a master of reduction
His prize-winning furniture for companies like Vitra has won him a devoted following among design aficionados.
He never designs for the sake of designing – there must always be an inherent improvement, whether functional or visual, of hitherto existing objects.
The collaboration between Fabian Schwaerzler and Maurice de Mauriac has resulted in the three Swiss-made watches L1, L2 and L3, all with a no-nonsense directness and a legible design based on lines.
“I am very pleased with the triptych. L2 and L3 can stand on their own, but they are clearly an evolution of the L1. I think of them as children … and the L2 is a child with a very strong character, while the L3 is a bit more calm.”
True to his historical inspirations – the Zurich Concretists, Bauhaus and classical watches – Schwaerzler is an advocate for democratic and autonomous design. “Too often good design is connected with luxury or the very cheap, when what we really need is locally produced objects that don’t distract you too much; objects made of sustainable materials under socially acceptable working conditions. More of this would improve the world.”
The Swiss designer Fabian Schwaerzler first completed an apprenticeship as a metalworker and then studied industrial design at the University of the Arts in Zurich. From 2003 to 2005 he worked as an assistant to Maarten Van Severen in the designer`s studio in Ghent, Belgium. In 2006, he founded his own design studio in Zurich, where he develops a wide range of products. His most important works in recent years include the wristwatch L1 for Maurice de Mauriac (2014), the chair C1 for Colos (2016) and the table Nilo for Tossa (2018).
