it.  For example, the “VW Beetle“ and its derivation “New Beetle“.   I think 
that this concept has been very successful for both new Markilux open awning systems.